Kokuyo Sokuryo-Yacho: The original Japanese field notebook

(Original Mai-bun.com article. Written by Takuya Takahashi. Translated by Bruce Eimon.)

Did you know Japan has its very own field notebook? As its name implies, Sokuryo (survey) Yacho (field notebook), was originally designed for civil engineers to record measurements in the field.

Originally released by Kokuyo in 1959, it is a long-seller that is about to celebrate its 60th birthday. While it has been a long-time stalwart at construction sites, it is steadily gaining popularity with the general public for its handy size and sturdy build-quality. Its die-hard fans have even come up with a term for themselves - “Yacho-lers.”

What I want to highlight here is how this is an excellent notebook even for an office environment. I have a job at a large corporation (known in Japan as a “salary-man”), as far as can be from a construction site, but I still find it to be an excellent carry-everywhere notebook for my work. Let’s start by taking a look at the specs of the Sokuryo-Yacho.

This is a slim size that fits nicely in a jacket pocket. Its dimensions are 165mm (6.6”) x 95mm (3.8”) x 6mm (0.24”), which is roughly the width of American Field Notes, but about an inch taller.

It fits easily in a suit pocket, and won’t add any bulk when carried with your planner or other notebooks. I particularly like how thin it is.

The cover is thick cardboard imprinted with a cloth-like texture. It has a sturdy no-frills aesthetic.

The hard cover is sturdy enough to give you plenty of stability to write while standing.

The paper is high quality fine paper that handles fountain pens with ease. The paper is easy to turn and has a nice smooth surface. I feel 40 sheets (80 pages) is just the right amount, neither too thick nor too thin.

Three different layouts are provided for three different surveying use cases: Level, Transit, and Sketch Book.

The most popular layout for the general public seems to be the “SKETCH BOOK”, which offers a 3mm grid. The simplicity of the design offers great freedom and versatility. Let me show some of the ways I like to use them.

Since this easily fits in my jacket pocket and is thin enough to be carried with other notebooks, it is great as a dedicated To-do list notebook that can be carried everywhere.

It can even be used as a highly portable bullet journal.

I also like to carry one around as a notebook to collect ideas I have when I’m out and about. Such moments of brilliance can easily get lost if buried in my regular notebooks, so I like having a dedicated notebook for this.

You can even slip it into the cover of your planner.

Given its size and versatility on the go, this is a great notebook to capture small snippets of information and even advice you get from your boss and colleagues. As you burn through them with nuggets of wisdom, I recommend you number them sequentially before your archive them. Looking back, they will serve as a visual reminder of how much experience you have gained over the years, boosting your confidence at work.

This is a simple, yet versatile, all-around notebook. I can guarantee that it will come in handy at the workplace.

Recommended for:

• People who need to take a lot of notes at work.
• People who tend to lose their T0-do lists.
• People who need to better organize their random ideas scattered in several notebooks.
• Young people who have a lot they need to learn at their new jobs.

Information: Sokuryo-Yacho, Kokuyo

(This article was originally written for GetNavi.jp and modified for republishing.)

Five Stationery Stores Not to Be Missed in Taipei, Taiwan

(Original Mai-bun.com article posted 11/29/2017. Written by Takuya Takahashi. Translated by Bruce Eimon.)

The people of Taiwan are just as passionate about their stationery as the people of Japan. Similar to Japan, there are strong communities of people who love their stationery and planners, and you will readily find bookstores and gift shops that carry a wide variety of such products. Last November I had the opportunity to visit Taipei with my close stationery friends, and here are the ones I was most impressed by.

Everything trendy in Taiwan under one roof: eslite Xinyi Store (誠品書店 信義旗艦店)

The eslite bookstore is one of the most prominent bookstores in Taiwan that also carries a wide variety of stationery and lifestyle products. It is known amongst local people as the place where you can find “all of the trends in Taiwan under one roof.”

On this trip I had the opportunity to visit eslite Xinyi (誠品書店 信義旗艦店), their flagship store. Not only do they tout to be one of the largest bookstores in Asia, but the building also houses approximately 150 stores from Taiwan and around the world.

