A Dr. Ion Update

My rampaging readers,

Just a note to let you know how the maiden voyage of the Dr. Ion 7-Pocket Shoulder Bag went. I had a meeting today with a psychiatrist, and, since it was in Petaluma and since Petaluma is where I buy the Calli inks that I like to use in my larger fountain pens, I went early so that I could browse in the bookstore and the art supply store. I knew, though, that I would be too early to just sit and do nothing, so I packed up the Dr. Ion case with all my essentials before I left. And it worked like a charm.

I didn’t use it as a purse; I used it as a writing satchel, and I felt so cool and organized and…writerly. Poet-y. I fit my regular journal (a medium-sized Moleskine), a slightly smaller green journal in which I am writing a story about Ceadrig the Bunny and his best friend Binney the Bear, and three pocket journals that I’m writing to various people. Those all went into the main pocket, and it was fairly snug. I might have been able to fit one more slim pocket journal, and that’s about it. Into the large front Velcro pocket, I put about ten pens, just the ones I happened to grab. And I was off!

I did my browsing and purchasing, and then I did my waiting at the restaurant. The bag, because of the internal frame, made finding things very easy, even as I was standing up, and it did a fine job of standing up by itself on the table, leaning against the wall.

I walked to a park afterward, and that was the only time there was a slight issue: I had put the bag down, and it fell over on its side somehow, and the pens, which had been in the Velcro compartment, fell out, even though the flap was down. Obviously not a big deal since I saw them and picked them up, but it was good to notice that, since the Velcro fastening is only in the center and doesn’t extend to the sides of the pocket, pens can fall out easily. In the future, I’ll stick them in the main pocket, which can be zipped, and the small pocket journals, which are not small enough to fall out, in the Velcro pockets.

Other than that, though, I was ultra-happy with it. I just wish I had more places to go so that I could carry the wonderful collection of Dr. Ion bags I am amassing!

I might get the 11-pocket briefcase next. If I’m lucky and get a teaching job, or even a job as a reader for one more class, I will have to carry a lot of stuff, so that would come in very handy. I can imagine myself, briefcase in hand, Maruchiwaku case slung over back, and pencil case on shoulder, strolling among the autumn trees, on my way to and from class, super-organized and very suave-looking with such excellent Japanese carrying cases festooning me! That settles it; I MUST become a reader for another class, just to justify the purchase of the briefcase!

I hope that you check out the Dr. Ion cases at JetPens. They’re totally awesome.

A Quick Look at the Dr. Ion 7-Pocket Shoulder Bag

(Dear friends, I’m not calling this a formal review mainly because I’m really suffering from another headache, and I’m stressed and worried, and I just cannot find it within me to write a Bailiwick Limerick. I hope you all understand. I’ll do my best while I’m stressing out. If I can write one later, maybe I’ll post it, but for right now, I need rest more than anything else.)

You all know my love of Dr. Ion products. And you all know my love of JetPens. Now you can indulge both by going to the JetPens Dr. Ion page and checking out the 7-Pocket Shoulder Bag, which I just got. And opened ten minutes ago.

Why, you ask, do I love Dr. Ion products so much? My answer is multi-fold. First, it is efficiency extraordinaire. Everywhere there can be a pocket, there is a pocket. And you know how I love pockets. Second, it is Japanese. Therefore, it has that Japanese aesthetic, which means cunning, no wasted space, professional, and sleek. No fripperies, no sloppiness. Just smooth, efficient use of space. Third, I love to compartmentalize. I love it when everything has its own special place to go. This could be a result of deep psychological troubles, but if I have them, then a lot of other people have them, otherwise the entire Dr. Ion line would not do nearly as well as it does.

So of course, when I saw that JetPens was carrying this puppy, which I did not get on my run to MaiDo in San Francisco, I ordered it ASAP. It arrived in Elk Grove after I left, and then it caught up to me here. I just opened it now and I am happy to report that it is just as wonderful as I expected it to be.

There are a couple of things that set it apart from the usual map-case-style of bag that I see around (often in military supply stores). By “map-case-style,” I mean the “smaller than a messenger bag” and “more vertically rectangular (or square) than a messenger bag” cases that look like this shoulder bag.

First of all, I couldn’t tell by the photos how the main compartment closed. Usually when you see a bag like this, there’s a big flap that covers all of the pockets, even the main one. However, that is not the case with this one. There is a flap, but it only covers the larger pocket in the front. The main compartment actually has a zipper. That means that you can open it separately while still keeping the flap closed over all the front pockets. To me, that comes in very handy when I’m poking and diving hurriedly in line at the grocery store, looking for this or that card. Here’s a shot of the top part that so mystified me:

Zipper over the main compartment

Here is a look inside the main compartment:

Inside the main compartment

Inside, there are two smaller pockets, which you see (black, facing forward) and, on the opposite side, two little elastic rings for pencils or pens.

The second thing that is unusual about this bag is that it has some kind of internal frame. So, rather than being entirely soft, it stands up straight and doesn’t fold over, even if it’s by itself. This bodes well if you’re like me and like to carry multiple journals and books and pens and paper and stuff around. I ALWAYS carry these things with me, and I like them to be easy to find as well as to be carried such that they’re not crumpled and wrinkled. The frame on this case ensures that nothing will fold over on itself and make big wrinkles in my journals. Likewise, it is also easier to open and search for things. Have you ever tried to look for something small in the bottom of a large garbage bag? Impossible, and that’s because nothing holds it upright and taut, so all of the “sides” of it collapse if you’re not holding them straight. Women who carry big, soft purses with only one main compartment know this problem well. But this case is like a miniature briefcase in that its sides will remain solid and square, even when you’re poking and diving.

The rest of the case is not as unusual, although the number of pockets does exceed what I often see in American bags. Here are a couple of shots of the bag from various angles.

Front of bag with flap lifted

These two pockets you see here both have Velcro closures. Note the nifty little ring to hang stuff on! I’d hang a little character on it, like Badtz Maru or Hello Kitty.

Back of Case

The large pocket here has a zipper. There’s a small handle directly above it, and it also comes with a shoulder strap.

Side View

Here is a view of the side, which shows a great little pocket for your cell phone or glasses, and the hook on which one side of the shoulder strap is fastened.

Under the front flap, in the pockets

Here’s a look in the Velcro pockets in front.

And below, a close look at the way the shoulder strap can be hooked on. But you can also take it off if you want to just carry it.

Shoulder Strap Hook

As always, everything is very well made. Nothing shoddy, no loose threads or crooked seams, nothing looks like it’s about to fall off. I’ve put some of my Dr. Ion bags through hell, and they’ve come through shining, with nothing amiss. I plan to do a lot more of that, come school time!

One thing that might be a little bit of a problem, the only slightly negative thing that I can think of about this case, is that, because of the internal frame, you cannot open it as widely as you would a bag that is totally soft. Basically, the width of the main compartment that you see in the first picture is about as wide as it goes. However, if you keep your stuff organized, I don’t see that being a problem. If you had a lot of tiny things loose in the bottom, it might be hard, but if you load everything straight down and keep things in their compartments, you won’t have any trouble. And I expect that, if you were the sort of person that preferred to have everything loose at the bottom, you wouldn’t be buying cases that specialize in organizational propensities!

