Japan 2024: Part 4, Fountain Pen Inks in Hiroshima, Okayama and Takamatsu

This is the fourth video in the series about my quest for rare and exclusive fountain pen inks in Japan, this time covering Hiroshima, Okayama and Takamatsu, with a lot of diversions this time. There were six bottles of ink, this time, and I think that the "Hiroshima Inks" September Leaves takes the honors for the best value ink... only $5 for an excellent bottle.

[@Jay_Bird]

I came here for the ink swatches but ended up enjoying the videography and storytelling even more. What a great video!! Thanks for sharing!

[@thewetpen]

Thank you :-) Glad that you appreciated the extra narrative

[@maxbembel2962]

I possibly enjoyed this more a a travelling vlog than because of the inks. You really raised your game lately, I am impressed!

[@thewetpen]

Thanks! I'm able to spend more time on videos like this because of all of the support that I've gotten from people buying those inks that I made 🙂

[@Art_culture_livin]

No matter how casual or simple things you talk we could listen it as a kid hearing fantasy stories... what a narration ❤

[@thewetpen]

Thank you :-)

[@idpasty]

These videos have deepened my love for inks. Your shots are so beautiful, the way you tell the stories of your adventures while searching for inks is so relaxing and engaging that I often find myself entranced. I can’t express adequately how much I look forward to your videos, they’re a highlight of my day whenever I watch them. Thank you! PS. I’m having serious travel envy from all the places you visit.

[@thewetpen]

These videos take quite a bit of time and energy to make, but hearing that people like you are really enjoying them makes it all worth it :-) Thank you! I suppose that I'd still make these videos, or something like them, even if people didn't watch... they're a good compliment to the journal that I keep while I travel, but it makes it much easier to keep up with them when I know that other people enjoy them too.

[@hopemurray5834]

I am enjoying these so much. You have such a gift for capturing the joy and sorrow in beautiful things. Thank you for sharing this with us.

[@philnaunton7181]

Amazing tour. I am totally envious of the amount and quality of stationary shops in the various locales in Japan. I have only one near where I dwell in Chicago of this type of shop, and it takes me 45 minutes to get to it from the Lake Front, so I only show up at Kinokuniya every six weeks or so. I was happy to see that they almost doubled their store size of late. There goes all my Mad Money. Thanks again for all your hard, but obviously enjoyable work.

[@thewetpen]

My pleasure :-) It's funny... the only shop that carries a good selection of inks and fountain pens around here is Kinokuniya Seattle 🙂 And it has fairly good prices, for being right downtown.

[@drnimish333]

Really attractive shape of the bottle of colour traveler ink. Good video. Keep it up 👍

[@PenArrowNation]

Thanks for another tour

[@llchapman1234]

That you for sharing your lovely travels and unique finds.

[@mipal7]

This is such a great series of unique inks! Thanks for doing these, and hope to see more in the future :)

[@thewetpen]

These videos are very much a pleasure for me to make :-) Glad you're enjoying them!

[@nibbedinthebud]

Blessed my weekend with this one

[@Laly7]

Thank you for your videos! This series is awesome!!

[@thewetpen]

Thanks Laly! Glad you're enjoying it 🙂

[@senior_ranger]

Such a delight to watch your vids. There is no better stationery channel on utube now. You've exceeded even Matt Armstrong, who had the best when he was active. Most rewarding for me is how you've melded the Japanese aesthetic into your vids. I love Japan, and your views and insights outdo even the native Japanese I watch (but then, none of them visit stationery stores!). I especially love that dark blue ink you swatched; disappointed you didn't get it into a pen though. I hope you keep doing this for a long, long time. Thank you for all the work that goes into sharing your experiences.

[@thewetpen]

Thank you 🙂 I really enjoyed Matt Armstrong's videos back when I was getting into pens again... his channel was already inactive at the time... but he is a fellow Seattle resident (if I'm not mistaken), so maybe I'll bump into him someday. I always want to put every ink into a pen, but this time, I had to work around my travel schedule and it just wasn't possible. I'll keep trying with future videos, though.

