Tokyo Price Check

[Breck]

Holy Jeez, I had no idea what kind of trouble I was getting myself into by starting this topic! Seriously, thanks to everyone for their input. A few things have changed since I started this thread (namely, I purchased two pens and 4 -- so far -- bottles of ink), so my Tokyo budget is more curtailed than when I started out. In fact, I think between the last 2 weeks of purchases and the upcoming trip my whole pen budget is blown at least until this time next year.

 

What I will definitely be looking to purchase:

 

Iroshizuku inks. Even if I hated the colors (and I love them), the bottles alone are worth the price of admission. I'll try to limit myself to 3. Definitely the shin-ryoku (dark green) and syo-ro (truffle) of the new line are at the top of my list. OK, maybe 4 bottles isn't too many... or 5... definitely no more than 6! I really want to find a waterproof blue-black, too.

 

Notebooks. I was primarily thinking about Apica, but I guess I'll have to read back in the reviews to see why Neill called them "problematic". All I'd heard before was that they were quite good, took FP inks well, especially for being thinner sheets. If anyone wants to elaborate on this, I'm all ears. In the meantime I'll plan to try out whatever comes my way, I just have to weigh the benefits of purchasing a variety vs. stocking up on a single brand I decide is best for me.

 

Other than that, I'm dying to try out a Capless/VP. Like I say, I'm not about to buy another pen for quite some time, but I am intrigued by this one, and it definitely seems like the clip position demands a try-before-you-buy method. So it can't hurt to take it for a test run, and put it on a wish list if I decide I like it.

 

A lighter budget makes for more focused shopping, and takes less time away from other Japan trip activities, which is a good thing (Sumo! Scuba!)

 

Maybe I'll just buy a student pen to try out, though.... Or get my wife one and see if she gets an inkling about why I'm excited about pens all the sudden. (Pun intended).

 

Only two weeks till I go! Squeee!

 

 

[Taki]

Unfortunately Ujuku is online-only store. Yamada-san live in Uwajima on the island of Shikoku. It's a beautiful city facing an inland sea, but a bit far from Tokyo for a day trip

[Neill78]

I was primarily thinking about Apica, but I guess I'll have to read back in the reviews to see why Neill called them "problematic".

 

The combination of Lamy2000 and J. Herbin inks simply didn't work on Apica. The combination of ultra-smooth nib and ultra-smooth nib caused skipping, and when it did put a line down it was too wet, causing feathering and bleed-through. Kokuyo paper is just a bit rougher but it seems to take anything you throw at it. And the MIO paper is amazing... it's worth picking up a notebook (about $3) just to try. The Campus Notes are only about $1 each so you should at least buy one.

 

Maybe I'll just buy a student pen to try out, though....

 

Instead of buying an expensive pen, this might be a good way to go. You can buy a lot of Platinum Preppys and ink at about $1 each. You can find some interesting specialty pens for writing Japanese characters (for example, the Sailor "Fude de Mannen") for $10. These are available at nearly any stationery story chain. It all depends if you want something to use every day or something that's interesting as a souvenir.

 

I went thinking I would get a Pilot VP (at my high end) or at least a Prera but I was discouraged by the prices, the lack of knowledgeable sales staff, and the selection (I was in the boondocks most of the time). I ended up finding a new-old-stock Pelikan amber demonstrator at a junk store and loaded up on cheap but unusual pens, a bunch of notebooks, and ink. Not what I expected, but it's stuff that I can't get here, it works with the pens that I have (and I am very happy with these pens already), and some of it is very neat.

 

Don't plan too much, or you'll ruin your trip! You could spend a whole day searching for a pen shop or a whole day experiencing Tokyo.

 

Neill

Edited July 1, 2008 by Neill78