Now, here’s the big question: when would you use it? Under what circumstances? Is it a purse? A bookbag? Certainly, it can be used as a purse. I think that you can fit quite a bit in here, and it’s a good way to not overload yourself so that you’re carrying something commensurate to an anvil. But I also think that you could carry a purse and this case if you are a serious writer by hand (i.e., not on a computer, which you would obviously be carrying in a laptop bag). If you’re a serious writer by hand, like I am, that means that you always have several journals and lots of pens and inks (which would do very well in here because of that internal frame, which might afford ink bottles some protection)–too many to carry in a purse, unless the purse is also your schoolbag. And, depending on the texts that you used, you could use this as a schoolbag as well. I was an English major, and a lot of my texts were the size of mass-market novels, so I didn’t always need to carry a giant bag with me. It will not fit a binder, but I saw plenty of people taking notes in the medium-sized Moleskine-style notebooks, so if you had one of those and a couple of books and pens and inks, this case would more than suffice for that.

All in all, it’s a terrific case. It is not so feminine that a man will look funny carrying; in fact, on the tag that comes with it, it shows an obvious man’s torso carrying the bag, and he doesn’t look too effeminate. It looks like it could easily be a camera bag or a specialized case to carry some esoteric equipment in, and that could make a very good impression on anyone you want to impress, either professionally or personally! I know that if I saw someone carrying this bag, I would stop him or her in his/her tracks and demand to know how to find it! And who knows what might result from a conversation that began that way? (I wonder if Dr. Ion makes his and her monogrammed matching luggage!!)

So that, friends, is that. I’m going to close here and try to rest and get rid of this headache. I apologize again for the lack of humor and Limerick in this review; I’m just not in the place where I can write like that, but I do hope that you found it useful, even if it’s just by looking at the photos, to see if maybe you want to buy it. I recommend it, definitely.

If you have any questions about it that I can answer, please don’t hesitate to write me a comment! And if you would like a photo taken of something particular about it, just ask, and I’ll be happy to take more photos to show you what you’d like.

Anyway, stay tuned for more…of something! Not sure what’s coming next, but something will present itself! In the meantime, may all your fountain pens stay inky!

The Piece de Resistance: Kutsuwa Dr. Ion’s Chalk Bag Review

The history went this way, gentle readers. I first saw the Dr. Ion Mega pencil case beige at

(order now! Only 13 left as of today’s posting!)

JetPens and fell in love with it. But before I bought it, I saw the Maruchiwaku case at MaiDo Kinokuniya, and I had no idea that they were both Dr. Ion cases because I had not really gotten the name “Dr. Ion” into my consciousness yet (imagine that!). I, unlike my usual self, bought Maruchiwaku without planning it because I totally loved it.

Afterward, I  saw a pencil case at JetPens, and I realized, after I had bought it, that it bore a strange resemblance to the Maruchiwaku, and, since I had not bothered to read the tag of the Maruchiwaku case before, it occurred to me at that point that the beige case and the Maruchiwaku and the pencil case I had just bought were all by Dr. Ion. (I am a little slow sometimes.)

However, I was left with one problem: what to do with my water bottle. I need to have a water bottle with me when I’m gone for any length of time (and for that matter, a snack as well), and the cases I was using did not allow for that. So after ruminating and cogitating, I hit upon the Dr. Ion Chalk Bag as the answer to my Water Bottle Dilemma.

The Dr. Ion Chalk Bag. Eureka-y!

Unfortunately, I didn’t have a good memory of it, but from the photos, I could tell that it would hold a water bottle and probably more, so I went ahead and ordered it over the phone from MaiDo. (I explained how to do that in a previous post, so scan through the “Dr. Ion Reviews” category to find that information if you would like to do the same.)

MaiDo delivered it in good time, and, thanks to my busy schedule, I have not had time to write the review yet. I have, however, carried it with me every time I have gone out, and it’s been perfect.

First, let me say that, if I didn’t have to take so much other crap with me in the way of books, journals, notebooks, etc., and if I just wanted to go into nature with a snack, a water bottle, a pocket journal, a light shawl, and two pens, I could do it with JUST the Chalk Bag. It carries that much all by itself. For behind the big gaping hole for the water bottle,

The place for the water bottle. Gapey!

there is a smaller pocket, able to fit a Moleskine-sized pocket journal and two pens, and in the front, you can put either another journal (as I did) or a Clif Bar.

Behind the Water Bottle a pad of paper, the Silver Bullet, and the Akiboo: Crammied!

The mesh pocket is where you can put your snack, and there is a strong, spiral cord, like a bungee, that you can hang your sweater or shawl on, which I have done with good effect many times.

The snack pocket and place for shawl or sweater. Bungee!

The amount that will fit in this little bag is amazing…if you substitute your wallet (provided it’s not monstrous) for your snack, this is all you’d need for a carefree outing to write or sketch in nature because, on the back, is a carabiner that you can use to either hang your keys, as I do (and I wear the strap on my shoulder or across my torso), or you can hang it from your belt loop.

Multi-use carabiner. Hangy!

Since I wear only saris, I don’t have belts or belt loops. You can see just above the carabiner there’s a strap — it’s meant to go around your waist, but I found that if I lengthened it to its utmost length, I can fit it across my torso. However, for all my 5’8″, I have a short torso and long legs, so I don’t guarantee that everyone will be able to do this. I think your average American man will not be able to do this, but he can use the strap for its intended purpose: to go around his waist, or he can do what I did: extend it to its utmost and then carry it over his shoulder. Either way, it is easy to secure and not lose anything.

The Chalk Bag might be the best purchase I made in terms of amount used. Although I love all of the Dr. Ion cases, the fact is that I don’t carry all my books and all my pens everywhere I go. I do carry my water and keys and some pens and small journals everywhere I go, and I usually distribute those between the Chalk Bag and the other case I use as a purse (see previous post). It doesn’t look like it can hold a lot, but in fact it can hold so much that it proved to be the final accessory (though by no means the last that I will buy, that’s for certain!) that completed my daily necessary kit to survive. As of the purchase of it, I have been able to go out without experiencing that unsettling feeling of confusion as to how to carry this or that. It has all been neatly solved by the Chalk Bag.

So this is one especially that I can highly recommend, especially to the guys out there. It is fashioned after a climber’s chalk bag (literally — oh, and there’s a drawstring to keep whatever you put in it, if you don’t put water bottles, you can fit a lot of stuff, shut in, and it won’t come out. I nearly cut my fingers off proving it), so it won’t look too much like a man-purse. And it’s light, it’s compact, and men usually have less to carry than women, so it ought to suffice. Give it a shot! Father’s Day is coming up…for those active fathers and stepfathers and grandfathers, they can carry all sorts of things in it and not look too modern and new-fangled!

So that concludes my Chalk Bag review. As with all my other reviews, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask! And now, let us close here with the

Bailiwick Limerick!

