Tag: Traveler’s Notebook

My Customized Traveler’s Notebook

I recently ordered and received a customized standard-sized Traveler’s Notebook from Baum-Kuchen. I have been wanting to order one for a while so as soon as they had re-opened the service, I contacted their lovely team to work out the details of my request. I have always wanted a camel Traveler’s Notebook and have always wanted a customized Traveler’s Notebook, so great opportunity to fulfill both wants.

My Tokyo Station Traveler’s Notebooks is what I have been using as my main journal for the past couple of years. I kind of baby it because it is one of my favorite souvenirs from our first trip to Japan. As such, whenever I take it anywhere, it is usually in a canvas carrier to prevent it from getting scratched up; Which is fine, but that makes it kind of a chunky thing to carry anywhere and prevents it from developing a nice patina like my passport Traveler’s Notebook. I kind of just throw my passport TN in my bag since it functions as a planner and extended wallet. Because of that, the leather has become nice and supple and broken in with a lot of character.

So the Tokyo Station TN now houses all of my travel journals from Japan along with pamphlets and other ephemera and my new customized TN is now my daily writing journal. I took my scrapbooking insert out, leaving just my journal and the sticker paper insert. Doing so slims it down quite a bit and makes it so that it actually fits in some of my bag/backpack pockets. When I feel like carrying around my scrapbook insert or sketchbook insert I can easily add either one back in as I have my TN setup to make it easy to do so.

So as far as customizations, this is what I went with. Originally I had wanted the pockets in nude but one of them was out of stock in that color so I had chosen brown instead. Thinking back, I am so glad that I went with brown as it matches the color of my pen clip and just suits my taste better.

I chose the cardholder wallet pocket on the left inside cover to store washi samples and other random card shaped slips of paper. I added my Superior Labor double pen clip holder because it’s convenient being able to hold two pens (fountain pen, and either pencil or inking pen) and also because the brown leather on the pen loops matches the brown leather on the pockets perfectly. The brass clip makes the top card pocket on the left inside cover a bit too tight for washi samples but I have found that it is the perfect size for printouts from my Polaroid Zink sticker printer.

On the right inside cover I chose the zipper pocket, which currently holds: A small plastic ruler, a fake movie prop $100 bill, weird pictures, bird stickers, scraps of paper. It’s basically a catchall for random ephemera. There is ample space under each sewn on pocket to store more items. This setup more or less matches the setup that I used with the blue canvas insert in my Tokyo Station TN. It’s a lot easier to manage with the pockets sewn in vs being another insert.

On the cover I have a quote from one of my favorite shows embossed: “There’s coffee in that nebula.” I feel that it encompasses a decent range of things that I enjoy: Coffee, Star Trek, and exploration/adventure. But seriously, I am a huge Star Trek nerd.

2020 Analog System

I figured that now would be a good time to post about the various notebooks that I have used this year and why they did or did not work for me.

Traveler’s Notebook Passport

My Traveler’s Notebook Passport setup hasn’t changed much since I had made this post. This notebook is used as my daily planner. I have 3 inserts: A weekly planner insert, a monthly planner insert, and a blank notebook. I had considered moving over to a TN regular or A5 sized planner, but the passport size really works for me because it is modular and is the perfect size for my bags and purses.

Traveler’s NoteBook Regular

This notebook is mostly a creative outlet. The layout is almost the same as I had posted, with the exception that the dot grid Notebook has been swapped out with a Baum-Kuchen GRID notebook. I like the idea of having a notebook dedicated to entries that are neatly penned with one of my fountain pens. I do take this notebook along when I travel as it is actually used as a traveler’s notebook. When I do so, I will only take one insert and the canvas organizer so that it is not overly thick. When in “travel mode” it fit perfectly into the sling that I use so long as I don’t have it overloaded with stuff.

Kokuhodo Black Notebook

This journal came in one of The Stationery Selection boxes last year. I really like matte black so naturally, I chose this as my journal for 2020. I really like the paper quality, but it is a little frustrating that this notebook doesn’t fold flat. This notebook started off as a fairly traditional journal and has turned into somewhat of a hybrid between a brain dump and a bullet journal. Basically, if I need to get something random off of my mind I’ll write in this notebook. If I feel like writing but can’t think of anything to write about because it was a boring day, I will just write about the cats or literally anything and everything that comes to mind.

At the beginning or end of the day I will try to write down literally every single thing that I need to do. Anything that doesn’t get done gets migrated over to the next day and so forth. I find that the physical act of writing something down helps me to remember and process things; That is why, despite being a very technology oriented person, I use an analog planner instead of my phone.

My Traveler’s Notebook Passport Setup

I guess some folks find it odd for someone so digitally oriented as myself to use an analog planner system instead of well, my phone. I have used both methods for general planning as well as note taking, and physically writing stuff down just works the best for me and well, ❤️ analogue/journaling things.

I have three notebook inserts, two folders, and the plastic sleeve insert in my TN. These are the three notebooks that I use: the Weekly Diary, Blank Notebook, and the Monthly Diary. I find that having three inserts is the most that I can include in my current setup without making the notebook too chunky. 

The plastic sleeve has a clear zipper pouch in the front and card slots in the back. I keep memory cards, checks to deposit, and stuff like that in the zipper pouch (as well as a whisker from each cat). The card slots in the back have cards that I don’t need to carry around in my wallet (club cards, stamp cards)

I have two folders: The first folder is the TN Kraft folder, which is inserted around the monthly planner notebook. I just keep blotter paper, post-it notes, shitajiki (writing bird), and stuff like that. The second notebook is a thin leather folder that I purchased at the Tokyo Station Travelers Factory store when we we visiting Japan. This folder is loosely inserted in the back. Continue reading