Ameruu x Cute Things From Japan Notebook Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

Sometimes, the austerity needs a little pizzazz. The minimalism needs a break. The blank slate needs some art. While I love the clean lines of my Traveler's Notebook aesthetic, I also can't help but love a notebook that's pretty. This Ameruu x CTFJ Notebook that works as a standalone or as an insert in a standard sized Traveler's Notebook caught my eye with its pretty watercolor artwork on the front cover, and then it totally won my heart with the cute animals on the back. The Bluebonnets and cows are a nod to Texas, and this notebook is exclusive to Dromgoole's Houston store.

The notebook has a thin cardstock cover and is bound with staples to a single signature of 30 sheets (60 pages) of grey-toned blank paper from Neue Grey. The paper is thick and has a smooth, slightly glossy coating. The blank paper and cool grey color would make it ideal for sketching, but it also holds up well with most writing tools. It performed very well with pencils and gel pens. Thicker rollerball ink did cause some showthrough, but not enough to make the back side of the page unusable. Fountain pens worked beautifully. Sharpie did not work at all, but that's to be expected. Artists will have to stick to fineliners for this one.

This lovely notebook costs $10 at Dromgoole's, which is more than a standard plain TN insert, but less than most specialty inserts, whether by Traveler's Company or a third party. That places it pretty average for cost, and it certainly doesn't feel like too much for a nice slim notebook. And I'm not only saying that because this one has cute cows on it, though I am partly saying that because of the cute cows.

This would make a lovely travel journal (especially if you're traveling to Texas), sketchbook, junk journal, or commonplace book. It carries well alone, where you can always see its lovely cover, or as in insert in any standard sized traveler's notebook. I've been carrying mine solo for now, where it's been gathering quick notes as one might gather bluebonnets.

(This product was purchased from Dromgoole’s at regular price.)

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Road Trip with Traveler’s Company

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

A couple weeks ago, the Traveler’s Company Caravan, USA Road Trip event started in Long Beach, CA, home of Traveler’s Company USA, with an event at Intertrend, which was very well attended (and quite crowded from the posts and stories I saw on instagram). It looked like a lot of fun and I couldn't wait to experience it in San Francisco (which was the next stop, followed by Port Townsend, WA). I went on Thursday afternoon and I was told that it was a lot less crowded than Wednesday, and much less crowded than at Intertrend, where the line was out the door and down the block!

Love this cute sign welcoming you to the Road Trip event.

The event was held at the Heath Ceramics location, where you can also find the cute Heath Newsstand shop (behind the sign.)

I love that this is a welcoming space. ♥️

Here are all the Traveler’s Company partner shops - not sure if they are planning to do the Road Trip event at all of them or just the 3 West Coast locations.

Just inside the entrance, Traveler’s fans are stamping their Traveler’s Notebooks and showing them off to other enthusiasts.

I had Christina from the team sign my passport accordion insert after I finished stamping it. I love these inserts for quick memory keeping of events!

The Road Trip event space.

Who’s ready for a Road Trip?!?! Me, Me, ME!!

On the shelves along the walls and above the retail displays, there were portraits of winning entries from their “USA Road Trips with your TRAVELLER’S notebook” contest. I enjoyed seeing the creativity and artistry behind these lovely spreads!

Products from their standard lineup, as well as gallery entries on the top shelf.

Traveler’s Company water bottles and Back Dog Coffee Roasters coffee in Long Beach, CA.

Look at this amazing artwork that was done in the Accordion insert!!

This is the view from the far corner, looking back towards the entry ramp.

There was also a Spiral Ring Notebook Viking event (which required prepaid appointments) - In Japan, the term “Viking” is often used to refer to a buffet, like the smorgasbords in Sweden, where you pick and choose what you want to eat. The team brought a variety of papers that you can choose from to put into your notebook in whatever order you like, and then their craftsman, Ishi-san, would bind the notebook before handing it back to you!

I spent a lot of time in this area figuring out what papers I wanted to get.

After checking in, I was given this tray with instructions on how to get started. Essentially you pick the papers and make sure the stack fits in the slot on the Thickness Guide. It’s quite simple, unless your pile of papers is too thick, in which case, picking out which papers to keep is really tough!

There were two covers to choose from - Black or Copper imprint - and a bunch of papers with different colors, rulings (or not), designs, textures, etc.