If you want to stop from walk-lagging

When you’re on a trail or rock-slagging,

Don’t let your hands sweat,

or your quick friends fret;

Just make sure you’re always Chalk Bagging!

For those fans of Kutsuwa Dr. Ion cases out there…

My loyal readers,

I’ve been looking at the blog stats, and I’ve seen that a lot of you are looking for the Dr. Ion cases, especially pencil cases. I realized that you can’t find my reviews of them based on the ways that I named my categories, so I’ve renamed the one where all my Dr. Ion reviews are located.

It used to be “MaiDo-related Reviews” because I get almost all my Dr. Ion cases from MaiDo, and I will from now on since it’s so easy to do by phone and the Westfield Mall branch has such a great selection of them. But there’s no way you could know that. So I have changed the category to read “Kutsuwa Dr. Ion Reviews (products supplied by MaiDo)” because I want to make sure to give credit where credit is due and let you know where I get them while allowing you to find them. I hope that some of you who have looked for my reviews of those cases and couldn’t find them will come back. I’ll try to put as many search words related to them in the tags list as possible. So please check out my reviews of them — and my photos. Good photos of these really excellent bags and cases are hard to find on the Internet, and I drove myself nuts looking for things, so for people who really, really want to see more about these cases but are stuck looking at the very boring and unhelpful ones that Kutsuwa puts out there (marketing much, guys?), come here, and if you have any questions about any of the bags that I have, or if you want more photos, please tell me. I’m happy to take more photos and post them and give you all the details you want.

Also, since some of my cases came from JetPens, check out the JetPens reviews category, and you will see the Dr. Ion products there as well.

Happy reading and good night!

The Review Queue

I am well aware, gentle reader, that you have added me to your “blogs to visit daily” bookmark category because of the reviews (and the Bailiwick Limericks!). So, for my sake as well as yours, so that I can keep them all straight in my tiny, whirling mind, this is the lineup for the items to be formally reviewed in the next few days or week or so. They are in the order to come:

1. Clairefontaine Basic Clothbound notebook

2. J. Herbin Violette Pensee ink

(both of these sent to me by Exaclair, thus moving to the front of the queue)

3. Kutsuwa Dr. Ion Chalk Bag

4. Sailor Recycled Materials Desk Pen /Extra Fine Nib

5. The Black Page: a review of all the blacks I have: Montblanc bottled black, Pelikan 4001 (bottled), Higgins for Fountain Pens (sort of like the “wine in a box” of fountain pen inks), Stypen cartridges, and Daler-Rowney’s Calli black bottle

That should keep me off the streets for a while, especially because I have to think of a Bailiwick Limerick for each of them, and let me tell you, reader, as easy as those look, they’re no bag of peanuts. They’re  bloody hard to write. They’re so hard that I have a notebook and pen devoted to them alone. Sometime I will take a couple of photos of the notebook and walk you through my process and let you see how the magic happens. In the meantime, you can simply enjoy the stunning results!

As always, if there is something out there that you would like me to review (and if I happen to have it or can afford to buy it), please write to me and let me know! I would be more than happy to do so! Or if you have any questions about the items that I have already reviewed, especially the Dr. Ion items, which are very hard to find info about on the Web, just drop me a note in the comments section and I will answer it right away!

Meanwhile, stay tuned! Many reviews to come!

JetPens and Dr. Ion Safely Arrived

I have just opened the JetPens and MaiDo packages, which safely arrived at my mailbox today. Although I will do a more complete review later on the Sailor Recycled Materials Fountain Pen and the Kutsuwa Dr. Ion Chalk Bag (see previous posts: last couple of days), I’m so excited about them! The pen is beautifully smooth and elegant in the hand, and the Chalk Bag is chock full of pockets and snaps, carabiners, and bungee cords, mesh pockets, and doo-hickeys that I can’t wait to review. For the more writerly among us who really want to go au natural, there is a place to put your water bottle, two pens, a pocket notebook, a Clif bar, and a carabiner on which to hang your keys. And you’re off! Perfect for a summer day of hiking and writing.

I wonder sometimes if Dr. Ion is a popular brand in Japan because, from what I have seen on the Internet, Kutsuwa (its company) really doesn’t do it justice in terms of marketing it. JetPens does a much better job of showing off the many pockets and excellent qualities of the cases it offers. Heck, my posts do a better job of highlighting the numerous pockets and possibilities inherent in these well-made and unique items. (So far, I have not been offered any commissions by Kutsuwa for my work, but I’m waiting!)

So stay tuned for a complete review on this Chalk Bag, which really is a much more complex and capacious case than it appears to be in its pictures, and the lovely, long-lined Sailor Desk Pen. And have a wonderful night.

Blazing Trails for You: MaiDo Phone Orders

I did it, gentle reader. I made the decision about what to do about my Water-Bottle Dilemma. Here was the problem: I had recently gone to MaiDo in San Francisco to get as many Dr. Ion cases, some of which have a truly unique look to them, as I could, but I could not afford more than three because I had miscalculated the timing of a payment of a job. So I could not get a couple that I wanted. Thus, though I have sufficient cases to carry books, journals, school supplies, work tools, pens, and more pens, I don’t really have something to use as a purse to hold girly things and, above all, a bottle of water and food, which I need to bring everywhere. I get bitchy if I don’t eat regularly. The girly things I can distribute between the adorable little case that I use for most of my purse items: wallet, keys, checkbook, karambit, etc. This is the case I use for it, and I  LOVE it.

(I am also providing links for those of you who do not come to my site, but who get my blog delivered to your e-mail and who do not get photos. Look at the photos!) But the link above is the same as the photo pictured above. I have attached the shoulder strap and carry it on my shoulder or across my chest, and it’s wonderful. Everything fits perfectly and safely.

Except a bottle of water. I was worried that I would have to just succumb and get a large bag, which would be expensive, and if I bought a large bag, why would I need to carry this cute little thing as well, because I would carry all my stuff in the large bag instead, right? That didn’t make me happy. Plus, the large bags do not look as cool as the smaller bags, which are full of compartments and zippers and Velcro and hooks and fun things like that.

However, when I was wistfully going through all the bags on the Dr. Ion site, I came across the Chalk Bag, and it occurred to me that that would be my answer!

It is less expensive than the big bag, and it will only fit a bottle of water, and perhaps a small snack, which will still require me to use the other case. I can wear it over my shoulder or hook it with its carabiner to another Dr. Ion case. Above all, as I stated in the other e-mail, my look will be consistent. I won’t be half super-efficient writing mavin and half folksy Earth Mommy communing with nature. I’ll be all streamlined, ready to go, on the move!

But that’s not all I’m here to tell you about, the results of my happy decision. I still had to face my fears of doing business by phone. I decided to just do it this morning before class, so I got my credit card ready, and I called MaiDo, the one at the Westfield Mall, which can be reached at 415.227.4338. The manager, I think, because the same guy handled the whole transaction, is the one who answered the phone. I believe it was Shuku. He’s the only person I’ve ever dealt with whenever I’ve called there or been there. I think he lives there. There must be a little cot where he lives in the back room, or  maybe he unrolls a futon out in the store after closing time and beds down with the plushy Totoros as company and watches Rillakuma reruns for entertainment at night. I could get behind that.

