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!

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. My own pen case contained, among other pens, a vintage Sailor with soft nib, a pre-production PenBBS vacuum filler, and a pen with a Franklin-Christoph SIG flex nib. The last one garnered most interest.