Japan Trip Journal: Day One (Travel Day)

And we’re off! This will be my last dispatch from the U.S. before we land in Japan in approximately 20 hours. I say “approximately” because departure has been delayed out of LAX for two hours, but at least we have some time to catch up and decompress. (This is a three-layover, 25+ hour journey, which I’ve not done in many, many years.)

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My everyday pen case for this trip will be my Rickshaw Fillmore, and my everyday notebook a TGS_25 Roterfaden (we hope to have more this summer).

So here’s where things stand, stationery-wise. I posted earlier that I was considering a two-pen carry. That did not happen, though I did thin out my notebooks a bit and made my bag a bit lighter. You can read more about how I chose my gear for this trip in last week’s post, but future posts will focus more on new discoveries.

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I added another fountain pen for the trip - a Pilot Custom Heritage 92 - as well as a few gel pens.

Despite a busy schedule, I plan to do regular trip updates, even if they might not be daily. You can expect store visits, haul posts, and just some general commentary and observations from a place I’ve never visited before. Stay tuned, and also watch the TGS Instagram and YouTube accounts!

Things will remain business as usual in Nashville while I’m gone! Come see TGS in our Nashville showroom, open regular hours this week (Thursday and Friday 1-6pm and Saturday 10am-5pm).

New Arrivals: Zebra Sarasa Clips in ALL the Colors, Plus Pilot Frixion Waai!

I may be leaving for Japan tomorrow morning, but that doesn’t mean new arrivals aren’t still flooding into the shop. Coincidentally, we just received a massive shipment of Japanese gel pens, including the Zebra Sarasa Clips in 20 different colors and four tip sizes (.3mm, .4mm, .5mm, and .7mm), as well as the “Milk” and “Decoshine” collections in .5mm. The latter are perfect for writing on black paper, such as these Black Edition Notepads from Craft Design Technology!

We also have a restock of the erasable Pilot Frixion Waai, now available in individual colors instead of a five-pack. There are eight new pens, with the Black, Bronze, and Cherry additions being particularly legible and well-saturated for Frixions. Enjoy!

Come see these and more in our Nashville showroom, open regular hours this week (Thursday and Friday 1-6pm and Saturday 10am-5pm).

Sunday Reading for May 17, 2026

1. TGS Mystery Box May 2026 - What Did I Get? (via dwrdnet). Derek unboxes the first Curated Box of 2026! As a note, the box shown in this video is one of the curated stationery boxes that we do every few months through our Patreon program, which are distinct from the Mystery boxes we currently have on offer in our clearance section.

2. At the Swap Meet (via Typewriter Revolution). A fun event for typewriter enthusiasts, as people thin out their collections.

3. Unplug and Get Off Grid For a While: Tactile Turn’s Newest Seasonal Design Pen (via Inkdependence). Since I’m going on Japan, I need to be on a no-buy for the next three days, but this one is hard to resist. Maybe when I get back….

4. The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword…the Conway Stewart Indiana Jones (via Figboot on Pens). I typically dislike movie collaboration as well - just not my thing - but this one is well-executed.

5. Video Review: Pilot Custom Heritage 91 (via Scrively). Did an orange Custom Heritage 91 just go on my Japan shopping list?

6. What’s in the Bag for Stationery Park? (via Pen Addict). Kimberly’s off to another stationery show adventure and show’s us what she’s bringing along. I love a good bag dump video.

7. Pen Show Schedule - Updated! (via Well-Appointed Desk). Ana runs what is probably the most comprehensive pen show calendars on the internet. I agree with her point that there really is no “pen show season” anymore - there’s something happening year-round!

8. Platinum Classic Lavender Black Ink Review (via Pen Addict). The Platinum “Classic” series are some of the more interesting inks out there by virtue of the fact that they contain iron gall, which as Sarah points out allows them to be both permanent and shade.

In Case You Missed It…

It’s been busy around here getting ready for what I hope is an epic two weeks away! This past week we released Episode 9 of On The Paper Trail, which includes a discussion of the On The Paper Trail Live Event that will take place in Nashville October 16-18. (Tickets are now on sale and hotel information is also live.) I spent most of yesterday on back-office matters, including updating a new “Events” page that contains information on which pen shows and other events we will be attending for the rest of the year.

This Week in The T.G.S. Curated Shop (And Last Call for Mystery Boxes)

Our goal for this week was to get all of our inventory backlog processed before I’m out of the country, so that my colleagues don’t have to deal in my absence. :) In addition to the new Lamy Safaris in Neon Yellow and Neon Pink, we now have Pilot Metropolitan fountain pens, rollerballs, and ballpoints, the entire lineup of Zebra Sarasa Clip gel pens, new Lochby 6-ring binders, and a whole lot more! Finally, all mystery boxes will be removed from the shop this evening at 5pm CT. Last Call!

Be sure to check out each week’s Thursday Drops post for a full list of the new arrivals, and these posts will continue for the next two weeks since I’m on a work trip, not vacation.

Kaweco

Lochby

Craft Design Technology

Zebra Sarasa

As a reminder, the online store will continue to be open with orders shipping regularly, and our Nashville showroom will remain open regular hours (Thursday and Friday 1-6pm and Saturday 10am-5pm) during my absence. Please be patient if we do take a bit longer to respond to e-mails and social media inquiries due to travel.