At any rate, it couldn’t have gone more smoothly. Although he’s got an accent, and I was worried about my own capacity to understand it, I had no trouble doing so, and he had no trouble at all understanding me. But here’s what to do…I hadn’t gone about it quite right, so this is what you’ll want to do if you want to order something from the store.

1. Send the product information and your shipping information in an e-mail, but make sure you send it to the store e-mail address, which I could not find anywhere on the website. This is the address: sfmaido@yahoo.com.

2.You can also send your credit card info over e-mail, but if you’re uncomfortable doing that, as I was, you can call and give it to either Shuku or Yumi over the phone.

3. They will talk to you about when they can send it, and they will figure out which method of sending it, UPS or US mail, and that will depend on how much you want to pay and how much of a hurry you’re in. Although I’m impatient to get the Chalk Bag, I don’t NEED it, and I should save money, so I requested that he use the least expensive (thus slowest) method possible. I put this information in the e-mail address. You can do the same thing, even in the original e-mail. This will cut down on the number of e-mails that must be exchanged so that they don’t have to write back and ask.

4. Once they have figured out the amount of shipping, they’ll write back with a quote for the total cost. The Chalk Bag cost $33.30, and I haven’t heard about shipping yet, but they said that they’d ship it Thursday since I’m not in a hurry. It should be light, so I hope the total package is not too heavy! Yet I hope it’s fast! I’d love it if it got here by Monday!

I did all of this midmorning, and I haven’t heard from them yet. I don’t know how busy they get, but I hope they’re not too slow. However, they don’t seem to be any JetPens, do they? I will let you know what and when I hear from them, but so far, the phone call took less than 15 minutes, including me giving him my credit card info. It was probably so short because that guy–amazing–knew BY HEART the product number of the Chalk Bag. He just rattled it off before I even had the chance to read it to him. And the way he said “Okey-dokey” in his strong Japanese accent was just so kawaii that I nearly wet myself. I guess you have to have seen him to get the full effect of the kawaiiness, but he is definitely a cutie. I really wish I got a photo of him when I was there, but since I’ve found out how easy it is to buy Dr. Ion items over the phone, I don’t think I’ll be making the trek back there anytime soon. He’s like a punk bunny with wild glasses. Even wilder than that bunny because I think his glasses were thick plastic rims with red polka dots. I think. Very hip.

So, consider this trail blazed for you, and if you have had any qualms about ordering from MaiDo over the phone, don’t worry. I’m the biggest coward ever when it comes to dealing with strangers, though I for some reason am more comfortable dealing with Japanese people than I am with any other demographic. I’m still afraid of any strangers, but Shuku was totally pleasant, and it went without a hitch, and I’m hopeful that I will soon receive a confirmation e-mail as well as, in a few days, a package containing a neat little Dr. Ion Chalk Bag, which I will, of course, review on this very blog! So stay tuned for that!

And if you have any desire to order from MaiDo but have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask me. Good luck! Incidentally, Mr. Kawamura told me that MaiDo usually has the entire line of Dr. Ion cases, (and that is a LOT of cases) but if something has run out, they can get it from Japan. Allow 6 to 8 weeks for delivery. Here are pages for all the cases that I am aware of for the entire line of Dr. Ion bags, cases, and briefcases, and wallets:

(I’m only posting a few samples from certain pages, not all the bags from all the pages. Only some of my faves.)

Wallets

Looks like small media holders

 

One of the best pages: lots of multi-holders, small cases, lunchbox-style cases, flap map-style cases, and soft briefcases

 

Looks like another kind of wallet

Two cool general multi-holders shoulder bags, fairly small

The Maruchiwaku cases, plus a new one I haven’t seen before…looks like it gathers at the top, plus a zipper hanging pocket. Don’t know what it’s for, but I like it!

Above: This is the new one. If any of you out there knows what it’s for, can you let me know? This is the Japanese explanation that comes with it:

セキュリティネックポーチ

品番：203DRBK

本体価格：1,575円(税込)

サイズ：H190×W130×D15mm,80g

容量：パスポートや現金、カード類、eチケット（A4の3つ折りサイズ）、筆記具、常備薬等を仕分けして収納出来ます。

• 

●旅行や出張、街歩きの際に便利なネックポーチ
●旅に必要な貴重品を安全に収納出来ます
●首掛け／腰付けが選べる2WAY仕様
●シャツやジャケットの中に隠せる薄型タイプ
●本体生地には、丈夫なナイロン生地を使用
●5つの多機能仕分けポケット＋ペンホルダー付
●ファスナー止め部分に消臭・抗菌効果のある光触媒生地使用

Looks like it might be a small document case…I like it!

• 
• 
• 

And how it’s used:

 

• 
• 
• 

 

More wallets

Tiny cases: looks like some very small media cases, as well as some key cases?

And there are LOTS more on the pages. Have fun and look…Dr. Ion is the awesomest!

I hope you enjoyed this look (again) of more Dr. Ion items. I don’t know what it is about these things; I just can’t get enough of them. I’ll let you know how it goes with my new system of water bottle management when I get the chalk bag. More to come!

And I know I owe you a review of black inks. I’m swamped right now. I’ll explain why in a later post. It’s past my bedtime now.

Oyasumi nasai, tomodachi!

Call the Dr.; I Have a Dilemma!

Here’s one regret that maybe you, my friendly reader, can help me with. If you recall, I went down to MaiDo in San Francisco to get the Dr. Ion Kutsuwa bags that I could afford. Unfortunately, I could not get as many as I had wanted to because I had miscalculated the timing of a payment that I was going to get on a job, so there was one bag that I left behind.

Since then, I have been contemplating it. And the reason I cannot just let it go is because, as you know from my review, I have not been able to figure out a combination of bags that will allow me to carry a bottle of water and food. The bags that I got are wonderful for everything–school supplies, writing supplies, journals, pens, etc., everything that the Pote on the Go needs. Except a place to put water and a snack.

Now, I believe that one of the bags MaiDo carries does have a separate container for water. (The one pictured above is the one that I think MaiDo carries and that I hope would have room for water and a snack.)  And, as I recall, I think I might be able to order it from the manager. But I am not sure if I can do that over the phone or over e-mail. One thing about me is that I dislike conducting business over the phone. I tend to be shy and self-conscious (why I am writing a blog and don’t actually have a life), and I think there might be a little bit of a language barrier between me and the manager at MaiDo, with whom I have had some discourse. Plus, although Mr. Kawamura of NBC Stationery said that I could order things from the store, I don’t know how often it is done, and maybe the manager wouldn’t understand me if I tried it. The result would be embarrassment for all, and Dr. Ion bags for none.

