Japanese Paper Showdown: Muji vs Kokuyo Fountain Pen Test

Testing out a new contender for my favorite low cost EDC fountain pen friendly paper.
Kokuyo
Kokuyo Campus Loose Leaf Paper - Sarasara - A5 (featured in the video)
Kokuyo plain loose-leaf A5 20 hole 100 sheets (Green one I haven't tested)

Muji
A5 Refills:
Ring Bound Notebook (High Quality Paper)

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0:00 - Intro
0: 21 - Campus Paper
1:13 - Muji Paper
3:50 - Pens used
4:53 - Writing Sample
6:06 - Paper Comparison
10:31 - Final Thoughts

[glebk.]

This world definitely needs more fountain pen friendly paper! Thank you for spilling some light to the Kokuyo paper!

[osirisgolad]

So, about the colours on the packaging...

There are lighter colours, and the hand on the front of the package is also writing inside a circle that says "sarasara" in Japanese(which means "smooth"). This is the 70 g/m² smooth paper you've got. Then there are darker colours which have the hand writing in a square that says "shikkari" in Japanese(which means both "steady" and "firm"). This is 77 g/m² paper that has substantial texture to it when you write, and is also very ink resistant, but has longer dry times and is much stiffer and thicker.

I'd ignore the individual colours and just look at the letters: A is 7mm ruling, B is 6mm ruling, C is 5mm ruling, U is 8mm ruling, W are blank sheets(an underlay with grid on one side and lines on the other is included), F is English ruling(the stuff you use in elementary school to learn to write), M is music ruling, P is vertical ruling, V is tabled ruling for bookkeeping and S is 5mm grid; I believe the S always says "Sx", where x is a number denoting the grid spacing in millimeters, but I believe they've since stopped making S8 and S10 and now they only sell S5. Some of the lined ones are also dot ruled, which means there are dots on the lines at regular intervals to help you draw tables without a ruler, but I seem to remember the only indicator of this is an oval outline above the ruling letter that says "ドット入り".

They recently launched a "smooth erase" version of Sarasara as well, which has a hand with an eraser rubbing away at a square shape on the packaging.

[chi-towncalifornia]

I use both Kokuyo Campus Loose Leaf Sarasara and Shikkari, and they’re both very good pairings with fountain pens. Sarasara is a quite smooth, while Shikkari has a texture that gives a lot more resistance, so your writing tends to be slower and neater. My main issue with Sarasara is it is very susceptible to skin oils, so your writing will feather and bleed through the page if you write over any areas your hand touches. So if your ink is holding up on the top half of the paper, but starts feathering and bleeding down the page, it’s most likely because you are writing over skin oils. Shikkari doesn’t have either of those issues, and is more bleed resistant, but may not be as nice to write on with finer nibs. Medium to broad nibs, wider gel nibs, pencils and broader ballpoints are a joy to write on Shikkari, though. Whether you go Shikkari and Sarasara, they are both more bleed resistant than the Campus paper you get in those 5 packs of 30 sheet B5 notebooks.

[paulmchugh]

Actually my go to paper is found in Walmart called Mint Green. It is from Taiwan. I will admit it will show through on more saturated ink but works well. The nibs write wider than say Rhodia but surprisingly no feathering.

It is also very inexpensive. An 80 sheet notepad costs $8.

I used Campus paper for years. It was a standard paper for me when I worked in NYC as there was a Kinokunia store nearby. Now, all I have is Walmart and Amazon.

[deltapi]

Oh wow your handwriting has gotten so amazing!

[williammodlin]

I really appreciate your thorough reviews. You put in a LOT of work. I’ve had good luck in the past with Campus notebooks from Jet Pens where they’re usually available. The paper that I think is really underrated is paper from Vietnam. You can find it in mass-market notebooks, i.e., composition books at big box stores. I’ve found it handles fountain pens well in most cases and if on sale, it’s really inexpensive. Thanks for the review/test.

[zacox]

I love my kokuyo paper. They make great B5 size pre-bound notebooks as well. They are only 30 sheets but they lay flat when opened really well and the 10 pack of them is pretty affordable. I also have the loose leaf and smart ring binder with B5, but I kinda prefer the pre-bound ones because once you fill it up it is easier to just put it on the shelf than it is to take out the loose leaf sheets and store them.