The stationery departments are on the 2nd and 4th floors. The 2nd floor has an area for high-end writing instruments, with an impressive selection of fountain pens from around the world. [Image 2 eslite inside.jpg] When I visited in November, there was a special display of 2018 planners by the registers - just like you would see in Japan!

Here you can also find local Taiwanese products as well as eslite’s private brand products.

On the 4th floor you will find more casual products for daily use.

I was especially impressed by their display of colored pencils!

Their product displays were quite different from what I am used to seeing in Japan - everything was so accessible that I couldn’t keep myself from reaching out and trying things. Their wrapping paper and ribbon section was also quite impressive.

As a trend-setter of Taiwanese culture, you will find eslite bookstores in many neighborhoods, with each store having its own unique theme/character. It is a store you surely will not want to miss when you visit Taiwan.

A place to enjoy functional stationery, coffee, and craft beer: Plain Stationery Homeware & Cafe（直物文具Café)

This is a store run by one of my stationery friends, Mr. Tiger Shen.

You will find a range of functional stationery curated by Mr. Shen as well as tasteful houseware.

He also has a line of his own products, with the latest addition being rubber stamps.

These are cute stamps that are perfect for decorating your planner.

According to Mr. Shen, these fountain pen ink cataloging stamps were quite popular when he took them to Japan. There is also a space to play with calligraphy pens, which is quite the “thing” in Taiwan now.

In the back of the store there is a space you can enjoy local tea, coffee, and even craft beers.

It is a charming store where you can enjoy good stationery and good drinks. What more could one ask? I love this place.

Mr. Shen speaks good Japanese, so don’t be scared to ask him questions.

Where you can find charming stationery & houseware: VVG Thinking

The Huashan 1914 Creative Park houses many fashionable gift shops and boutiques. This is a commercial zone that was built back in 1914 on the site of an old sake (rice wine) distillery. VVG Thinking (好様思維) is a store in this complex that carries antique books, select housewares, and stationery.

You will also find a wide variety of gifts and stationery products made in Taiwan.

It is walking distance from Plain Stationery Homeware & cafe（直物文具Café), so I highly encourage you to check out both.

A sanctuary for Taiwanese stationery lovers: TOOLS to LIVEBY（禮拜文房具)

TOOLS to LIVEBY（禮拜文房具）is a place that many Taiwanese stationery lovers refer to as their ultimate stationery sanctuary. Inside the store that looks like a renovated garage, you will find, fashionable stationery from all around the world, with no room to spare. The display is tasteful and well thought out.

They also sell original products and bags. It is a perfect place to stock up on gifts.

This is a magical space where a whole day will pass without noticing if you are not careful.

A store with a great selection of Japanese stationery: Vision Stationery (明進文房具)

A short walking distance from TOOLS to LIVEBY（禮拜文房具）is Vision Stationery (明進文房具). This is a stationery store with a great selection of Japanese products. Here you will get a feel for which Japanese products are popular in Taiwan. There are not many local products, but I found some interesting washi masking tapes.

They also carry store-branded Kokuyo Field Notes as well as a original rubber stamps.

Taipei is merely a 4 hour flight from Tokyo, and even closer from Osaka. With many low-cost carrier competing for your business, it has become very easy for Japanese people to visit Taiwan. If you like stationery, I urge you to treat yourself to a stationery tour of Taipei, Taiwan!

Infomation

eslite Xinyi Store (誠品書店 信義旗艦店) (Map)

Plain Stationery Homeware & cafe（直物文具Café）(Map)

VVG Thinking (好様思維) (Map)

TOOLS to LIVEBY（禮拜文房具) (Map)

Vision Stationery (明進文房具) (Map)

Netto de Techo Kobo (Online Planner Bindery): A Customized Bound Planner Just for You

(Original Mai-Bun article published on 10/02/2017. Written by Makiko Fukushima. Translated by Bruce Eimon)

This is the time of the year when people start thinking about which datebook/planner to buy for the coming year. Despite all the different products out there, it is frustrating when you can’t quite find that perfect one for you. (There are literally hundreds of different kinds of planners sold in Japan. There is even an event called the 100 Planner General Election, where you get to try 100 different planners and vote for your favorite one!) If you are one of those picky planner users, why not make your very own for next year?

