I confess that I am a routine person. Ever since I’ve discovered Tomoe River paper, I have stuck to it religiously (52 gsm, and in grid format please!). It is lightweight and thin, but smooth and shows sheen and shading well. Usually, I purchase Hobonichi Cousin Plain notebooks which are A5 size (5.8” x 6.3”). These notebooks are very slim and can be found at the Hobonichi Online Store or on Amazon.
After finishing my fourth Hobonichi, I decided to go out on a limb and try a popular Tomoe River notebook - the Nanami Seven Seas. This notebook is also an A5 and available in a variety of page rulings: blank, ruled, or dot-grid. I opted for the dot-grid as it seemed closest to a regular grid format. The notebook boasts a whopping 480 pages and is enormous. The size is easily 3 times as big as a typical Hobonichi Cousin.
I’ve included a picture of the Nanami Seven Seas (left) and Hobonichi Techno Cousin (right).
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| Hobonichi |
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| Nanami |
To my surprise, I loved the dot-grid. It made my handwriting slightly larger and less cramped which was great for picture. The paper was silky smooth and the notebook laid flat, despite being gigantic. Additionally, my phone camera had an easier time focusing on close-ups—I suspect this is because of the dots vs grid layout.
As seen above - the Hobonichi does not photograph well for close-ups. The Nanami Seven Seas below photographs well and does not require as much post-photo adjusting.
Unfortunately, my Nanami notebook proved to be too bulky. I made it through approximately 1/3 of the notebook before announcing defeat; I had unfortunately developed wrist pain. This was eased by using my phone as a wrist rest but I ultimately felt uncomfortable with the notebook height. That is not to say that this notebook is thrown out—I feel guilty wasting paper and will use pages for ink reviews here and there.
Overall, this is a nay for me—but I’m glad I tried something new! I think the Nanami notebook is fantastic and deserves recognition for an insane amount of Tomoe River pages. I’ve listed a quick comparison list for both notebooks below. What are your thoughts on Tomoe River paper? Do you have a certain preference towards paper weight or notebook brand?
Nanami Seven Seas A5 Notebook
- 480 pages
- 5 mm cross grid
- 15mm thick
- Available: nanamipaper.com
- Pros: LOTS of paper; good value for price ($28), shipped in US; less cramped handwriting; photographs well
- Cons: Thick; may need to use wrist rest
Hobonichi Cousin A5 Notebook
- 288 pages
- 3.7 mm graph
- 10 mm thick
- Available: Hobonichi Store (1101.com)
- Pros: Slim; portable; graph paper changes every 70 pages
- Cons: Pricey on Amazon; can be shipped from Japan but will take longer to arrive
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