Ink, Ink, Ink!

One of the first thing every stationary fan in Japan learns is that ink is king. The last several years have seen the country swept up what’s called “Ink-numa” (literally: “Ink Swamp”, but think along the lines of “Ink Fever”) The intense ink craze has created a market for dip pens and glass pens especially. Nowhere is the ink craze more apparent than Ink, Ink, Ink, a special event held every summer at the Itoya stationary store in Ginza. Over a thousand inks are gathered for visitors to try, and if they so choose, buy.

One of several rows stacked with inks to try

Itoya provides each visitor a Pilot Iro-utsushi dip pen, a packet of tissues for cleaning and an ink swatch booklet to take samples. Outside pens are not permitted, but visitors are free to use their own notebooks if they prefer. There are glasses of water spread intermittently between the inks for cleaning pens as well. The staff was very quick to change the water as it got too dirty which meant there was never a risk of inks mixing together. The event is ticketed which prevents it from getting over-crowded. There are three time slots each day for three weekends. The price is one thousand yen per visitor which includes the pen and notebook.

Ferris Wheel Press

So how was the event? As someone relatively new to the stationary world, I had a blast. I stayed for the entire time and still didn’t manage to try every ink. Admittedly, I spent a lot of time just looking around before deciding where to start. In the end, I managed to get about three hundred of the inks sampled in my notebook, barely a dent in the total number fo inks on display. The inks were grouped by brand with the colors and number of inks varying for each one. A few standouts where the Taiwanese brand Lennon Tool Bar which had, among others, a series of inks based on different teas such as oolong and matcha. Ferris Wheel Press had a comprehensive display as well, and I got to finally try glitter inks like their Sunlit Jade and Moonlit Jade (I ended up buying a bottle of Sunlit Jade at a later date. It’s BEAUTIFUL). Itoya also featured two original inks from their Cocktail line: Ginza Garden Green and Ginza Magic Hour. I ended up buying a bottle of the green at the event along with a bright pink Ink Bar ink called Cosmopolitan.

Itoya Cocktail Ink

All in all, I thought the event was smoothly run. Staff were helpful and kept a steady supply of clean water and tissues and there was never a feeling of being pressured to buy something or leave. Despite visiting during one of the last time-slots, there wasn’t a single ink that was out of stock, not even the limited editions. My only nitpick was that just about every ink I saw was one I’d already seen in another stationary store. It would have been cool to see some more international inks or some inks from smaller companies that could have used the boost. With next year looking to be the first in several for Japan to allow foreign visitors, I would love to see the event expanded to include a more diverse variety of inks. That said, it was an invaluable opportunity to experiment with a wide range of inks without having to worry about paying for hundreds of colors (though I came out of the store with quite the shopping list). With a fairly low price of admission and a souvenir pen, the only barrier to entry is whether or not you can stand getting ink on your fingers. If you can, the event is a can’t miss for even the most casual stationary or calligraphy hobbyist.