Reports  |  01 September 2015

Turning the ordinary, into extraordinary.

Itoya - Tokyo's stationery wonderland.

We had heard about it, but never imagined it would be so exciting! The recently opened Itoya store in Ginza is one not to miss when visiting Tokyo. It sells beautiful objects as well as more traditional stationery items such as pens, paper and envelopes. The new premises spans 9 floors, each of which have a ‘theme’ such as travel, meeting, craft, home etc. As we explored the levels and gained altitude we got more and more amazed by the curation of objects. Every product is exquisitely designed and could be paired in harmony with one another whichever floor it comes from, thus, creating a total harmony of products within the store.

Our highlight: The choice of hundreds of different paper types. The paper sample wall creates a mosaic of colour, weights and grains, giving the envelope cabinets a very colourful background. The display of ‘extreme’ origami is also very impressive; the folded sculptures look more like 3d printing than paper. We also enjoyed the notebook counter, that lets the customer create their own personalised notebook by giving them the choice of paper, binding techniques, and embossed covers.

Itoya also offers other services such as a gift-wrapping service, areas to write, a business centre and a café on the top floor. The basement houses an Inspiration Hall with events and a gallery space. All these added services add to the Itoya experience and make it more than a simple store but somewhere to be creative, learn and work.

So to all you paper and stationery aficionados, do make sure you stop of at Itoya on your next visit to Tokyo, you will not be able to come out empty handed!

www.ito-ya.co.jp