For those who came here because of the link in my other write up about visiting Tokyo, and who may not be familiar with the fountain pen hobby, let me give you a primer in two paragraphs:
While there are various accounts of fountain pen collecting as a hobby before, it is generally accepted that today's fountain pen hobby can be traced to its origin in the United States in the 1970s when a group of people who individually collected vintage fountain pens started to connect with each other via newsletters, small meets, and eventually gatherings which later evolved into pen shows.Something must have struck a chord with a lot of people across generations because from those humble beginnings, today we have 20+ pen shows in the US alone, each with 1000s of attendees, and more popping up all over the globe, accompanied by online forums, Youtube channels, social media feeds and contents to connect fountain pen enthusiasts daily.
And with that background, this is my fountain pen experiences while visiting Tokyo with my family recently (January 2025).
Why Tokyo?
Because it is one of a few cities in the world today where you can find dedicated fountain pen stores despite the digital society surrounding them. And the pens are not the only interest here, I also appreciate the level of service, attention to details, and an intangible but very real sense of neatness that my family and I encountered everywhere in this short trip.
Speaking of short, I hit only about 1/3 of destinations that I researched, and because this is a family trip, and I have to put my fountain pen "excursions" at the appropriate level of priority (i.e. not the top).
Towards the end, I'll list the other fountain pen places in Tokyo that I didn't get to visit, at least this time.
With that, let's talk about the places that I did get to visit...
Kingdom Note
Right off the Shinjuku Station, you'll arrive to a maze of streets. To find the Kingdom Note fountain pen store, you just need to punch in Kingdom Note into Google Maps and weave your way amongst the crowd.
If you see a Wendy's at the other side of a very busy intersection, you're not far from the destination.
The front of the store is easy to spot. It looks like a very classy boutique and it says "Kingdom Note".
Inside, I was quite amazed with rows and rows of fountain pens very neatly displayed.
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| From one end of the store. |
The store is not at all large, the photo above was taken at one end of the store looking at the counter on the other end. Each of the display looks similar to this.
To put this in the right context, the likelihood of finding something like this in the United States is zero to none, so this is a pretty unusual (and cool) sight for me.
These pens are mostly modern, they are produced within the past 30 years or so. Although I mostly collect vintage pens from before 1960s, I can appreciate the pens on display here.
I had in mind to get a Japanese pen or two as a souvenir. I know another place in Tokyo who would actually have vintage pens, we'll come to that later.
The attendants in this store speak English well enough, so if you can't speak Japanese, it's not a big issue. I waited patiently for my turn and asked to see a Maruzen special edition pen on display. The attendant told me that she had another one for sale with a Fine nib. That's when I get to see the lower shelfs beneath these displays that she revealed where they store additional inventory. Next to the Maruzen pen, I spotted a Pilot Maki-e and I asked to see it as well.
So the attendant took the pens and arranged them on a tray. The attendant proceeded to fill the pen with ink, hand it over to me to try, and then wait. As a vendor at pen shows, it feels surreal to me to be treated similarly with what I extend to the people visiting my table.
After trying both the Maruzen and the Pilot Maki-e, I was torn to choose one. I like both, but I can't exhaust my souvenir budget on two pens in the first place that I visited, so I ended up choosing the Pilot.
Another customer was buying inks, so I chatted a bit with him who actually speaks decent English. That conversation reminded me that Kingdom Note has their own line of special inks. So I asked to see their ink catalog.
Ameyoko
The next day, we went to Ueno to visit the Ameyoko open street market. Besides sightseeing, I was peeling my eyes for anything that looks like a fountain pen store, which was documented to exist, more than one, actually.
The street is full of shops, and the shops are full of people, food was aplenty, many interesting things to see... but nothing looks even remotely like a fountain pen store.
As we approached the end of the street, I remembered one of the store names: Marui Syouten, and I punch it into Google Maps, I finally was able to find it.
It's not a store, rather, it's one of many indoor stalls which was part of the original market. The proprietor was nice enough and he understood enough English to be able to tell me the prices of his pens that I was looking at.
The pen inventory at this particular place is actually quite extensive, you can find anything from Esterbrook to Pelikan, some Platinum Izumo, and many more.
Again, all modern fountain pens, which is excellent if you're looking for one because the price is about 40% off from retail. I came very close to get the Pelikan M805 Stresemann on display with a very attractive price, unfortunately this place only accept cash, and we didn't have enough, so I had to bow out and continue with our journey.
