Nanami Café Note Pocket Edition

[bellsbells]

Hi folks, this is my first review and I only just received this notebook today, but I couldn't resist sharing some photos and impressions, as it's quite new and I don't believe it has been reviewed yet.

 

This is the Nanami Café Note Pocket Edition which is 155cm x 92 cm and has 128 sheets (256 pages) of 3.7mm grid white Tomoe River paper. It has a leather-textured vinyl soft cover (non removable), two ribbons, a half-width back pocket, and a pen loop. I had previously purchased the standard Café Note but it didn't get much use because it's a little too bulky for everyday carry (for me). I've been carrying so far this year a Hobonichi Weeks planner, but after a few years of planners I've decided to go back to simple bullet journaling. I don't use the dated pages enough to make it worthwhile.

 

Anyway, this little cutie is just perfect for me. I love the shape and format. It feels lovely in the hand and the thickness is just right. It's great that the paper is perfectly white—the light ivory of the Hobonichis is even too ivory for my liking.

 

The only improvements I would love to see are numbered pages and a closure option. Also, the pen loop is wide enough to accommodate a fat pen, which means that thinner pens will flop around in it.

 

All said, this is a fantastic little notebook and worth every penny of the $16 it costs! (No, I don't work for Nanami! Just a happy customer.)

[RPB]

Hey bellsbells! I was just looking at those earlier today. How do you feel about grid paper though? I hate it. That's the only thing that is putting me off with getting one of those. That and the fact I am in the UK and it's $14 shipping. Grrrr. Not to mention adding VAT and a postal charge.

[inkstainedruth]

I bought one of the "standard" B5 size Café Note journals recently, but now that I have it haven't quite figured out what to do with it. I might end up using it as a commonplace book. I'd like to get one of the larger journals with unlined pages to use for sketching, but I'd really love to see the B5 size with unlined pages as well.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Found the thread where I had previously posted about the Nanami I got, and it turned out that I had gotten the sized wrong in the other post -- what I have is a B6 size.

Edited May 2, 2019 by inkstainedruth

[bellsbells]

Hey bellsbells! I was just looking at those earlier today. How do you feel about grid paper though? I hate it. That's the only thing that is putting me off with getting one of those. That and the fact I am in the UK and it's $14 shipping. Grrrr. Not to mention adding VAT and a postal charge.

Well, I have to say that I really like grids in general, so I'm biased. They are great for both writing and drawing, both of which I do. Two lines of grids equals about 7mm lines, so if that's too widely spaced for you, and your handwriting is not tiny enough to fit in a single line of grids, you might not like this notebook. I actually fall into that category, but I find it's pretty easy to alternate between writing along one gridded line, then writing the next line centered between two grid lines, if that makes any sense. But in any case, as much as I like this little notebook, it's probably not worth the extra cost in shipping and VAT unless you are ordering other things at the same time.

[jamwrite]

@bellsbells - Thanks for the review and photos. I wish Nanami would update their site to use much larger photos. At least on my screen, they're too small, and so your photos (and comments) were very helpful.

 

I've been hoping for something like this and thew new Cafe Note B6 Slim grid v2 for a while, and here we go, they came through! I just ordered a few of each and I think these might be the holy grail for what I need. I haven't received them yet, but assuming the quality and printing are the same as the other Nanami 3.7mm grid notebooks, I'll probably love them. I am a big fan of 3.7mm grid in general, although I wish it were 4mm. The only 4mm grid I know of on good paper is the English A6 Hobonichi and the Stalogy A5. Everything else out there, including all the other editions of Hobonichi, Stalogy, and similar notebooks, seems to be 5mm or 3.7mm. Actually, the Hobonichi Weeks is 3.55mm for some reason compared to the other Hobonichis, so by comparison, 3.7mm seems generous.

 

BTW, I'm curious how you like the binding? Does it seem robust? There were some Tomoe River notebooks recently on Amazon (A5 size I believe, but can't remember the brand), and the binding was very fragile and the signatures separated way too easily. The normal covers from Nanami are really solid, but this Cafe Note Pocket Edition is the first Nanami notebook to use a Vinyl cover... so I'm wondering how that impacts the strength of the binding...

 

Thanks again -- hoping this is the end of my search for the perfect EDC notebook!

Edited May 19, 2019 by jamwrite

[Mongoosey]

Nice notebook. Definitely one of their more expensive ones with regard to price per page, but it fills a nice gap in their lineup.

 

...It has a different material for the cover compared to their other models, but I like how they kept it blank.

 

I think it's a nice little option. I personally prefer Lines, but for a notebook that compact I think the Grid was a good idea, especially since it can serve as a daily planner or something like that.

 

Nice First impressions : )

[pepsiplease69]

I picked up a couple of these. The quality is superb, which is standard from Nanami.

 

The pen I paired it up with is an FPR Himalaya fitted with a Kaweco 1.1 nib. A bit too broad for the 3.7 mm ruling but I managed to make it work. I might try the F-C 1.0 nib next if I can find it somewhere.

 

Now I wish they had the standard cover on these and a gfeller leather cover could be made available.

[jamwrite]

Now I wish they had the standard cover on these and a gfeller leather cover could be made available.

 

Hopefully mine show up today... but I think I'm on the same page as you, even without having received them yet. I think a standard cover + Gfeller cover would be even better. Can't wait for the mail delivery today though! Nanami delivery day is always a nice day, lol. :-)

[jamwrite]

Well my Cafe Note Pocket Editions showed up today, and I've got to say that these are about as perfect as one can expect something like this to be. Have to agree with the OP. And like the OP, I think page numbers and a closure option would be nice, but I don't think Dave will add page numbers (based on prior product track record) and a closure option is unlikely IMO since Dave seems to love his Japanese rubber bands. I'm fine with a rubber band myself and I don't use page numbers too much these days. I wouldn't mind a slightly smaller pen loop, and maybe add a pocket in the front too for symmetry. But really, can't complain about a thing. There is nothing of this size, design and quality on the market that I know of, so I'd say at this point, the question is how many more do I want to order?

 

Now if Nanami provided a version with a standard cover + Gfeller cover, that would also be fantastic. But in one little package, this is the bees knees. Gonna buy more. These will be great gifts too.

 

Total surface area is a little smaller overall than Hobonichi Weeks and A6, but x/y ratio/dimensions are actually pretty darn good. I always felt the Hobo Weeks was perhaps a little too tall, and the A6 perhaps a smidge too wide... the ratio on this Cafe Note Pocket Edition might be almost Goldilocks for the pocket. Good choices by Dave all around. Total winner.