I don’t know if I should try. It is one of the more expensive bags. It could be a train wreck of a conversation. But it also stays in my mind all the time because, though I adore the little case I have been carrying as a purse…

..it’s just perfect for credit cards, ID, checkbook, keys, karambit, and Lamy Safari (for some reason, that’s the one I grab when I go on the road)…it’s just not big enough for food and water. I could hook it to something bigger, but the nature of all of the Dr. Ion cases that I was able to afford is sort of flat and journaly. That is why I think the case pictured above this one might work; it has a separate section for water. However, if not, they do have larger ones meant to be more pursey, with flaps and things…

But I don’t think they sold that one at MaiDo. *Sigh. Why do I love these cases so much? I love them ALL!

Check out this page…it’s just one page of their cases, but I think it has the best cases on it:

http://www.kutsuwa.co.jp/products/productlist/6/52

(In case you don’t feel like clicking over, I’ll include some photos here for you of the best ones.)

(Below: I really struggled with this one…I really wanted this one, too, but just could not afford it. It is so cool, though! SO many pockets!)

(Below: they called this a “chalk bag,” which I can understand, having been on climbing walls myself, but what I don’t understand is what you’d use this for in non-climbing situations. However, I could use it for water! I could just get this for water, and food could go in one of my current bags…and this is one of the less expensive bags. I love the look of it; it’s so unusual. And it would be much less expensive than buying a larger bag that would serve as a whole purse, thus rendering the little case I already have useless. Hmmm, an idea…)

(Below: Like the Maruchiwaku, but briefcase-style. )

Now, keep in mind that my cowardice does not have to infect you. If you are not shy, by all means, call MaiDo, and I am sure you will have good luck with the manager, whose name is Shuku, and/or Yumi. I’m just a wimp when it comes to talking to strangers on the phone. Even if they don’t carry the item, Mr. Kawamura (and I did get his name right) assures me that they can order it.)

(Note: My apologies to Shuku, whose name I have gotten wrong in the past. I am a total dork. I have gone back to all my previous posts and corrected all the instances of your name in them.)

Now, I know I could just carry a non-Dr. Ion item. But part of the reason that this is all so important to me–as any purse is to any woman, just ask her–is that, when I left behind my academician persona, I adopted my Lean, Mean, Writin’ Machine persona, and that is when and why I acquired all the Dr. Ion items. These were to help me in my new profession as a professional writer/editor/proofreader/grantwriter. No more backpacks for me, no Earth Mommy organic professorial folk artsy things for me anymore. Those things are fine, but they were the old me. I would become the Brand New M2000, the businesslike and efficient writing mavin! Organized, compartmentalized, streamlined, each item in its place, high-tech, super-corporate, from the culture that has a literal job designation called “Office Lady”! That is why I don’t want to go back to the old folk artsy purse. It evokes the old academic me, and since that is a world that does not want me, I do not want it.

OK, I am going to call tomorrow and speak to either Shuku or Yumi and I am going to order one of those bags. I will decide tonight, based on the Kutsuwa website, and I will keep you apprised of my progress. Thank you for listening, my loyal reader! Oh…and if you have any suggestions as to which bag/case you recommend, I am all ears! Or eyes, in this case. What do you think, the chalk bag for just water? But do they have a minimum required amount for a special order from Japan, because I don’t know if they carry the chalk bag…darn it, all the issues! Criminey!

Like a Baby Without Its Bottle: The Dr. Ion Multi-Holder Zipper-Fastener Review

I wasn’t sure how to categorize this case, and I didn’t know what to call it without first dragging out my Japanese dictionary with its katakana chart. It is unlike anything I have ever seen. Not quite a purse, not a briefcase, too utilitarian to be totally artistic, yet too kawaii (Japanese for “cute” but with English connotations that also might include the old-fashioned “cunning” and “adorable”) to be completely institutional. What with its little pen loops and its cute zippered pockets and little loop on the Velcro strap for a small pocket, I didn’t know what to make of it. Which, of course, is why I had to buy it. I have never seen anything like it.

However, I knew that I had to call it something, so I gave in and broke out the dictionary, and this is what I was able to make of the katakana on the Kutsuwa Web page about this product:

maruchihorudā / dotusupufasunā

Now, please keep in mind that I don’t speak Japanese; what I know is pretty much what I pick up from having Japanese friends and a long-lasting interest and admiration in the culture, language, and literature. And watching lots and lots of anime, cartoons, and Japanese dramas and TV shows. However, I do know that certain syllables will be unstressed in certain situations—syllables with “u” in them—and I know that katakana is used for words of non-Japanese origin. So I believe that the first word would translate to something that sounds like MAHluCHEE HOHluDAH…or “Multi-holder.” And the second word I’m less sure about, but I think it ends with “FAHsuNAH” or “Fastener.” I’m not sure of the first part, or “dotusupu,” but I’m guessing it would sound like “DOHtspu,” and, given the preponderance of zippers on this case, I think this word might be the Japanese pronunciation of “zipper.” So that would give us “Multi-holder Zipper Fastener.” A utilitarian name for a utilitarian case, spare, not an inch of wasted space, which is so much what I admire about many aspects of Japanese culture: the architecture, the music, the art. Spare, without ornamentation or ornateness or any frippery. That’s this Kutsuwa Dr. Ion case to a T.

Our friend Mr. Golden Ruler clocks this puppy in at approximately 7” long, 6 ½” wide, and, at its deepest point, 2”. There is one main zippered pocket toward the back, a smaller unzippered, but Velcro, pocket forward, and then at the front, a long, skinny zippered pocket, three pen loops on its front, and a tiny pocket with a Velcro strap and a hoop on the end of it, to which you can easily attach a cute cell-phone character strap to personalize it. (MaiDo sells a number of these.)

Front view, multi-holder with zippers. Kawaii!

There are several ways to carry this case: it comes with a shoulder strap with high-quality metal fasteners, not cheap plastic things, on each end, a solid strap for a belt with both a snap and Velcro to keep it solidly attached, and a metal carabiner that you can use to attach it to a belt or another Dr. Ion bag, as I might try to do. The material of this case is stiff enough so that it can be hung from one central point and not sag at the ends.

Multi-holder: back view: Velcro, snap, carabiner. Snappy!

What is it used for? That’s the question. Like the maruchiwaku case, its design is so specific that it seems like it is meant to be use for something special, but I don’t know what it is. Perhaps it’s something unique or specific to Japanese culture. At any rate, it’s not like a big tote bag that you can dump everything in, and that’s both a blessing and a curse. If you’re like me, you carry a purse that grows in proportion to the amount of stuff you carry around, and that can be quite a lot. So in a way, it’s a good thing to be forced to limit yourself to a smaller-sized bag; that way, you won’t wind up looking like Quasimodo when you’re 50 because you carried too much stuff on one shoulder or the other your whole life.

Multi-holder, two biggest pockets (top view). Posh!

