Do you like stationery? I love using stationery, especially pens, to write stuff in notebooks. You can write down and organize little things that you feel in daily life, or jot down wonderful memories while on a trip. Writing these down and reading them back later are both enjoyable. Today, I'd like to introduce a wonderful stationery shop called Kakimori in the Kuramae area of Taito-ku, Tokyo. The usual way people buy stationery in Japan is at a sundry goods shop inside a large chain store, or at a long-established neighborhood stationery shop. That's why the stationery shop Kakimori struck me as unusual. It's a modern shop that collects high-quality, choice stationery from around Japan and overseas.

The shop offers a lineup of stationery items including pens, ink, notebooks, and letter sets. My special recommendation is the order-made ring notebook. After you choose the size, the material and pattern for the front and back covers, the note paper, the ring color, and the fastener, the shop binds your notebook. It's a one-of-a-kind notebook, just for you. Over 60 types of colors and materials, including leather, cotton, and of course paper, are available for the front and back covers. You can choose from a variety of notebook paper too, including paper that resists bleeding by fountain pen ink, paper that takes pencil well, and paper suited to pasting photographs. I get excited thinking about what sort of notebook I'll make. It makes for a wonderful memory even before I buy it. There's also the option of putting your name on the notebook cover.

Kuramae has long been known as an area for manufacturing. After strolling around the area, why not buy stationery at Kakimori as a memory of your visit to Kuramae?

Address: Kobayashi Building 1F, Misuji 1-6-2, Taito-ku, Tokyo
*Please check in advance for business hours and holidays if you want to visit the shop.