2 Best Japanese Pens - Pilot Dr. Grip and Mitsubishi Uni-Ball Pure Malt

Friday, September 15, 2017

2 Best Japanese Pens - Pilot Dr. Grip and Mitsubishi Uni-Ball Pure Malt

Yesterday, I finally finished using up all the ink in this ballpoint pen, Pilot Easy Touch Fine. When I finish it, I always feel so good like I accomplished something. :) Pilot (パイロット) is the largest pen manufacturer in Japan was established in Tokyo in 1918. They expanded their business overseas, so I got this Pilot ballpoint pen in the U.S. :) This is a very affordable ballpoint pen, and I really loved it. It's comfortable to hold and writes smooth.

Pilot Easy Touch Fine

I've often heard that Japanese stationery goods are really well made and popular for foreign tourists in Japan. Indeed, there are over 100 stationery manufacturer companies such as Pilot, Mitsubishi, Zebra, Tombow and Kokuyo in Japan and have been trying to make better products. Since I grew up and worked in Japan, I've used many Japanese products there. Today, I'm going to share with you two best Japaense pens I've ever used in Japan. If you want to purchase stationery products in Japan, you can find a wide selection of stationery goods at Loft and Tokyu Hands. In addition, most bookstores also sell many stationery goods. When I lived in Japan, I also sometimes purchased Muji stationery goods at Muji branches.

No.1 Pilot Dr. Grip パイロットドクターグリップ

Pilot Dr. Grip

Pilot released Dr. Grip series in Japan in 1991. They have Dr. Grip mechanical pencil and ballpoint pen. When I was in an elementary school, my friends and I enjoyed using many types of stationery goods. Kawii and fun stationery goods were popular for children, but a few of my classmates (boys) had Dr. Grip. At that time, I was surprised that it's larger, heavier and more expensive than a regular pen. However, it's really comfortable to grip somehow. It's too expensive for children, so I couldn't afford Dr. Grip back then. When I was in a high school, my friends and I were using Dr. Grip every day. I really loved it. :) Dr. Grip also has many positive reviews on Amazon US.

Pilot Dr. Grip

No.2 Mitsubishi Uni-Ball Pure Malt 三菱ユニボールピュアモルト

Mitsubishi Uni-Ball Pure Malt

Mitsubishi (三菱) is also well known company for stationery manufacture. It was founded in Tokyo in 1887. Mitsubishi Pure Malt is a multi pen which has a black ballpoint pen, a red ballpoint pen and mechanical pencil. In Japan, I worked at hospitals and sometimes got ballpoint pens from pharmaceutical companies. I used ballpoint pens a lot on a daily basis but didn't need to buy those. ;) Most companies gave away pretty cheap ballpoint pens to medical staffs, but when I got this one (I still have one.), I thought that it must be expensive. Just like Dr. Grip, it's larger and heavier than a regular pen, and very comfortable to write. :)

Mitsubishi Uni-Ball Pure Malt

See? My pen has the name of medicine, Diovan. :) I usually threw away after using up ink in a regular pen, but I purchased refills for it at stationery store in Japan because I loved it so much. :)

Mitsubishi Uni-Ball Pure Malt

The grip of this Uni-Ball Pure Malt was made of white oak, which had been used as whisky barrels for 50 to 70 years. They reused whisky barrels to make this Uni-Ball Pure Malt.