Sailor traces its name to a chance encounter: in 1911, Kyugoro Sakata was introduced to the fountain pen by a visiting British sailor, and the pen so impressed him that he and his brother built a company around it in Hiroshima the same year.
Best for Japanese gold-nib fountain pens from the maker that pioneered cartridge
Sailor traces its name to a chance encounter: in 1911, Kyugoro Sakata was introduced to the fountain pen by a visiting British sailor, and the pen so impressed him that he and his brother built a company around it in Hiroshima the same year. The company went on to produce the first fountain pen with a gold nib made in Japan, became the first Japanese manufacturer of ballpoint pens in 1948, invented cartridge-ink technology in 1954 (releasing it publicly in 1958), and developed 21-karat gold nibs in the 1960s — a run of firsts that put a small Hiroshima workshop at the center of Japan's writing-instrument industry.
Production has stayed rooted in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, through more than a century of the company's history; Sailor's head office itself moved back to Kure in April 2021 after decades based in Tokyo, and the company marked a rebuilt Hiroshima factory facility with a ceremony in October 2022. Sailor is publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange today, manufacturing fountain pens (the 1911 and Pro Gear lines among them), ballpoints, dip pens, mechanical pencils, and its own bottled inks.
The gold nib remains the house's signature: Sailor grinds and tunes its own nibs in-house, in widths and shapes (including its distinctive angled Naginata-style cuts) not commonly offered by Western makers, and the company's "where to buy" network of authorized dealers spans Japan and international pen specialists.
Daimaru Fujii Central is a stationery specialist in central Sapporo, with shopping floors and a gallery in the same building. Its history links paper trading with art supplies, while the current shop offers original stationery alongside its wider selection. Designs inspired by Sapporo landmarks appear on some of its pens, giving visitors a locally themed alternative to standard stationery.
Best for Stationery and Sapporo-themed original pens
Eurobox is an independent multi-brand fountain-pen specialist on the fourth floor of Ginza’s Okuno Building, carrying Japanese and European pens, including vintage and collectible pieces.
Best for Vintage Pelikan and Montblanc pens, repairs and collectible Japanese pens
Eurobox, on the fourth floor of Ginza's Okuno Building at 1-9-8 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, is a different kind of house: an independent, multi-brand specialist rather than a manufacturer's own outlet. Its own site, euro-box.com, lists opening hours of 12:00-17:30 and confirms it deals in Pelikan, Lamy, and Montblanc alongside Japanese-made pens, spanning both new stock and collectible pieces.
According to secondary Tokyo pen-shop guides (narratess.com, timeout.com), Eurobox is known particularly for vintage Pelikan and Montblanc, is run by an English-speaking proprietor identified as Eizo Fujii, and offers on-site repair — the kind of hands-on specialist trade that distinguishes a dedicated pen shop from a general stationer like Itoya. These are third-party accounts, not statements from the shop's own site, and are presented as such.
For overseas buyers, euro-box.com states shipping is handled by "EMS(Japan Post)" with rates tiered by package weight, and the site accepts credit cards, Amazon Pay, bank transfer, and convenience-store payment.
Historic 12-floor stationery emporium founded in 1904. Fountain pens, washi paper, leather accessories, and art supplies from around the world. The 'Gift Lounge' offers same-day wrapping in exquisite.
Best for Fountain pens, washi paper, leather accessories
A stationery shop in Kuramae selling fountain, rollerball, dip and glass-nib pens, inks, notebooks and letter papers, with a custom notebook binding and refill service and a bespoke ink-blending counter for made-to-order ink.
Nakaya was founded in 1999 by Toshiya Nakata, president of Platinum Pen Co., Ltd., who set out to preserve a craft Platinum's own mass production had left behind: hand-lacquered urushi fountain pens turned and finished one at a time.
Best for Made-to-order urushi-lacquer fountain pens hand-finished by veteran ex-Platinum craftsmen.
Nakaya was founded in 1999 by Toshiya Nakata, president of Platinum Pen Co., Ltd., who set out to preserve a craft Platinum's own mass production had left behind: hand-lacquered urushi fountain pens turned and finished one at a time. The trade name reaches further back still, to the Nakaya Manufacturing Company of 1924, Platinum's own predecessor — so the shop's name is not a borrowed flourish but the company's actual point of origin. Nakaya operates from Higashi-Ueno in Tokyo's Taito-ku, and by its own account began business together with veteran craftsmen who had already spent more than forty years working urushi at Platinum before the new company gave them a workshop built entirely around that skill.
The pens are built on ebonite bodies and finished in traditional Japanese lacquer techniques — maki-e gold and silver inlay, layered tame-nuri, raised takamaki-e relief, shell-inlaid raden, pear-skin-textured nashiji — each requiring repeated coats and weeks of curing before a barrel is considered finished. Nakaya makes pens to order rather than to stock: buyers choose ebonite or titanium construction, a lacquer finish, and a nib the company tunes against a study of the individual's own handwriting, with after-sales tuning available once the pen is in use.
There is no walk-in showroom in the Western retail sense — Nakaya sells through a network of authorized retailers listed on its own site — but the workshop's identity is unmistakable: a small group of lacquer specialists making pens the old way, at the address where Platinum's own pen-making lineage effectively continues under a different name.
Hands Shibuya is a multi-level shop in Udagawacho, with a product-location tool to help visitors find items such as notebooks and pens. Its branch website lists cutting and processing services alongside personalisation, with separate reception times for these activities. Workshops and temporary displays add another reason to consult the store's programme before planning a visit.
Best for Stationery shopping and practical making services in Shibuya
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