kakimori — Attraction in Tokyo

Katamori came highly recommended by a friend who shared the love for writing and journaling…

From the moment I stepped into Katamori, I knew I’d found a writer's haven. This unique stationery store is a treasure trove of intentionality and creativity. Each corner reflects an appreciation for the art of writing. I’ll get to that, but the highlight of my visit was meeting Aya whose hospitality instantly made me feel at home. After she stored the 3 items I had in my hand in a mini-basket, she struck up a convo with me about my Miami Heat Beanie. I could tell she was genuinely excited and learned she was a former college basketball player who had just visited Florida (my hometown) 2 months ago. Her passion for basketball as well as Kakimori and its products shone through every word. Even

Katamori goes beyond the ordinary with its custom stationery and notebooks. The four-step customization process allows you to create a personal, unique journal for yourself, or a phenomenal gift… I didn’t get any custom journals (I prefer fully sewn bindings for a flat-laying, fully usable page), but the store’s attention to all other details was impressive. They had a nice selection of pens, a soft atmosphere, and some soft soothing music playing from a corner speaker. Tons of other nick nacks, desk items, writing accessories and tools that’ll enhance the writing experience…

Products are a 10/10 and the shop experience was a 100/100.

I spent an hour exploring the different options and left feeling creatively refreshed. Katamori encapsulates what I've come to appreciate about Tokyo compared to the US - attention to detail and curated experiences. It's a magical place for any writer, journaler, or friend who can appreciate high-quality stationery. I highly recommend visiting Katamori to experience it...

After visiting Itoya in Ginza I was still in need of another notebook, this time I was searching for a store that offers some sort of customization. I found kakimori through a Reddit post and had to visit their store. Once you arrive you’ll see a great selection of pens, accessories and papers, the whole right side of the store is dedicated to the custom notebook I mentioned before. You simply select the cover material/color/theme, which kind of paper you want (different texture, lined/checked/blank) and you can even choose your own hardware material and color to your liking. There is also a table that has all the different papers with different kind of pens so you can test them out yourself and see what you like.

I chose a red leather front cover, striped paper, silver hardware and a black cardboard back cover.

Then you bring everything to the cashier, pay and get back in the time they tell you. For me it took around 30-45min since it was a bit busy on that day.

All in all a great experience and I would defiantly recommend this store if you want a special made notebook that you customized to your personal preference. It’s a bit on the pricey side depending on which cover material (leather) and hardware material you choose, I paid around 30-35€ for one notebook. But it’s super well made and reminds me of my Japan trip every time I see it, so well worth the...

I visited both the Inkstand side and the Journal making Kakimori side.

The staff in general has great English levels, so I don't imagine you would have any issues there.

For the custom made products, it takes about 45~60minutes for the staff to put together for you. I also would allocated about 3000yen per shop, if you are looking at buying one product at each location.

Inkstand - You can design your own colour ink at Ink stand. But don't forget to register online. They allow you 45min to play, and I found it was sufficient time to work. I had in my mind some colours I wanted to make already so it made it a bit easier. They also gave you some sample colour charts to play with too.

Kakimori - You can select different aspects to a ring bound journal and they can make it for you. There are plenty of pens and papers for you to test before you buy, and the level of customizability is fantastic. To fountain pen addicts like myself, they also have the coveted Tomoe River paper available. The only disappointment I had was their ruled and dotted paper was only available with really wide rules and really wide dots (something ridiculous like 10mm). It works really well with Japanese writing, but for English, I don't personally prefer it. But then, they also have blanks so I just got...