However, in today’s water-bottle-carrying age, this case isn’t big enough to hold one. I bring a bottle of water everywhere I go, and I’m at a distinct disadvantage if I carry this case alone because I have to carry the bottle in my hands. It’s true, I could fit the bottle in the case, but I would not be able to carry much else in it. I carried two (non-fountain) pens, non-fountain because they are sort of exposed, and I didn’t want to worry about them falling out. However, they seemed pretty secure, and I think I was just being over-cautious. I think I could carry a good-sized fountain pen with a solid clip without much danger of losing it in the pen holders. However, if I am concerned, I can put them in the zippered pockets. The bag will fit three pens, but I didn’t see the need to carry three. In the long, narrow zippered pocket, I put a long, narrow pad of paper, and there was probably room for one or two more of the same depth. In the Velcro pocket (the smaller one with the strap), I put my cell phone, and in the larger Velcro pocket, I put my karambit and keys when they’re not in use. And, finally, in the largest pocket, I put a little change purse with cash in it (not much cash), a little wallet with IDs and credit cards, a little fold-over case in which I keep my business cards, another little cell-phone holder that holds instead extra cards like insurance and eye doctor and other cards that aren’t necessary for me to get at a moment’s notice.

Unfortunately, that’s about all that fits in the large pocket. However, I should say that the capacity is not bad, especially because one of the little wallets is not so little; it’s made of cotton kimono material, and it’s padded, and it takes up a lot of space. It’s just so pretty that I must carry it! Several of my wallets are made of kimono material. It’s beautiful, and I just love the Japanese aesthetic. I just thank God I was born Indian and not Japanese because I know I would want to wear kimono if I were Japanese, and I’d never be able to afford it. As it stands now, I can just take a 6-yard length of any material from the fabric store and wear it as a sari, but with a kimono, there are all the parts: the underthings, the under-kimono, the obi (sash), the obi-age (thing that goes under the sash), the string that gets tied around the obi, and all the other parts that I don’t know about. Not to mention the accessories; you’d have to have tabi (the white socks with the split big toe) and zori (sandals) at the least, and I think you’d probably look funny carrying a backpack with a kimono…however, I guess you’d take your books in a furoshiki. I already look funny carrying my books while wearing a sari. Anyway, although I do wish I were born Japanese so that I would have some biological connection to the culture I admire so much, my bank account is glad that I wasn’t!

Anyway, back to the multi-holder. I tried carrying it for the first time yesterday at school, along with my usuals: the maruchiwaku (large) for books) and the smaller lunchbox-style beige case. I just substituted a larger purse for the zippered multi-holder. And the experiences had its pros and cons:

Pros:

It was much lighter than my usual purse.

It looked very tidy.

Stuff was easier to find in it because it was smaller and more organized.

When zipped, I felt very safe about it turning upside-down or getting knocked around because nothing would fall out.

I could easily swing it and use it as a weapon. It’d hurt, too, with the metal carabiner and the rough fabric and metal clasps on the shoulder strap.

I could carry it on my shoulder or across my torso or, if I had a belt, on my belt.

It is just so kawaii!!!

Cons:

Couldn’t fit a water bottle into it.

If it was not zipped, things seemed like they would fall out easily. (Hence the zippers, I guess.)

I couldn’t fit as much into it as I’m used to fitting in a purse, including anything that I might buy when out. Like, say I wanted to buy a journal; I couldn’t just stick it in my purse, like I could before. I’d have to either stick it in the maruchiwaku or hold it in my hands, which were already full with my water and shawl.

So really, my only complaint is related to size, which means that I should use this case for something other than a purse function. I’m not sure what…it would be ideal to fit a medium-sized journal and a few pens in, plus perhaps some ink, or maybe a few art supplies, or maybe more than one journal (as I always have more than one journal going) and different-colored pens. In fact, for me, since I like to bring ALL my fountain pens with me everywhere I go because I like to use different colors of inks and different textures of nibs (this tells you how few fountain pens I have I NEED MORE), I bet I could fit all of them in this one case, plus a couple of journals. So, say I wanted to go out in nature and write among the baby birds (because it is spring, you know) and the just-unfurling green leaves…this little guy would be ideal for carrying everything I needed, provided that I was not planning to write in any of my larger journals.

For other people…YMMV. Many people have lots of, say, colored pens, and they’d easily fit in the large zippered pocket. For example, if you wanted to bring something along the size of a pocket Moleskine and 20-30 Pigma Micron pens to draw with, plus 5-10 pencils and a sharpener, you could do it using this bag. Or you might be able to fit some paint brushes, a pocket watercolor kit and a pocket watercolor book, you could, but keep in mind that you would probably not be able to zip it closed over the brushes. I don’t have any, but I think they’re mostly longer than 7 inches. If you’re not of the writerly or artistic bent, you could easily fit a paperback or two if they’re small, your cell phone, and a Clif bar if you wanted to go on a hike (but water bottle comes separately).  Or, you could do what I’ve done in the past with other bags: fill it with rocks and go trolling for purse-snatchers. Just kidding, Mom! Just kidding!

Anyway, although I doubt this cunning little multi-case holder would suffice as a purse for most of my female friends, who tend to be either artists or writers and, like me, carry books, multiple journals, pens, and then all the female nonsense that we females carry, it would certainly serve well as something designed to hold only your artistic supplies if going out on a day trip. Oh, and cost…at MaiDo, how much did I pay? I believe it was approximately $25. That is a little steep, I know, and I would not spend that money on just any product. But, to my knowledge, these Japanese Dr. Ion products are actually made in Japan, and the quality is good. I can tell that the stitching is strong, the material thick and tightly woven, probably water-resistant, the fasteners metal and very secure. Plus, given the fact that it’s an imported item and bloody hard to find in the US, even by mail order, $25 is not an exorbitant amount to pay. Just keep in mind the cons as well as the pros so that you are not disappointed if and when (when) you do buy it.

One bittersweet pseudo-irony…on the day after I got home from spending (way too much) money at MaiDo, I received a very sweet e-mail from Mr. Taka Kawamura, from NBC Stationery and Gifts (which I assume is the parent company of all the MaiDos), and he thanked me for the (as yet planned) review and offered me 20% off on Dr. Ion purchases for the purposes of it. Talk about a dollar short and a day late! If I’d waited only one more day, I would have been able to afford another bag, probably! And it is a bummer because I was REALLY caught between this multi-holder and another shoulder bag, both of which I could not afford. However, I hope that his kind offer extends to future purposes. And he also informed me of an important detail, which I will pass along to you readers: if you would like to make a special order from MaiDo, you can. (For example, if you see that Kutsuwa carries a bag in their Dr. Ion line that MaiDo does not carry, you can special order it from MaiDo.) I might be able to help you out with that, from memory, so write me if Kutsuwa has one that you want and you don’t know if MaiDo carries it, and I’ll try to remember if they do or not.  If you make the order through the Westfield Mall, ask for Shuku, the store manager, or Yumi (that is typically a female name in Japan, so I think this will be a woman, while I believe that Shuzu is a man) and one of them can help you. However, be aware that the order will take from 6-8 weeks to arrive because it will be coming from Japan by ship.

I also asked Mr. Kawamura if one could make an order for an item that one knows that the store carries (like that bag that I wanted so much…) and he just wrote me back today—the same day I wrote him! Customer service has been great with these guys, by the way. His response was this:

Yes, we can ship merchandise almost anywhere in the USA as well as overseas.

