Review: Soffice Notebooks by LIHIT LAB

Being a left hander, I am always looking for stationery more suited to me. One of the more recent introductions to the stationery market that I like buying is the soft ring binder notebooks.

And recently, LIHIT LAB has released a version of their own; soffice.

As you can see, the notebook is very thin and the ring binder is smaller than most as well.

The notebook is able to lay flat on its own; making it very easy to write on. The soft, thin ring is designed so that you won't feel it even if your hand touches it when writing.

The last page before the back cover is a built in plastic file holder. Perfect for holding all your bits and pieces.

It's not bulky and is convenient to carry around.

Not only that, when you are done with the notebook but want to file the pages with others, you can easily cut through the soft ring binder to remove the pages.

What do you think?

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August 2025 Printable

Its still summer in many parts of the world so we thought we bring on some summer cheer!

Featuring bright summery colors in this month's free printable!

Download here: PDF

For ibon/netprint information, please see our instagram post.

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Review: Nakatoshi Design Roll Rubber Stamp

I am back with more stationery finds from DAISO!

Today, I'm reviewing the design roll rubber stamp! A commonly used item in journaling but at a fraction of its usual high price tag.

I picked up both the patterned version and words version.

Each "roll stamp" has 12 different designs. 

To test them, I also picked up a stamp pad from DAISO.

It features 6 different colors in thin strips. Making it more compact than carrying 6 different ink pads. And since the roll stamp has designs with a thin width as well, it fits perfectly!

As expected, they stamp without any issue. The plastic handle is easy to hold as well. My only gripe would be that it is hard to rotate the cog wheel to change the design. The pointed edges are a bit sharp so please use carefully.

However, since they do not come with a cover of any sort, you must clean it throughly after each use and before storing. Else the leftover ink will stain your other things. 

Overall, I think its cheap and easy to use. And if you were only to buy one, I think the one with words featuring days of the week is more useful. 

What do you think?

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Review: Pilot KIRE-NA Highlighter Pale Tone Set

It's another highlighter review! 

This time it's the limited edition KIRE-NA pale tone set from Pilot. 

The set includes 5 pale colour highlighters and a flexible ruler. 

 

As a bonus, the deconstructed packaging yields a zipper case you can use to store the highlighters and ruler, very smart! 

The five colours are pale tone and if you're into pastels, this is for you. 

There is a blue, pink, green, grey and yellow and each pen is double sided. 

Highlighter and marker. 

The ruler is interesting. It's flexible and rubbery, even though it's clear. 

It's not my favourite kind of ruler but it's a nice addition, especially with the highlighters. 

The highlighter tip itself is pretty cool. It has plastic strips on the bottom and the top, these serve as built in guides, and keeps dirt away from the highlighter tip. 

Other features include smudge proof ink and finger grips. 

I'd like to use these a bit more, but the zipper case, perfect pale tone colours make this set very interesting. 

What do you think? 

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REVIEW: DAISO Log Stamp [Weekly, Calendar and Tag]

DAISO is fast becoming one of my favorite places to buy journaling goods. 

Their current LOG STAMP range is a perfect example of their current lineup.

I picked up 3 of the stamps from the range.

The stamps are nicely sized. Good for use in an array of sizes of notebooks and memo pads.

They also feature a neutral color palette; making it easy to coordinate with your favorite colors.

They are also self inking and do not require you to use an ink pad.
This makes them a lot more portable as well. The ink used is black, which matches with most palettes.

The sharp lines stamp nicely and do not exude too much ink. 

The low mess and versatility makes it a perfect addition to anyone's stationery collection.

What do you think?

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July 2025 Printable

 

July 2025 Printable 

Download here: Link

For netprint and ibon information, please see our instagram.

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Review: Pin Note, trading card holder x notebook by Iroha Publishing

It's another purchase from Bungu Joshi!

This is the Pin Note by Iroha publishing, a notebook with a trading card holder. 

I picked up the an A6 sized Pin note that was a Bungu Joshi exclusive. 

There is also an A5 version. 

The notebook includes a hard plastic sleeve as a cover, a design sheet in between the cover and the notepaper (this is the exclusive design for Bungu Joshi), 56 sheets of 3mm grid notepaper, 2 plastic pockets at the back of the notebook and a plastic film for you to decorate. 

The hard plastic sleeve cover fits a photocard or 2 and protects it well! 

I also like the special design backing sheet. 

If you have a small acrylic stand, that will fit as well! 

Binding wise, it's a typical wire binding. Unfortunately this means you can remove pages but not add to it. 

The paper is a 3mm grid, perfectly usable for everyday notetaking. 

Overall, if you're wanting to customise your notebook cover, the pin note is what you're looking for. 