I've left the breadcrumbs for you fountain pen hobbyist, should you find yourself in Ameyoko, this place should be on your list.
Now, let's head to the exciting part of this trip from the fountain pen POV.
Eurobox
My first encounter with Eurobox was when it was featured in a series of youtube videos years ago about "Fountain Pen Masters of Japan". And I have actually met the owner at the Dallas Pen Show. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's see how we can find it.
First you have to get to this building.
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| Japan, 〒104-0061 Tokyo, Chuo City, Ginza, 1 Chome−9−8 奥野ビル |
This building is located in Ginza only a few blocks from the glamorous stores for brands like LV, Patek Phillipe and their ilk. Eurobox has a website with the address, or you can punch in that address in the photo caption into Google Maps.
The best way to describe is building is "rustic". It's an old one for sure, but one which you can tell that both the landlord and the tenants agreed to keep it that way. Inside you'll see the cheerful mailboxes of various galleries and boutiques. Eurobox is one of them located on the 4th floor.
I took the stairs just to soak up the rustic ambiance, it's like stepping into a movie set in the 1950s.
When I finally found the store, it is as vintage as it could be, as a vintage fountain pen collector, I felt at home.
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| That giant Waterman surprisingly does not look out of place |
And that someone is Mr. Eizo Fuji.
When I arrived, there were a few people already inside. A couple were being tended by Mr. Eizo himself and I listened in to their conversation while browsing the pens in the display. This store is famous for its collection of vintage pens, plus a good selection of modern ones as well.
Besides the pens themselves, what caught my attention was these pen boxes representing Japan pen brands that I would never have known. So, from the vintage pen collector's perspective, a visit to this place is well-justified if only for the experience and the education.
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| I didn't ask but I assumed that the boxes are empty. |
When the couple concluded their business and left, I greeted Mr. Eizo, introduced myself and I told him that I remembered seeing him at the Dallas Pen Show. And that caught his attention. We chatted about vintage pens and pen shows.
He actually remembered down to the exact year when he last visited the US and attended some of the shows. He and I also have a mutual friend Pete Kirby who is a well-known vintage pen dealer/collector in the US.
I learned about versions of vintage Pilot pens that he has which I didn't know about. I ended up buying two pens from him, one of which required a little TLC, so he gave me a discount which was quite generous.
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| The Eurobox boss |
If you like vintage pens, Eurobox is a must visit. Chatting with Mr. Eizo alone is worth the time and effort, just make sure that you visit when he opens the place which is listed on a calendar on Eurobox website. To be perfectly clear, he doesn't have daily regular open hours.
Itoya Ginza
Again, this is our first time visiting Tokyo as a family. And my family was very accommodating, so I can't dedicate too much time just to pursue fountain pen stores. My last stop this time is none other than the Itoya flagship store in Ginza.
Eight floors of stationery and an event/meeting room and a cafe above those. It is amazing.
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| The ground floor which features new products |
From the fountain pen perspective, the 3rd floor is where all is at. I wasn't expecting anything beyond sightseeing, because on that floor, they mostly sell modern pens at retail price. I don't collect modern pens, and I certainly won't find bargains here.
I did see this in the corner of the customer service counter. It looks a tad bit like my workspace where I restore vintage pens. And it contrasts with the rest of the floor which is luxuriously laid out to display brand new pens.
Also nearby, there was a little display that caught my eyes. It turns out that their in-store brand Romeo has a model called "The Mighty" which allows customers to pick and choose the colors. So of course I had to get one as a souvenir. If anything, just to support such interesting way to "create" your own pen.
The whole system is simple, you chose the colors for 6 parts of the pen from the palette that you see in the photo, the black stencil shows what the pen would look like when assembled, and you fill out the form. A store clerk who speaks English helped me to fill out the form and told me to come back the next day to pick the pen.
And the resulting pen is not bad.
To complete the experience, how can I not also snag the Itoya special Kobe ink named "Golden Sepia".
The Places for Next Time
In closing, there are places like Muji and Loft which has a lot of stationery items, but only few fountain pens, so I didn't feature them in detail.
I can assure you dear readers that my family and I would like to revisit Japan. When we get a chance to be in Tokyo again, I would continue my FP exploration with these places:
- Pen Cluster
- Bungubox Tokyo
- Shoseikan
- Aurora (Sailor store)
- Maruzen
- Eboya
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