[@AndrewWertheimer]

Yes, Japan is wonderful especially when you get off the beaten path. Having a unique goal like unique inks helps you to enjoy Japan on another level. Taking that mountain trail did that too. Lovely video, as always. Love the Color Traveller idea of a travel bottle. Y880 is a great price for the Hiroshima Ink, except for the size. Okayama is one of my favorite prefectures. I have to go back again. Setouchi never disappoints. Never been to Usagi-ya. Bizenis my favorite pottery. Unglazed but the colors are amazing. The older Ko-Bizen-yaki is even more breathtaking. Okayama Ken has a guest house up on Hattoji (mountain) near there which was amazing with a thatched roof in case you are ever in the area. Love those Kokuyo notebooks too. I visited their new campus in Shinagawa and Haneda Terminal 3 ‘Garden’ (mall). Didn’t get too many original inks on my last trip except Kawagoe. Marugame-Jo is small but one of the original ones. Look forward to the next video and ordering your ink whenever you have time for a batch. Aloha

[@thewetpen]

I agree completely... there are so many places that I've visited and people who I have met who I would have never encountered without my search for inks... it's a wonderful way to travel, for me. I'm not at all sure that my girlfriend would agree, though 🙂

[@AndrewWertheimer]

@@thewetpenyes my partner is kindly patient as I hit yet another stationery shop (you need more ink or notebooks?) 😂. The trick is finding the place she enjoys and showing the same enthusiasm or meeting up at a certain time do we both can explore. I don’t think she would be patient for the multi city quest though 😀 It is good sometimes to travel with friends or alone to avoid this kind of thing. Everything in balance, ne

[@thewetpen]

@@AndrewWertheimer Exactly. Last year, I started the Japan trip alone, and she met me after two weeks, which worked nicely... I could really focus on what I wanted for a while, and then I could take it easy (mostly) when she got there.

[@AndrewWertheimer]

@@thewetpen excellent approach. Japan is so safe and easy to travel by train, so it allows pleasant explorations… especially with this exchange rate. Cheers

[@davidbyers7246]

Thankyou for another wonderful video, I always look forward to your videos.

[@thewetpen]

Thanks! And it's always nice to see your name in the comment section again 🙂

[@panopticonwillsaveus]

I lived in Takamatsu for five years, and frequently visited Okayama. Thanks for a trip down memory lane!

[@sahilparekh77]

Each scene says a story. Such high-quality content. Each ink color has such well explained story. Awesome stuff!

[@thewetpen]

Thanks! Glad you're enjoying the series 🙂

[@rahulshah1408]

You do a great job of bringing us with you on the adventure.

[@thewetpen]

@rahulshah1408 Thanks :-) Glad to hear you're enjoying it!

[@DaydreamsOfArne]

I've always wanted to go to japan getting inks from places I've been. I went to Hong Kong last year and made the mistake of not asking if they store I went to had any exclusive inks available. I love the videography! How simple yet well formulated it is, there is always a b-roll for every part of the story.

[@theda1786]

Been hanging out for this video - always a joy to see the spots you visit in Japan. Excellent work once again!

[@thewetpen]

Thank you!

[@danielharris531]

Incredibly beautiful videos. You do such an amazing job of capturing snippets of what it’s like to travel around Japan, and the swatches make excellent punctuation marks.

[@thewetpen]

Thank you 🙂

[@boshkodjordjevich7424]

Excellent video. I always look forward to your content. Thank you.

[@thewetpen]

@@boshkodjordjevich7424 Thanks!

[@paulmchugh1430]

I like the selection in this episode. The green inks were a bit pale. I am still a fan of darker inks, but the vast selection of ink varieties is incredible. I am going to go through your journeys to see if there are any that I should pursue. Looking forward to the next installment.

[@thewetpen]

Thanks! I generally don't like pale inks either, but I thought that the two greens very legible when I wrote with them, so I ended up liking them quite a bit.

[@derosa1989]

looking forward to part 5 ! the suspense is building...

[@thewetpen]

Just finishing up the video... you can expect it tomorrow 🙂

[@ErinDeCoste]

So in awe of your trip! I have to say, that color traveler green is one of my favorite shades of greens too! (I always call them St. Patrick’s day green ) The orange ink at the end reminds me of a sunrise glow (or at least that’s what I would paint with it)

[@thewetpen]

🙂 I'm glad you're making progress with the series! I really like that green, too... but I'm especially impressed by how vibrant it is while still shading well.

[@fifietdee]

Thank you for this lovely series . You have inspired me to hunt for exclusive inks in Japan.. I managed to go pen + message in Kobe and they were so friendly.. I got a Japanese pen and had the nib meister grind the nib to one of the nib grinds - they had three nib grinds to choose from , ofc I showed them your video and got the sage blue ink as well ! Thank you

[@thewetpen]

Ahh, I'm glad to hear it! And I'm glad to hear that the folks at Pen + Message also got a chance to see my video... I think that I emailed them, but never heard back. I need to go back there... I missed them on my recent trip.