Cover sheet, maps, and other papers in both white and cream.

Lest you think they only have “normal” colors, they also have colorful papers of different textures too! The 6 closest to the left feel very smooth and likely to be FP-friendly. The two in the middle were a lot more textured.

I love this playful, confetti patterned washi paper!

Phew! It fits!

Ishi-san is installing the spiral coil into the punched holes of the paper & cover.

Such a sweet smile from Ishi-san, as he hands you the completed notebook!

Here are some of the papers I chose for my notebook - I’m especially excited to try the speckled ones as well as the brightly colored papers.

I knew that I would be coming home with a custom spiral notebook and likely another TN but I also picked up a few other goodies cuz I couldn’t resist.

L to R: Road Trip TN, Passport Accordion with Road Trip Stamp (which I smudged, oops), custom spiral notebook with Copper imprint and coil, Road Trip brass clip, Short Trip refills in Passport and Regular size, 2025 Sticker set, Road Trip stickers.

It was a lot of fun figuring out what papers to put in my custom notebook and it was wonderful to see the Traveler’s crew again! If the Road Trip Caravan ever makes it near you, I highly recommend the experience!

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After Travels with the Traveler's Notebook

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And her latest book, Root Rot, is now available for pre-order!)

I knew there was going to be a lot of travel for me in 2023 and that I'd be attempting to travel light for a lot of it, so at the beginning of the year I set up a passport size Traveler's Notebook from Traveler's Company. I outfitted it with all the accessories and extras so that I could experiment and see what worked for me and what didn't. After the better part of the year using it in a lot of different contexts, I have a good idea of its pros and cons for my particular use.

As a notebook cover: Wonderful. It's simple, but good quality. It always felt good in my hand and the customization options are amazing. Its one weakness is the elastics, which wear out over time. They can be fairly easily replaced, though.

As a notebook: Pretty good. The paper quality on the inserts I used was great. I didn't love doing a lot of writing on the small pages, but it was good enough for trips where I didn't want or need to be carrying a large notebook. So, great for minimal travel. Not great for when I want to write a lot. I usually do want to write a lot, though. For me, this works better as portable scrap paper and not an actual journal/notebook. Great if I'm scribbling down a phone number or quick list; not great if I need to write a whole story.

As a planner: It didn't work for me. I wasn't able to use it as my solo planner for very long. Until May, when I was still in school, I needed a huge planner to plan huge amounts of plans, so there was no way the wee insert would work. I had lovely daydreams about post-school simplicity and only having small plans that would fit the diminutive stature of this monthly insert, but life does not work that way. I ran out of room constantly and had to move back to a full-sized planner. Maybe someday I'll lead that simple life! But I doubt it.

As a wallet: Effective, but annoying. The cardholder and zipper pouch accessories are great for carrying around the wallet essentials. They fit everything I need. It's just a bit of an extra step to get through the elastics and zips and flips to get to everything, and I often found myself not putting things back in their place when I was in a hurry.

As a complete package: As its name might suggest, it's perfect for travel. When I don't need my whole planner, but just a basic calendar, it's great. When I want all my wallet essentials and my planner and my notes--it really is everything I need in one compact, well-made package. For everyday use at home, it's not quite right for me. The place I need my planner most is when I'm out on the floor at work, and it frequently stays on the service desk while I run around. I don't want to leave my wallet sitting on a public service desk, so my wallet and my planner can't be the same thing. And when I need my wallet, I want an easy-access quick grab. So for now, the TN is on my desk and not in my bag. But next time I travel, I'll definitely be setting it back up to come along.

The accessories: The bulk of my setup was accessories! I had one monthly planner insert and one notebook insert, and the rest of the space was taken up by the folder, zip pouch, card slot, etc. I found all of the accessories useful. The brass clip, which I previously reviewed, is now moved to my daily carry notebook because it's so useful. The only accessory I don't love is the pen loop. The loop is too narrow for bigger pens, and the clip part itself is too bulky and isn't super secure. The clip slides around quite a bit, and it made me nervous that I might lose a pen. I plan to replace it with something else.

Overall, I still really love this setup and I wish it worked better for me for everyday! If my job wasn't running around in a public building all day--if I had an office job or even my own desk, it would still work fine for me, I think. Though I've switched to other setups, I think the TN is more elegant, and I prefer its compact minimalism. For now, I'll have to consider that simplicity aspirational.

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!