niponica

2024 NO.36

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All Things Pen and Paper in Japan

3


Destinations That Invite You to Write

A change of pace, a place to concentrate.
A special place to sit and write

Long Bookstore Table for a Break
Before the Journey

The Haneda Airport Tsutaya Bookstore is a space of calm and quiet in the midst of a busy airport. A long table runs down the middle of the store, a place to sit, relax and read a book from the store’s wide selection ranging from books introducing Japanese culture to novels and manga. The table is open to anyone, and many businesspeople sit down, open their planners, organize their schedules, and collect their thoughts before boarding their plane. Customers can bring in beverages from the adjacent cafe, as well. The space offers travelers a bit of luxury, a place to write in a relaxed atmosphere away from the hustle and bustle.

Top: Long table surrounded by bookshelves
Bottom: Enjoying a moment to write while watching the airplanes on the tarmac
Photos: Kurihara Osamu

Zakka Store with Letter-Writing Desk

If you are looking for a place to sit and write an unhurried letter, Post-sha, a zakka store in Osaka that sells fancy goods like stationery and picture books, is the place to go. The store sells around 30 unique types of letter paper and envelopes. With a purchase, you can borrow one of the store’s glass pens—a type of dipping pen—and ink. Just settle in at the well-worn wooden desk by the window, look out at the trees in the park and the city street below, and your sentiments will flow as naturally as the pen glides over the paper.

Compose a letter at a writing desk at the back of a zakka fancy goods store.

Original letter paper from Post-sha

Glass pens sold at the store
Photos: Yamaguchi Shinichi

An Inn for a Writerly Experience

In a practice called kanzume, writers in Japan hole up at inns or hotels to concentrate on their writing when facing writer's block. Homeikan in Tokyo is a traditional ryokan inn that offers a unique kanzume experience. The simple, yet elegant Japanese-style rooms in the main building, which are said to have been used for kanzume long ago, have a low wooden table for the guest to sit on the floor, open up a manuscript, and feel like a literary giant.

Feel like a writer penning a manuscript

Homeikan, built in 1898
Photos: Kurihara Osamu