How YOu Can Support us further: Visit Us on Patreon

If you enjoy our content (whether here on the main website, Instagram, YouTube Channel or elsewhere), and would like early/extra access to shop releases and special promotions, consider supporting us via Patreon. In addition to exclusive content, Discord access, and online meetups, Patreon supporters have access to one or more initial “practice” episodes of “On the Paper Trail” which have not been publicly released.

Japan Travel Update: Schedule and New Events Page, and Remaining Mystery Boxes

As many of you may have heard (especially if you listened to the most recent On The Paper Trail Episode), I am off to Japan for a two week stationery excursion! In my absence, I wanted to update you all regarding the shop and how things will work in my absence. In short - nothing changes! I have help now, so the Nashville store will remain open during regular store hours, and online orders should continue to ship regularly though they might take an extra business day starting middle of next week. We will be checking e-mail and comments, but please understand that responses may be delayed due to my being on a different time zone.

Site Updates: Check Out the New Events Page, Plus Buy Tickets for On The Paper Trail Live in Nashville!

I’ve added a new “Events” page, which will list our upcoming pen show attendance and other in-store and special events we will be hosting. This includes On The Paper Trail: Live in Nashville, which will take place in Nashville on October 16-18, 2026. Tickets are available and can be purchased through the link as weekend passes or individual day passes. Finally, all remaining Mystery Boxes from the clearance section need to be ordered by close of business tomorrow. As I noted, I’m personally packing and fulfilling these so they need to go out in advance of my departure.

Come see us this weekend! We are open in Nashville (and I’m still here until Tuesday)! Regular hours are 1pm-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-5pm on Saturday.

Thursday Drops: Filling in the Gaps with Pilot and Kaweco, Plus a Major Lochby Restock and MYSTERY BOXES!

The theme from this month so far has been “filling in the gaps” with core offerings from brands like Pilot and Kaweco that we have been meaning to offer but due to availability and/or space issues, have not been able to stock until recently! This week, we received a large shipment of Pilot Metropolitan fountain pens and rollerballs/ballpoints, as well as Pilot Parallels and Kaweco Sport rollerballs, ballpoints, and mechanical pencils. You should now be able to complete fountain pen and ballpoint/pencil sets. We’ve also restocked on most of our Lochby cases - including the popular Field Sling - and have added all of the Lochby 6-ring Field Binders, which is an exciting addition to their lineup.

Last but not least, we’ve assembled a series of curated Mystery Boxes in our Clearance section! These were made available to T.G.S. Patreon Members yesterday, and we have several additional boxes left for the general readership. Please read the product description for what each box entails. It’s been a lot of fun to put these together over the past few days.

Come see these and more in person this weekend! We are open standard hours, 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and 10am-6pm on Saturday. Be sure to check our posted shop hours for any updates.

1. Pilot Metropolitan Fountain Pens. We’ve added the excellent Pilot Metropolitan fountain pen to our general lineup. Available not just in fine and medium, but also in the unique medium stub/italic.

2. Pilot Metropolitan Ballpoints and Rollerballs. An often overlooked daily driver, the Metropolitan rollerball accepts Pilot G2 and other similarly sized refills, and the ballpoint uses the excellent Dr. Grip-style cartridge.

3. Pilot Custom 912. We now have the Pilot Custom 912 in all “soft” nib designations, including my favorite Soft Fine Medium! For an overview of Pilot’s “Custom” series and where the Custom 912 fits in, check out this post from a couple weeks ago.

4. Pilot Parallel Calligraphy Pens. One popular in-store request has been for the Pilot Parallel series of calligraphy pens, featuring Pilot’s “parallel plate” nibs in sizes ranging from 1.5mm all the way up to 6.0mm.

5. TWSBI Vac700R. We’ve restocked on TWSBI’s Vac700R, including the standard clear version as well as what looks like it may be the last run of Kyanite Blue, so don’t sleep on those if you want one.

6. Kaweco Classic Sport Ballpoints, Rollerballs, and Mechanical Pencils. Looking for a rollerball, ballpoint, or mechanical pencil to match your Kaweco fountain pen? The rollerball takes the universal Parker-style refill, and the ballpoint is a D1, so you can mix and match refill styles to create whatever type of pen you want, really.

7. Platinum Preppy Black Limited Editions. Platinum’s latest limited edition Preppy release is an all-Black version (with yellow, white, or orange writing). It’s a sharp looking update to the Preppy and I hope they make this a standard.

8. Lochby Field Binders (6-Ring). Lochby brings the popular 6-ring binder format to its line of waxed canvas covers. Available in A5, A6, and A7, you can also purchase 68g Tomoe River 6-ring refills.

9. Lochby Sidekick v.2. The Sidekick is back (in Charcoal, at least). Lochby’s A7 wallet/pocket notebook cover returns after a bit of a redesign, including the incorporation of RFID blocking technology.

10. Lochby Field Sling. Last but not least, the popular “Field Sling” A5 bag returns in all colors. We have these available to see in-person in store as well.

Our sample closet needs cleaning out!