Visiting All the Traveler’s Factory Locations in Japan

Japan’s Traveler’s Company is the group behind the Midori notebook and the Traveler’s Notebook system that swept the journaling world a few years ago. If you’re interested in notebooks, planners, junk journals, bullet journal, or even just vintage travel-themed stickers and washi tape, visiting a Traveler’s Factory is well worth the time and effort.

For me, I like using a Traveler’s Notebook for my travel journal because I can send the individual inserts back to my parents once I finish them. That means I only need to carry a few notebooks with me and I can use the extra space for other journal supplies I pick up during my travels.

There are four Traveler’s Factory stores in Japan, and I visited all of them! This post shares my thoughts on each location, plus photos I took and any helpful information I have.

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Tips for Shopping at the Factory

They have little baskets at the entrance. Use these to hold your notebooks/stickers/whatever and don’t just carry them around in your hand.

They accept credit card payments. There’s no tax refund, however.

The staff generally speak good English, but the staff with the best English that I’ve personally talked to is at the Nakameguro and Kyoto branches.

Sometimes the Factory will have a special event going on, like an artist-in-residence or a meetup. Check their Facebook for updates!

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TRAVELER’S FACTORY NAKAMEGURO

• Address: 3-13-10, Kamimeguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-0051, JAPAN
• Metro: NAKAMEGURO Station (South Gates)
• Open hours: Wednesday-Monday 12:00pm-8:00pm, closed Tuesdays

Originally this building was used as a paper processing factory! Fitting for a company now selling special notebooks and other paper products (plus leather goods).

This is the most comfortable store to browse in for the Tokyo branches, because it’s in the least-busy part of the city and in a separate building from other stores. The upstairs has a sitting area where you can set up your newly purchased notebooks and get them ready to use.

Be sure to get the special Traveler’s Factory location stamp which can only be found in this branch!

TRAVELER’S FACTORY AIRPORT

• Address: Narita International Airport, Terminal 1 4F, Narita-shi, Chiba, 282-0011, Japan
• Open hours: Sunday-Saturday 9:00pm-6:00pm

Super tiny and gets busy fast, but they have some interesting stickers I haven’t seen at the other Factory stores. Leave your luggage just outside the shop while you browse, please– I got a little knee injury from another traveler’s suitcase.

Be sure to get the special Traveler’s Factory Airport stamp which can only be found in this location!

TRAVELER’S FACTORY STATION

• Address: JR Tokyo Station, GRANSTA MARUNOUCHI UNDERGROUND, North Exit
• Open hours: Monday-Saturday 10:00am-10:00pm, Sunday 10:00am-9:00pm

This is the easiest store to find amongst your other sightseeing because you’ll probably get to Tokyo Station at some point, but ironically it’s also the MOST DIFFICULT to locate because Tokyo Station is an absolute maze. Once I found it I had a great time shopping for my first Traveler’s Notebook: a passport size in brown! I also grabbed a few (too many) inserts and a couple other accessories.

Be sure to get the special Traveler’s Factory Station stamp which can only be found in this location! You can also pick up the Tokyo Station special edition notebooks and covers here.

TRAVELER’S FACTORY KYOTO

• Address: ShinPuhKan Shopping Center, 1F 586-2, Karasumadori Aneyakoji-Sagaru Banocho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, JAPAN
• Metro: Karasumaoike Station, South Exit
• Open hours: Sunday-Saturday 11:00am-8:00pm
• Services:

This is maybe the nicest location of all the ones in Japan and my favorite to visit overall: it’s the largest of the Factories, though it still feels a bit crowded when everyone’s trying to look at the wall of notebooks. This location also has a sitting area on one side where you can unpack your new purchase(s) and get it set up before using the store’s stamp collection to decorate your cover.

I managed to get a ton of photos at this location, so here you go:

I bought my second Traveler’s Notebook here: regular size in dark blue leather! I also stocked up on some new notebooks, including a sticker one which has special sheets where you can stick and re-stick a sticker without ruining it. Perfect for when I want to use a sticker, but haven’t decided on its final home yet.

Like every other location, this one has special Traveler’s Factory Kyoto stamps which can only be found in this location! They also have a special machine which “weighs” you and spits out a ticket with a cute vintage graphic on it. You can also grab a paper copy of their catalog and an English-language version of their quarterly newsletter.

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Are you planning to visit a Traveler’s Factory on your trip to Japan?