2020 was the year of online events, glass pens, pocket pens, e-commerce, and pastel-colored chromo-shading inks.

Major trends in Japan this year: Brands, events, and more. One new ink maker made a big splash. This post is part of a collaborative year-end summary by our Tokyo pen group.

Tokyo International Pen Show (TIPS) and pen club Wagner’s autumn event, in one weekend!

All sought-after store-exclusive Sailor inks, normally only sold in remote brick-and-mortar stores, finally available in Tokyo, for two days.

Pen Trading in Tokyo (ペントレ) is an annual pen show organized by “Pen Collectors of Japan”. It is arguably the place to find rare Japanese pens, and thus attended by some of the most dedicated collectors around. It is not just about vintage pens though. This year’s show was the 19th. It was a three-day event, with the first day focused on presentations, paraphernalia, and Kakuno hacking, and the two remaining days on gold-nibbed pens, new and old.

Wagner is a Japanese pen club that I have previously written about. On December 30th, Wagner held a year-end meetup and sale event at their favorite venue in Ryogoku. As usual, there were plenty of exotic pens available, including Wagner-commissioned limited runs, various vintage pens, and other rare items such as y.y Pen Club’s red Sailor Realo. A new ink, a turquoise iron gall one called 喜望峰 (Cape of Good Hope), was available for testing and pre-order.

This autumn was a busy time for stationery fans in Tokyo, with no less than four events between late September and early October. Starting it off was Pelikan Hubs. The one in Tokyo was held in trendy Meguro, in Atlas Tower near Naka-meguro station. It was my first time joining, so I didn’t know what to expect, but around 20 people showed up, almost half of them foreigners. Most people had brought far more exotic pens than I did, including vintage Pilots, rare anniversary Sailor KOPs, Bokumondoh-customized Pelikans, and more.