A Visit to the Traveler's Factory in Tokyo
On an unassuming street in Nakameguro, 25 minutes south of Tokyo Station, stands the original Travelers Factory. The area has trendy vibes, and what could be more trendy than Traveler's Company? It’s easy to forget that the brand was only established in 2006. In a relatively short period it’s become so well known for quality journals with exceptional paper. One could be excused for thinking Traveler’s products had been accompanying explorers for hundreds of years.
It’s no secret that the paper in all Traveler’s Company products is from Midori MD and in fact, until 2015 the product traded as Midori. First came the iconic leather journals. In 2010 a range of gorgeous raw brass accessories – ones that, like the leather on your journal, will age and develop character with use. The range has continued to develop to allow travelers to create the perfect journal to suit their needs.
Opened in 2011 and housed it what used to be a paper processing factory, there now stands a ground floor shop, with a cafe and workshop on the 1st floor. You can’t help but be inspired when entering the store. Examples and ‘how to’ displays fill the space and ‘sample’ journals across various formats have been populated by the talented staff in store.
The Traveler’s Company range in store includes leather journals, a large selection of refills, brass pens and pencils, and every imaginable accessory for your journal. The store features some other complementary brands including Tombow, and a Cult Pens favourite - Toyo Steel. Beyond stationery there is a range of travel accessories. These have been carefully selected and keep to the Traveler’s Company ethos of quality, sustainable and beautiful products that will accompany you on your travels for many years.
There are Traveler’s Company stores and concessions across Japan. Each boasting an impressive range of store exclusives. These include exclusive journal colours, pendants, stickers, and stationery. There are also a number of stamps available in store to personalise your journal - some of these stamps are exclusive to the store, so you can ‘collect’ the stamps in your journal by visiting different stores.
The cafe area on the 1st floor provides a space for customers to take some time for a coffee, journal writing and peaceful contemplation. There is also a workshop where regular events are held. These events include journal personalisation and decorating. If your well-travelled journal is a little worse for wear, you can speak to staff in the store about spares and repairs.
The coffee shop also featured a cool mural showing the last limited edition collection. Sold out now, unfortunately, but they make limited editions every so often.
My Traveler’s Factory haul:
- A Traveler’s Factory exclusive pendant for my pocket Traveler’s journal. The pendant features the iconic Mount Fuji.
- Assorted refills. All available at Cult Pens but I added some stamps from the store on the opening pages!
- Mini pencil set. A gift for my daughter. I couldn’t resist! Another exclusive to the Traveler’s Factory.