[@starr-starr]

Oh my, that September Leaves is GORGEOUS - thank you for another wonderful trip from my couch

[@thewetpen]

Isn't it? I got really lucky there 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@buck-pucker]

I also was confused when I went into Hondori Hills. I went up the staircase, which I don't think i was supposed to... I did the same thing, going up Mt Misen without a clue what was in store...! It was honestly the best thing I did in Japan.

[@marnat5961]

Would love to see a trip to Okinawa and its islands

[@thewetpen]

I would love to go on that trip 🙂

[@queenkapiolani-rb8hk]

Lovely video . Re: Color Traveler Inks ; box says Made in Korea .

[@thewetpen]

I noticed that a little too late 🙂

[@aileensmith7716]

Years ago, we went to the Usagiya (OO-sah-geeh-ya) Kurashiki West location and they had all 38 limited edition store exclusive inks samples in adorable little square Tamiya 5ml bottles complete with miniature labels. I picked up every single one, with the exception of two colours, which were sadly sold out - the completionist in me died a little. They are Sailor made inks. I believe they have added a few more colours to that range of inks, now.

[@thewetpen]

I don't think I'll ever get a handle on Japanese pronunciation 🙂, but I appreciate the help! Sounds like you had a very lucky day... that would be amazing. I'm curious about the "Sailor" part... the website specifically says "local dying company"... are you certain that they're Sailor? Come to think of it, I don't know where Sailor is based.

[@aileensmith7716]

@@thewetpen Oh, interesting. I was told by someone that they were Sailor inks many years ago (2017) and I guess that's what stuck in my head. All the inks represent something in the local region, including the castles, gardens, and indigo, which Okayama is famous for. They are certainly well behave like Sailor inks. On a side note, I have thoroughly enjoyed your ink vlog, thank you for your hard work and good production.

[@ilikepens]

I want to go with you next time you go to Japan!

[@thewetpen]

Sounds good to me :-) I wonder if I could make a living leading Stationery Tours in Japan...

[@richardharker2775]

Goodness. So many choices, so little suitcase.

[@thewetpen]

So true!

[@romitdutta]

One day can you share all of yours inks collections?

[@thewetpen]

Hmmm. I have 500+ full-sized bottles of ink. If I spent no more than 10 seconds on each bottle, that would still be a video that's about an hour and a half long. But I guess I could show them in groups, and that would speed things up. I'll have to give it some thought 🙂

[@romitdutta]

@@thewetpen then we will wait for your long video or make it a group series but don't forget the hall of fame like thumbnail. Then it will be intresting video.

[@Eugensson]

These greens tho!

[@technoraptor7778]

Yall excited for the 2024 inkvent!!?? I'm pumped

[@thewetpen]

Ha! I'm really not sure that I'll do it again this year... but I guess I say that every year. I was pretty disappointed with the inks last winter, so we'll see. Maybe I'll make my own inkvent calendar this time.

[@kellyandthehorses2877]

If you sold an inkvent calendar of your favorite japanese inks even as samples, I'd buy that!!!​@thewetpen

[@technoraptor7778]

Honestly releasing a inkvent of your own with like a tour of the inks you've encountered on your travels would be kinda awesome. It would be like we shared the experience with you!

[@thewetpen]

@@technoraptor7778 I'd have to take another trip to Japan and bring back a dozen bottles of each ink. That would get heavy quickly... but it sounds like fun 🙂

[@Dosbomber]

I'll definitely be getting one. 2023 was my first.

[@edwardrutledge2765]

Love these. Can you provide links for online buying, hopefully they’ll accept shipment to USA?

[@thewetpen]

If you look up the shops on my Map (www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1ZzIXCrNTQ1QWo2PVVgfTQ3GbP_hjhfU&ll=35.6419364005856%2C139.93624856619806&z=10), most of the shops have a Google card with a website listed. Occasionally they ship, and even more occasionally they ship to the USA. I'm afraid that's probably the best I can do.

[@yertletheturtle5843]

We spent far more time in Mr. Donut than I care to admit while in Japan.

[@thewetpen]

It's hard to go wrong with Mr. Donut. I'm fascinated by the oddly rubbery consistency of their donuts... it reminds me of how food looked in old cartoons.