fountain pens

TWSBI Swipe Fountain Pen Review

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In this 4K video I review the brand new TWSBI Swipe fountain pen. This fountain pen features a translucent body and a unique spring loaded converter filling system.

Score from First Day in Tokyo

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Itoyas famous red paper clip sign out their temporary store location.
Itoya’s famous red paper clip sign out their temporary store location.

I have been in Tokyo for a few days now and it is amazing.  This is pen lovers paradise.  There are so many pen shops, it is truly unbelievable.  The first day I stopped by Itoya’s two stores in Ginza.  One is dedicated to fountain pens and art supplies and the other is dedicated to stationery and office pens.  Both stores are 5 stories each and the selection is just incredible.

K. Itoya, the fountain pen shop. This is the second floor dedicated to Maki-e pens and limited editions. They had tons of Maki-e pens from Namiki, Danitrio, Nakaya, Pelikan, and even Parker.
K. Itoya, the fountain pen shop. This is the second floor dedicated to Maki-e pens and limited editions. They had tons of Maki-e pens from Namiki, Sailor, Platinum, Danitrio, Nakaya, Pelikan, and even Parker.

I was a bit overwhelmed my first day so I did not buy a ton but I did find the Midori World Meister’s note Vol. 2 that I was not able to source in the USA.

Itoya Score

 

Down the street from Itoya is Euro-Box, a tiny shop that specializes in vintage European fountain pens.  The stores owner Eizo Fujii speaks English quite well and let me dip any pen that caught my eye.  He had an amazing selection of vintage Montblancs and Pelikans.  I looked a few of the Soenneckens he had but I couldn’t stay for long because it was incredibly hot humid in the store.  I am going to try and go back before I leave Japan because he had some very nice Montblanc 146s from the 1950’s that I would like to take a closer look at.

The store is located on the 4th floor of this dilapidated building  in a posh part of town next to the high end furniture store, IDC Otsuka (if you love modern European furniture like I do, IDC is a must see;  they have a beautiful selection of de Sede, Rolf Benz, and Poltrona Frau).

[It looks much worse inside]
[It looks much worse inside than out]
I also stopped by Pilot Pen Station a few blocks from Euro-Box.  Pilot Pen Station is Pilot’s HQ in Tokyo.  It features a small fountain pen history museum and cafe.  It’s not a brilliant museum but admission is free so there is nothing I can complain about.

Pilot Pen Station

 

That’s all I have for now.  I have been to a few more shops since my first day and spent plenty of money but I am hoping to escape Japan with a few dollars left in my bank account, so far it isn’t looking good.