[tafellappen]

Kokuyo’s notebook covers are called smartring binders, but theres also a ton of different compatible binder/notebook covers out there (many also by kokuyo, but also maruman and king jim). A variety of open/close mechanisms too. Some exclude the middle rings so its more comfortable to rest your hand on it. Its kinda a wild rabbit hole tbh. Theres also lihit labs brand with more size variety but the hole spacing is different unfortunately

[barbarah-p]

I love using the Kokoyu Campus paper. I also have the Kokoyu A5, A4 and B5 paper that you can buy by the ream. It works very well. I recommend it to my friends. Thanks for a great paper comparison.

[chi-towncalifornia]

I use both Kokuyo Campus Loose Leaf Sarasara and Shikkari, and they’re both very good pairings with fountain pens. Sarasara is a quite smooth, while Shikkari has a texture that gives a lot more resistance, so your writing tends to be slower and neater. My main issue with Sarasara is it is very susceptible to skin oils, so your writing will feather and bleed through the page if you write over any areas your hand touches. Shikkari doesn’t have either of those issues, and is more bleed resistant, but may not be as nice to write on with finer nibs. Medium to broad nibs, wider gel nibs, pencils and broader ballpoints are a joy to write on Shikkari, though. Whether you go Shikkari and Sarasara, they are both more bleed resistant than the Campus paper you get in those 5 packs of 30 sheet B5 notebooks.

[blaze]

I get the campus paper from jetpens and they ship with a lot more care than Amazon plus it is cheaper than the 10 dollars!

[ArthurPhillip]

The Kukoyo "silky smooth writing" three hole punched loose leaf paper is the best paper for the price in the market. It is amazing.

And the Kukoyo printer paper is 64 gsm and is amazing. You can buy a pack of 500 for 25 dollars and then print the French ruled template on it. And you have a clairfontaine rival for 1/3rd the price.

[K_rye]

This certainly sent me down a rabbit hole. Just spent an hour looking at paper on different sites. Lots of great info in not only the video, but the comments as well.

[mwd]

Fun fact, some of those Kokuyo papers have the nice white without being fluorescent if you're playing with inks with some UV property. Jetpens has great content on these papers and the differences too btw, San Fran retailer.

[smirkingdevil]

I started using the Muji A4 binders at work, but with plain 8.5x11 printer paper hole punched by a hand operated Japanese hole punch. There is a 1/2 hole at the top of each page, but I could care less. The convenience of being able to make my own "spiral" bound notebook for each project I work on is immeasurable. The 8.5x11 size also allows me to throw the pages into the copier and not worry about selecting a different paper size for the copy. For notebook covers, I use colored folders cut in half.

[Danny.._]

The one you tested has lines and dots. The green one is the exact same paper, but with no lines or dots. The green one also comes with a "shitagaki, " (the japanese name literally means under writing) which is a thin sheet of plastic with markings, maybe lines or dots or a grid, so that you can stick it under the sheet of paper you're writing on and see the lines/grid/dots through it so you can keep your writing neatly sized and spaced but without any lines/grid/dots on the paper itself.

[bondedbybbq]

Thank you for this video! I haven't been able to locate any muji paper in my area and that notebook is so cool! Love your channel! It has been indispensable as a fountain pen newbie!

[tyrellmorris]

Just had a friend recommend this to me. They did say there’s a couple kinds and that the Sarasara style is the ones that are most fountain pen friendly. Most Amazon listings have it in the product name or description.

[nathanbailey]

Kokuyo makes fantastic paper. Even their bulk "Presentation Quality" A4 Printer Paper is very nice with fountain pens, and is by far the most affordable option for decent paper. Not quite as good as their Campus Sarasara paper, but surprisingly good for "printer paper".

[kathk]

I've also found Kokuyo "KB" business paper on Amazon - reams of A4 or A5 to use in my printer when I make my own planners. Works great with my broad nibs that splash ink around, though I don't have any BSB!