Back to school:

4 Japanese notebooks

Hi everyone, this is Taka!

School starts again this month. If you are buying notebooks, for yourself or for a kid heading back, this letter is about which ones.

Japanese students do not use fountain pens. They use mechanical pencils and ballpoints. What surprises people is the paper they get handed anyway. These four run 75 to 85 gsm, and they are known for not bleeding through. That is not a premium category here. It is the everyday shelf, and most people in Japan have been writing on paper like this since school without ever having a reason to notice.

Four of them, by the job.

Tsubame, the one to buy a stack of

Made in Asakusabashi, Tokyo since 1947, and the cover has not changed since. Tsubame's own foolscap, 81.4 gsm, with no fluorescent brighteners. It costs little enough that you can hand over three at a time and not mind how quickly they come back full. Ask anyone in Japan to picture a notebook and this is the one.

Tsubame Fools University Notebook

A5 and B5, from 30 to 100 sheets.

Logical Search, the one for finding things at exam time

All 191 pages are numbered, there is an index at the front, and every page has a header line for the title. Write the topic at the top, note the page in the index, and revising in December does not mean flipping through everything since September. The ruling is 6 mm, tighter than college ruled, so more fits on a page. Lined for classes, grid for diagrams and plans.

Logical Search Notebook

B5, A5 and A6. Lined or grid.

Mnemosyne, the one that lies flat

A twin ring binding that opens flat and stays open, which matters when you are copying from a textbook propped up beside it. Pages tear out cleanly along a perforation, so one can be handed in or passed to someone who missed a class. 80 gsm, acid free. The 5 mm dot grid suits math and science.

Maruman Mnemosyne 5 mm Dot Grid

A4, B5 and A5. Lined versions come in 7 mm and 8 mm.

LIFE Noble, the one for long sessions

LIFE has been making notebooks in Tokyo since 1946. The Noble uses their own L Writing Paper, a soft cream that is kinder to the eyes than white when the homework runs late, and it shows very little feathering. It comes in A4 through B6, so the school size is there, and there is a hard cover version if it needs to survive a year in a bag.

LIFE Noble Notebook

A4, B5, A5 and B6. Lined, grid or blank.

LIFE Noble Hard Cover, A5

Hardbound, with a bookmark. Lined, grid or blank.

One more thing for those of you who write with a fountain pen. All four take ink well, which is why we carry them in the first place. If you are buying for a student and quietly keeping one for yourself, that is the usual outcome.

Every order is wrapped by hand in furoshiki cloth. If you have a question about any of these, just reply to this email. It comes straight to me.

Warmly,

Taka