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What’S Up With Kobe Ink?


Pen_Padawan

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I met a friend in Tokyo this past weekend. He came from the USA hoping to buy some specific pens and inks. On his list was Kobe inks, but Itoya and Maruzen hardly had any available. Is Kobe Inks still in business? Are they still distributing to stores in Tokyo?

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Kobe ink is made by Sailor for Nagasawa. It should be available but limited since it's made for a specific retailer. It can be bought at least from Vanness in the U.S. I bought a bottle of Kobe at Itoya in March but you have to ask for the color you want if I remember correctly (I was in a lot of pen shops) - they don't keep the boxes out on a shelf.

Edited by OmegaMountain

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Kobe ink is made by Sailor for Nagasawa. It should be available but limited since it's made for a specific retailer. It can be bought at least from Vanness in the U.S. I bought a bottle of Kobe at Itoya in March but you have to ask for the color you want if I remember correctly (I was in a lot of pen shops) - they don't keep the boxes out on a shelf.

Several months ago there was a nice healthy selection in Itoya and Maruzen last weekend maybe 5 bottles total. My friend will order online back in the USA.

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The Maido stores associated with Kinokuniya Books in the USA also have Kobe inks. A few months ago, the one in San Francisco had several dozen bottles of Kobe ink, as well as many other Sailor inks.

 

There are Maido stores in quite a few cities in California. I don't know whether Kinokuniya bookstores in other cities would have the same selection of ink, but it might be worth checking. They do tend to have stationery sections.

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Last time I was in Itoya (a few months back) they carried the full Kobe Nagasawa line. Surprised if they stopped doing them.

Too many pens; too little writing.

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I knew there was something fishy with Ito-ya selling the Nagasawa inks never heard of Maruzen selling them even then when I got my Kobe inks from Ito-ya, Maruzen was having none of it but ehhh.... they will be available in Kobe though so if hes ever going to Osaka thats 2 hours away from there if you are in the US Vanness will be your go to place

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I don't know what sort of impressions people have of stores in Japan. Here in the US, it's not like brands cross sell. For example it's HIGHLY unlikely Gap will sell H&M products. Or that you would go to Chrysler to demand a GM car. So WHY on earth would Itoya or Maruzen sell products from the competition???????????

 

Having said that, recently I have seen Itoya bringing in Kobe products. But the selection is always meager and never full. That's because it's the MOST visited store by tourists and there is literally nothing on the shelves these days thanks to the hordes of people that go through the space. Maruzen pretty much only focuses on their own products. As does Kingdom Note.

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You can buy Kobe inks via the Nagasawa Kobe rakuten global store online (https://global.rakuten.com/en/store/nagasawa/) and they will ship to the US. If you're patient you can wait for one of the Rakuten free shipping promos (but you usually have to spend 10,000 yen or more in one store).

My pen is smaller than yours. Now get off my lawn.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Kobe ink is original ink of Nagasawa. Physical store is located in Kobe, but you can also order online through their Rakuten shop or online shop.

:D Nice to meet you :D

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