Making my own datebook? That’s gotta be hard, no? No worries, this September, a new service was launched: Netto de Techo Kobo (Online Datebook Bindery).

This is an online service that lets you design a 200 page perfect-bound planner and have it delivered right to your doorsteps. Most custom book binding services like this require a minimum order of 100 copies. What is revolutionary about this service is that it is specifically designed for producing single copies. Each order will put you back 5400 yen (approx. $45 USD).

Oh and by the way, this isn’t a service run by a bunch of twenty-somethings working out of their garage. This is a service offered by Canon IT Solutions, a subsidiary of the company known for producing high quality cameras and printers. It was the winning project of an internal innovation contest, entered by their very own stationery fanatic, Mr. Tadashi Ono.

All you have to do is create an account and follow the instructions. The sign-up and design steps can all be done for free. You can even print out watermarked sample pages at home. Once you confirm your order and enter your payment information, your planner will be delivered to you in 3 to 4 weeks.

The following is my experience of trying this service:

Adding my touch #1: I don’t use the monthly calendar pages.

I usually use a weekly left format (horizontal date pages on the left, note pages on the right), and hardly ever use the monthly calendar pages. Most planners have monthly calendar pages taking up two pages per month. I opted to condense these to a single page per month, covering two months per spread. The system offers a template for this, so the only thing I had to change was the font and the line color to suit my taste.

Adding my touch #2: I don’t want to miss any birthdays, including those of my pets.

The service supports the uploading of CSV files with personal birthdays and anniversaries, so you can easily have these very special dates show up in your monthly or weekly pages. This is super useful! I set it up so that they will show up in both. Not only did I upload the birthdays of my friends and family, but I also uploaded work related anniversaries and the birthdays of my two cats.

Adding my touch #3: I like a simple and clean aesthetic.

I’m a fan of the weekly horizontal format. In order to keep the design simple, I started with the weekly horizontal template and tweaked the fonts and the line colors. I chose gray lines, removed references to auspicious days (Rokuyou), and included only the date numbers. For the right pages, I kept them blank.

Adding my touch #4: I don’t want to wait until January 1.

One nice thing about this service is that you can have your planner start whenever you want it to. So rather than ordering it and having it collect dust for 3 months, I had it start from the projected delivery date in October! You don’t even have to have it span a whole year - you can design a 6 month planner, or even one that starts on your birthday!

Adding my touch #5: Making room for my Washi-tape collection.

Since I like to collect washi-tape, I designed a section to catalog my new acquisitions. I designed a format where I can paste both the tape and the labels. I specifically made sure there would be enough space for both the front and back labels. This is an example where I didn’t use one of the provided formats, but designed my very own format and uploaded it as a PDF file.

Adding my touch #6: For my list pages, I used pink lines.

I like the grid format in general, but I usually don’t like the color of the lines used in most notebooks. Since I get to use whatever color I want, I chose a faint pink line. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out! It is awesome that I get to choose the colors of the font, the lines, and even the background for every single page.

Adding my touch #7: I made special pages for my two cats.

I uploaded pictures of my two beloved cats, Cookie and Anko, so that I could have pages specifically devoted to write down my favorite memories of them. The colors turned out really nice. I know there are a lot of people who like to paste pictures of their pets in their planners , but this way I don’t have to worry about the bulk from the pasted photographs. It is also a nice way to carry with you the pictures of your loved ones wherever you go.

This is a planner that gives you complete freedom with the format and the content. What I showed you was very specific to my likes and needs, and what you end up designing is going to be completely different from mine. How fun is that!?

Until now, a planner was something we had to choose from what was available at the stores. Yes, there are filofax-type planners where you can pick and choose your refills, but it was impossible to customize a perfect-bound planner to your liking. Of course, you would always have to write in all of your birthdays and anniversaries, and you were bound by the lines and space provided by the publishers.

Netto de Techo Kobo flipped all of these “norms” on its head. Why not make your one-and-only planner that fits you like a glove?

Recommended for:

• People who aren’t quite happy with the planners available in stores.
• People who have a meticulous attention to detail and know exactly what they want.
• People who don’t want to be bothered by having to enter their birthdays and anniversaries into their planners every year. Information Netto de Techo Kobo | Canon IT Solutions