A Trip Around Pen Station

One of the many cool things about Japan is when you see something which should be everyday and commonplace, but yet is spiced up in some important (but often subtle) way.

I was on my way to some important business (actually an interview with a tent-full of thinly-disguised circus clowns masquerading as financial consultants), when I spotted something unusual about the cafe I was about to step in to:


　Take a closer look:

Pen station? Pilot?



　 Yes, this is the Pilot cafe and Museum - "the sole writing implement museum in Japan, showcasing a display of unique, fascinating pen and stationary from around the world" !

The mission of the museum is for visitors to "take home the message of knowledge".


　 Intriguingly, there is no sign of ridiculous-sounding items on the menu, as would be certainly a marketing necessity in Europe. If not "inky filtered coffee" and "ballpoint cheesecake", then at least "signature coffee" named after posh fountain pens.

　 None here, either. Interesting.

　 Now, when you come in, the first thing you see is a lit-up staircase, with every step telling you one part of the Pilot Corporation story.

　 Important milestones such as "1961 First ball point pen produced and marketed" lead you back in time to the founding of Pilot.

　 The top step :

　 So, having travelled back in time, we are now start from those early days and move forward:

　 The story starts with Wada Masao, who founded the company back in 1918, with Namiki Ryousuke as his right-hand man. Both wore round glasses and quite smart suits. The slogans of the company in those days were:

"Work together with a joyful spirit"

"Overcome difficulties"

"One day, one step forward"

So, we can assume that it was somewhat tough-going in the beginning.

The museum itself opened in 2002. However, although the visitor brochure recommends the cafe as "the perfect place to take a break after the exhibition", most visitors seem to go straight for the "relaxed, stylish Cafe", which is, in fact, very well presented.

I was impressed by the brochure's grammatically-correct-yet-still-Jinglish selling points:

"Chat away with company, and enjoy the view from the window as you sip on a warm, refreshing espresso. Our conveniently close proximity from Tokyo Metro's Kyobashi Station also make our Cafe' an ideal location to relax in while waiting for your company to arrive."

Next we come to a giant fountain pen.


　 Next to the giant pen there is a display cabinet fun of loads of different old-school pens.　

　 Now, this being Japan, you can naturally watch a documentary concerning the salient points of evolution of fountain-pen design. On a big flat screen. Of course.

　 And you can interactively learn about Pilot Corporation's different products in history:



　 However, for me, the most interesting aspect of the display was this fake-smoke machine. It really didn't add to the atmosphere, but was trying very hard to contribute, nonetheless.


　 So I was just getting around to the Iro Shizuku ("Colour Droplet") range...

　 When I was invited to check out the Classic Collection, by a very kind Iijima San, the director of the museum!


　 At the time, I didn't realise he was the director (only after I got his business card later), but he was very nice, and we ended up talking about fountain pens longer than I've ever talked with anyone about writing. He also used to live in China, and found that selling to the Chinese was...."challenging".


　 The other big challenge is getting people as concerned about their writing implement of choice in the digital age.

　 Iijima (飯島, "food island") San explained to be the difference between the different pens. It is, in fact, more complicated than you may think.

　 Can you see the difference between these two nibs?

　 No, nor could I. But the difference in writing experience is like night and day.

　 Tiny variations in the width of the points at the end of the nib, the width and length of the split in the nib, all contribute to the pen's defining hardness rating.
　
The eleven pens in the collection range from EF (Extra Fine), the hardest, to MS (Music), the softest, used only by musicians writing down notes. Writing with the hard pens gives you a feeling of Japanese-level precision, but I wouldn't recommend the hardest - this feels like writing while almost breaking something very fragile. The fat-nib pens give a fluid writing experience, but are inky and splashy. Everything in life is a trade-off, it seems.


　 The next-fattest pen after MS, C ("Kousu", presumably "Coarse"), is favoured by foreigners. I have to admit, it did provide an unusually smooth and comfortable writing experience. However, Japanese characters, especially detailed ones, come out all smudgy.


　 Iijima San even honoured me with allowing me to have a go on his personal fountain pen, a member of the retractable Capless range (retails at around $180 per pen), which seemed to be of a medium-hardness.　

Still fluid, but with clearer and crisper than a wide nib.　

　 As for the cafe', I unfortunately ran out of time, but it is a nice place, really.

For more Japan writing-instrument information, see this site.