In fact we have some regular email-order customers in Seattle, DC, as well as Switzerland.

When you need to order something, just let us know the information such as;

Maker:

Item Number: if you know

Color:

Size:

Name, Shipping Address, Payment Info, etc.

If something is in stock, we can usually ship it out next business day (M-F).

For special orders from Japan:

Even though we deal with many major manufacturers of Japanese stationery, some smaller companies’ products and non-stationery products may not be available for special orders. Also, some special orders require minimum purchase (varies by products).

So this is helpful to know. If I can help, also, please let me know. I might be able to assist you with my (admittedly rudimentary) translating skills so that you can have an idea of what item you’re interested in, particularly if it’s a Dr. Ion one, since I have been over their line with a fine-tooth comb. But don’t just limit your imagination to these wonderful cases; MaiDo—the ones I’ve been to, I know—have so many wonderful items that you just cannot find elsewhere, cultural items, like furoshiki and fabric and traditional crafts, and melding of traditional and moderns (as in their beautiful plastic folders with Japanese scenery painted on them) and the gorgeous maki-e pens, that it’s terrific that they will do mail order like this. It’s a definite boon for those who live in cultural wastelands or Redneck Centrals.

So please let me know if I may be of assistance in ordering something from MaiDo, and I will do my best to ensure that the transaction is concluded successfully. I do encourage you to explore them if you can, if you have the slightest interest in Japanese culture.

And, now, speaking of culture, we come to the tradition that you have come to know and love: the Bailiwick Limerick. And with that, I conclude my official review of the wonderful Kutsuwa Dr. Ion maruchihorudā / dotusupufasunā or Multi-holder Zipper Fastener. I hope that you all go out and buy one immediately!

And may your fountain pens never run dry.

The Bailiwick Limerick

If you like to speed at full throttle

And have somewhere else for your bottle,

Your water is sipped,

Your stuff safely zipped,

And may all your stops just be glottal.

As this limerick is a bit obscure for any non-linguists out there, which is pretty much everyone but one or two people, I should explain. There is a phenomenon in language called a “glottal stop,” and that is when there is a momentary stop in speech, usually in the middle of a word, and then an explosive resumption of it. It’s caused by a cessation of the movement of the glottis, or vocal chords (hence the name “glottal”) and then resuming speech with a bit of a punch. We don’t really have this practice in English except, as I’ve read, in Cockney English, when someone will say “bo’le” rather than “bottle” (not pronouncing the /t/ sound). However, I have actually heard a glottal stop consistently with one demographic of people…I’m not sure what to call this demographic because it isn’t a so-called “racial” one (given that anthropologists typically don’t acknowledge race as a real phenomenon except as it exists sociologically); I have seen white, African American, and Hispanic people speak this way…but it is only women, and it’s usually women who are younger than I am. I’ve seen it on television, but also on campus. It’s a kind of speech—I’m not sure if it has formally been acknowledged as a “dialect,” but the types of people who acknowledge things as dialects typically have the least right to do so anyway—that seems to go along with urban, streetwise, maybe lower-middle class kids perhaps a generation younger than me (I’m 40). Words like “something” will come out like “sunh’enh” with a glottal stop being represented by the apostrophe, or “didn’t” sounding like “di’en’,” like “She di’en’ do that!” It almost seems to be an affectation, it’s so pronounced. I’m sure some anthropologist/linguist somewhere has already made an idiot of himself studying it. Anyway, glottal stops are common in Native American languages; I know that Kiowa is full of them, and I think Navajo, which is much easier to get language recordings of, is as well, so if you’re interested, go have a listen. I believe that, linguistically, a glottal stop is symbolized by a question mark (?) but I’m not sure. I’m sure that there are some knowledgeable people out there who can set me straight on this.

As far as what this meant in the context of my limerick, I believe that I invented the world’s first linguists’ only “fare thee well” phrase. You know the type: “fare well” meaning” be well,” “may the wind always be at your back,” or the longer Irish blessing it comes from:

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

All those sentiments that mean “do well in your future life”? Well, I mean in my “blessing” that may your only “obstacles” be the ones deliberately voiced in your language…or may all your stops only be glottal. Only a linguist would get the humor—and the blessing—of that, so if you’re not one, just bear with me and wait for the next limerick. It’ll be here soon.

MaiDo, Your Dough, I Wish It Were My Dough!

I Need More of My Dough: The MaiDo Review

Those lucky few who have been keeping up with my blog know that I, for my very first time, just went down to MaiDo at the rather pretentious Westfield Mall with my husband last Saturday, April 16. I was on the lookout for Kutsuwa Dr. Ion pencil cases.

First, a bit of background. I first saw a Kutsuwa Dr. Ion pencil case at JetPens, where I fell in love with it and mooned after it for months. But, money being what it is (absent), I did not get it until I had gotten a little more work. I’m a struggling freelance writer, and jobs are scarce.

Once I did get it, I fell in love. Its many compartments, its endearing lunchbox shape—well, you can read all about it on my reviews page (see the menu to the right and look for JetPens Office Supply Reviews).

However, during the months between the time that I first saw the pencil case at JetPens and when I actually bought it, I ran across an amazing case in Japantown. It’s not exactly a pencil case; it’s for bigger flat things and writing instruments together. This was, unknown to me since I don’t read Japanese without a dictionary and a LOT of time, also a Dr. Ion product. It’s just something about that line of bags and cases that gets me every time. This was the Maruchiwaku case, bought to underscore and help nurture my transformation from subservient grad student to hip and confident freelance writer. I bought it, also unknown to me, at the MaiDo in Japantown. (I had thought it was part of the Kinokuniya bookstore because of some erroneous reviews I’d read of it; hence my confusion.)

Unfortunately, I was in a hurry when I was in the Japantown store, so I didn’t get to take notes. However, my journey to the Westfield branch was well planned, so I had the opportunity to take notes and even give the manager my business card. But back to the chronology.

You who have read the saga of our trip to San Francisco know how we got there, so I won’t bore you again with those details. This review begins as I walked in the door.

The store opened a little after I arrived, so I had a moment to take some notes about what I saw from the giant wall-sized windows that served as the storefront. At the immediate front on the left of the door was a flat-screen TV playing Rilakkuma cartoons, which I found auspicious because Rilakkuma is my favorite Sanrio character. He is a bear who is in the same constellation as Hello Kitty and all her friends, Sanrio being the company who makes all of these animal buddies and their fantastically expensive merchandising.

There were some other cute character items on the table with the TV, but the right-side display is the one that really held my attention; it was a table of gorgeous fountain pens that ranged from the low hundreds to the thousands in dollars. There was a Platinum Limited Edition carbon fiber fountain pen, costing $1050 to the $82.50 double-action leather combi pen, and the Platinum Hakumaya fountain pen for $1100, and the Sailor Young Professional fountain pen for $82.50.  There was a Tetsu-tou wood pen for $513 and a maki-e butterfly pen (I love maki-e pens) for $525, and another one with a chrysanthemum design for $402.50. These were all the pens I took note of from the outside window looking in at the immediate display.