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Review: DAISO High End Design Knife

I have always been one that used the conventional mini blade cutters [like a box cutter] for paper crafts. However with my recent interest in making miniatures, I decided it might be time to purchase a pen like version.

Whilst browsing in Daiso, I came across this version.

As the name implies, it is touted as a high end version of the usual design knife. However at just 200yen [USD$1.38~] , I wondered what made it different from the others out there.

Here are a few key points.

1. Uses most replacement blades
2. Embossed for non-slip grip in a easy to hold shape
3. Lightweight , low center of gravity for a stable feel
4. Comes with a magnet at the end for use as a grabber tool

Other obvious perks include the low price, classic design and portability.

What do you think? 

Would you try this out?

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Review: Kodomo no Kao's Pochitto Pick!

This week's review is of the Pochitto pick! 
We've reviewed the regular Pochitto on this blog before and the Pick! is an interesting edition. 

The Pochitto Pick! is a customisable stamp system. 

You purchase an empty case which has 6 slots, then you purchase stamps, which come in a set of 3. 

  

Each set is themed and each stamp can be removed and then placed in a spot in the case. 

The stamp just clicks into place, easy! 

I picked up the task and oshi sets, there are also sets for health, weather and other stamps you might use in a diary/schedule on a day to day basis. 

I do think the Pochitto Pick! is really cute and I appreciated the customisable nature of it. Being able to swap out the stamps is pretty useful. 

Even if the Pick! is bigger than the regular Pochitto, being able to decide the lineup of stamps in the case makes it easier to carry around than multiple Pochittos. 

What do you think, do you use the Pochitto stamps? Which is your favourite series? 

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June 2025 Printable

 June is here and it heralds summer in many parts of the world. 

We have designed a printable this month with the ever loved motif of a Japanese wind chime!

Download here: PDF

For ibon/netprint information, please see our instagram post.

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Review: LIHIT LAB Customize Open Ring A6 Notebook

Popular Japanese stationery brand LIHIT LAB has recently released a series of customized open ring notebooks where you can choose the style of covers, color of ring spine and the inserts you would like in it.

We picked up the basic pieces to try it out!

The A6 notebook open ring spine comes in a wide range of colors and will hold inserts with 17holes.

There are also lots of different color covers to choose from. Since they sold piece by piece, you can choose different colors for the front and back covers. I bought the one below to be the back cover.

For the cover, I chose something that was a little different.

The pocket type cover

The pocket cover is made up of two sheets of clear plastic that stick together with sticky dots on the inside of it. This allows you to insert whatever you like inside, making it truly customizable. It is also useful as a spare pocket!

There are many other inserts available other than the usual array of papers. Such a clear pockets, sticky notes sheet, hard plastic for writing on etc etc

I'm currently using mine as a travel notebook.

What do you think? Would you get one?

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Review: Anterique's Scribble Notebook

 

Antereique is a Japanese brand that makes retro inspired ballpoint pens. 

They had a booth at Bungo Joshi and I picked up this interesting notebook. 

The scribble notebook is a handheld ringbound notepad. 

The front of the notebook is protected by a plastic sheet and the pages are cut so that it fits a mini pen.

The notebook measures 128 by 91mm and the paper is 5mm grid. 

I like the compact size of the notebook, it's definitely one I can throw in my bag and not worry about the weight. 

The notebook is secured with a rubber band, and the front is protected by a plastic sheet. 

These sound like good additions until you realise it's to keep the pen in it's holding spot and secure it when not in use. 

The pen itself is a pretty standard ballpoint pen, nice to hold and a cute retro design, which Anterique is know for. 

 

Speaking of the holding spot for the pen. 

It's quite interesting that it's carved into the notepaper. 

This does mean you have less usable writing space, but you might never lose your pen, that is, if you always return it to the same spot. 

I think this notebook is a cute concept, I'll definitely use it for awhile and see how that feels. 

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Review: Benwuyou Five Hole Punch

 In Japan, its more common to find 20 ring files than the usual 6 ring files. However its hard to find the right type of hole punch. Usually its made of metal fully making it very expensive or you have to resort to buying a one hole punch and punching out all the holes by yourself. Even then, those are usually quite bulky and hard to store. Not to mention quite tedious to use.

Recently, I chanced upon this 

5 Hole Punch

To use simply line your paper against the guide on the long part of the punch.

After pushing down on the top part, you will have 5 holes punched out.

To punch more holes like 20 holes for your file, simply feed the paper back in and line it up as belows.

To empty the punched out paper, simply pop the bottom lid open. 

At first I was certainly dubious as to how well this could work but it does the job perfectly!

Its also lighter and more compact than most other options whilst being easier to use as well.

What do you think?

Would you try it? 

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