On the inside, however, there were rolls and rolls – pretty much a whole wall – of colorful and beautiful washi paper and another wall of cards. A couple of shorter displays in the center held tons of non-fountain pens, but also some of the more inexpensive fountain pens, including the $4 Platinum Preppy that I bought. It comes in a variety of colors: purple, green, pink, red, yellow…I chose pink. I am not usually a big fan of pink, but this pink looks pretty loud, and I either have the other colors, although I know there are differences, or I was not interested (as in yellow). These Preppys are refillable, too, so at $4, they’re a steal. That’s assuming that they write well. I have not yet tried it (I have only just in the past 10 minutes taken my items out of the bag, and I’m writing this on Monday night…I’ve just been too busy to play with them!)

Along the back row were plushies of the well-loved Totoro character, and some tote bags with French words on them. I saw a great-looking tote bag with a bunny design all over it, but I was there to get Dr. Ion, so I resolutely didn’t look at the price.

They also carried a number of simple, one- to two-pocket pencil cases with a variety of characters and cartoon drawings on them, keyrings with stuffed plushies on them, some Japanese fabric meant to be used as furoshiki and some small cases made of the traditional dark blue and white designs that look sort of like a tie-dye method of dyeing.  There was one style of case that I really liked; it was just a slim sleeve that zipped at the top, made of that dark blue and what material. I’m not sure what it was for – there were two sizes, and it looked like they might fit folders or binders, some flat objects – but I thought it would be neat to carry around papers or folders or binders in them.

Speaking of folders, under the washi paper, there was a row of really beautiful plastic folders, called “holders” because they’re not exactly folders. Imagine putting two flat plastic transparencies together, one on top of the other, and then gluing them together at the edges along three sides, leaving one side open to put papers in. They were like that, but the plastic was much thicker than transparency plastic, and each one had gorgeous traditional designs of women, geisha, blossoms, leaves, waves, flowers, landscapes, etc. If I could have, I would have bought one of each.

They also had quite a selection of origami papers, kits, and books about how to do origami. I like the papers just for themselves because the designs are so pretty. They also had lots of brush pens, what we call in Chinese “maobi” but I don’t know what they call them in Japanese. These ranged from about $3 to $20, and there was plenty of rice paper to go with it so that you can practice your characters.

And, of course, the journals. I almost went nuts when I saw all the journals there that I could not afford. Not that they were unreasonably priced; they ranged from about $3 to into the $20s for the bigger or thicker ones. They carried great brands that are not easy to find, as well as brands that are easier to find (if you know where to look), including Apica, Maruman, Campus Note, Correl Method note, Libretto, and Tsubame – but with a huge variety of each. Lots of sizes and thicknesses. Basically, half of the store, one wall, floor to ceiling, covered with journals. I would have loved to spend thousands of dollars on just those journals alone because Japanese journals tend to have finer rule than American and European, which I like, and I think that Japanese students use these thin notebooks in school, like in high school, something that we don’t do here in the US. We occasionally use those crappy “Blue Books” for test-taking, but they are nowhere near the quality of these Japanese notebooks, which I think are meant for note-taking (and keeping), so their quality is better. At least, when I watch all the anime that I like, I often see students using notebooks that resemble these. This is yet one more thing that the US could definitely learn from Japan: we should use that kind of notebook in our schools!

They also had a big selection of adorable stationery sets…Japanese people know how to make the best stationery sets evar, with animals, fruits, flowers, farm scenes, all kinds of stylized designs that capture the essence of “kawaii” or “cute” in Japanese in a way that we just cannot replicate in the US. I don’t know why the Japanese are so good at cute, but they have it mastered in their stationery, office supplies, luggage, everything.

I realize that this review is not as colorful as it could be since I didn’t get photos. The atmosphere was so…refined from the mall, and we were in there alone, I felt that I might get in trouble if I tried.

So, now to the most important part: the Dr. Ion items. The reason I went. The selection is good; there is one side of a large pillar covered with just Dr. Ion cases. Two sizes of the Maruchiwaku, two of the lunchbox-style pencil cases, a large briefcase, a series of medium to small shoulder bags (all with TONS of pockets, the reason I love Dr. Ion so much), and tiny media holders. They certainly lived up to my expectations in terms of pockets, unique look, and compartmentalizing capability. Needless to say, I wanted them all.

However, I was a bit disappointed in how expensive they are. I know that they’re imported, but they come by ship; it’s not like they’re flown over in special jets. And I think a lot of the reason why they have to jack the prices up so high is because of the overhead at being in the Westfield mall; the rent alone must be a fortune. You should see, though – and you can because I’ve sent you the links – what these things cost in Japan. Still a little pricey because they are well made, but where I would see one case for about $8 in Japan, it was about three times that at MaiDo. However, if you want Dr. Ion, you have to suck it up and pay that amount because you just cannot get it anywhere else. All of the retailers who sold it online in Japan will not ship overseas (at least all the ones I could find), so you are forced to do business with American retailers.

Once in a while, I think a bag like that (if you didn’t have an obsessive craving for them like I do) is not unreasonable, given the quality and place of origin. The large briefcase, for example, was about $50. If you want a good briefcase and you use it every day (and you can afford it, of course), $50 is not at all unreasonable. Yet there seemed to be very strange discrepancies in their pricing. For example, the smaller Maruchiwaku, which was bigger than some cases, was very reasonable at about $22, but some of the much smaller cases were almost twice that much, and I don’t know why. That definitely went into my decision to buy one and not the other. (I’ll do a review on the things I got soon.)

So, overall, how is MaiDo as a store? Totally depends on your tax bracket. If you’re not rich…AT ALL…like me, this is a once every 5 years trip. If you have surplus funds and you don’t mind the San Francisco streets, go as often as possible. Either way, it is a treat. If you like Japanese culture at all, there will be something for you there, whether it be grown-up stuff like Dr. Ion and the journals or the more childish (yet appealing for adults, too, because I loved them all) character items, pencil bags, plushies, and stationery sets. And stickers…they have a lot of stickers.

Apparently, according to the head honchos at NBC Stationery and Gifts (I assume that this is the group that owns the MaiDos), you can get special orders, so if you see items online, say, that you like that they don’t carry, ask for Shuku, the store manager (I think I saw him; he was really cool, looked very young, with a bald head, wild white and red polka-dotted glasses, and very hip clothing) or Yumi, and they can make the order for you. Be aware, though, that it can take 6 to 8 weeks because the items do come from Japan by ship.

Any questions? Just ask me or contact MaiDo yourself. I’ve had good luck e-mailing them, but if you call and they’re busy, chances are that they won’t have time to look for a specific item; it’s a small store, and I think just one employee at a time can be scheduled during the down times. For a small store, however, they manage to pack A LOT in it. Definitely come with some time to spend because there is a lot to see there. And if any of my loyal readers goes, please write to me and tell me how it went, what you bought, what you thought!

Stay tuned for my reviews (with pictures!) of the 3 items I bought!