ミドリ(MIDORI) Traveler's Notebook Brown Leather (1.1 LB) by Office 4 All

I had to write about thid journal immediately. I've been wanting one since my trip to Japan last year, seeing it in store.I was not disappointed: the material is soft, beautiful, and smells divine.Is it slightly expensive? Sure, but it's worth every penny.It's packaged so nicely, in a fabric bag, and comes with a blank insert and an extra orange band to seal it.I read that some find it difficult to write in this as it doesn't stay flat, but I worked on my weekly, schedule, did a bit of journaling and drawing, and can't say I found it that difficult.I can't believe I've waited so long to get one, this is true quality.

I held off buying one of these for a long time mostly because at that time a) it was £40.00 for what seemed like a sheet of leather and a thin notebook and b) the notebook/elastic system seemed fiddly and difficult. I put it on the backburner where the flame continued to grow. I eventually caved this week and purchased one from here. I ordered Thursday and it arrived on Friday. It comes wrapped in plastic cellophane inside which is kraft paper slim box with the Midori Traveler's Notebook story printed in Japanese and English on a strip of paper. Inside this kraft box, you'll find a small plastic bag containing an alternative closure elastic strap in orange and a white cotton bag. Inside the bag is the Midori Traveler's Notebook.Celestial light beams at this point.The leather is about 2.5mm thick and feels absolutely heavenly. You really do just want to stroke it and touch it. I had been warned that initially these notebooks have a strong chemical smell which dissipates after 2 or 3 days; however, mine just smelt very very strongly of beautiful leather.Inside the leather cover you will find a plain notebook refill (64 sides of paper, 32 pages). The paper in this refill is amazing and will handle fountain pen, wet inks and even watercolour paint. This is the only refill you will receive. At first, the notebook feels rather insubstantial with just one thin notebook in it but it will soon fill out once you start customising and adding your refills. Then it becomes glorious to hold. The leather just improves with time and age so you don't need to be precious with it.Things to note:1) The only thing the notebook comes with is one PLAIN PAPER refill. You will need to purchase additional refills separately.2) If your notebook is covered in white dust, this is a by product of the dying process. Just dry wipe/dust it off.3) Different refills handle inks differently: the refill the notebook comes with handles pretty much anything - wetter inks will produce very light ghosting on the reverse page BUT will not bleed through. The lightweight paper will show darker ghosting on the reverse page but heavier inks like a Sharpie may bleed through.4) Fountain pen users you can use both papers if you don't mind slight ghosting on the lightweight paper.5) Grid paper, dot paper, kraft paper and sketch paper notebooks are also available. All handle inks and paints very well making this a very nice art journal6) Other refills such as card holders, secretarial pockets, zip pockets and kraft folders are readily available or you could make your own using one of the many excellent YouTube tutorial videos available.7) The inside of the Midori Notebook is just plain leather. There are no pockets or folds. You can buy pockets to stick on the inside.8) There is no pen holder. This must be purchased separately and can be quite expensive. You can substitute using a Leuchtteurm pen holder. The latter can be afixed to the leather directly and holds very well. It can also be removed relatively easily and will not damage the leather.9) The height of the Midori TN is the same as an A5 Moleskine but it is a couple of inches narrower. You can cut these addtional off the Moleskine A5 cahier notebooks and use them in your Midori. This is a cost effective method of refilling your notebook if you write/journal/art journal extensively.All in all the Midori Traveler's Notebook is a joy to have and use. I actually WANT to use it all the time. It's a convenient size for the handbag and for use in tight spaces where other wider notebooks might be a problem. For example, this is the perfect size to use on airplane service trays, on trains and you can also comfortably make notes holding it in your hand whilst observing something or if you are at a museum etc.There are so many uses for this and it is so customizable that I regret holding off. I will definitely order another 'just to have' in case anything happens to this one. It also reminds me of Indiana Jones' little brown notebook which is sad and cool at the same time.This notebook is (at the time of writing) available directly from Amazon so if you have Prime you can get this on next day delivery instead of waiting for it to come from Japan.I absolutely love it. For me, it is the notebook to end all notebooks. There is a now a cult following of this notebook and you can find many ideas and a lot of inspiration if you google it, Pinterest or search on YouTube.

My Traveler's Notebook arrived in the post today, almost a week ahead of the estimated schedule. It's exactly as advertised and packaged very well. Upon opening the outer sealed plastic you smell that wonderful quality leather aroma and know you have the real deal. The notebook is carefully packed with that wonderful Japanese attention to detail, not something you'll want to tear through but unwrap like a cherished gift, something you can keep as a companion to your new journal if you so desire.The leather is thick and heavy, feels and smells quality. It's smooth and unblemished, for now, but as the leaflet says you will gather nicks and scratches and it will soon become your own. You have to break it in like a good pair of shoes.Proudly engraved on the back is "Made in Thailand". Personally I have no issue with this as other reviewers seem to have had. This is a quality product and the makers should be rightly proud in claiming their creation. Thailand may be synonymous with "cheap" but what is really understood is that in Thailand things tend to be inexpensive for those of us in the West. This shouldn't be seen as a reflection of the quality of Thai products, this notebook is sold by a Japanese company who source quality components from Thailand.The paper (I have only the notepad that comes with the Traveler's Notebook as standard) is high quality and I can't wait to get started writing in my new journal. I can already see that I'm going to need more and look forward to having a full journal. When I travel I always keep a journal, I love the tactile experience of physically writing longhand. This notebook makes me want to have things to write about, also to have handwriting worthy of a journal like this!!

I had bought a cheaper set of faux dori's on Amazon but was disappointed. I wanted to see what all the hype was about, after all it's just a piece of leather and elastic right? Wrong, it's an amazing piece of workmanship, I wished I saved my money and bought the 'real deal' first. The leather is beyond comparison and it smells divine. It just seems to lend itself to being held and used and I cannot wait to see how the leather ages. It came promptly and beautifully packaged. For the price I think it's well worth the money and if your wanting a leather notebook system and unsure what brand to go with, choose Midori, the original and best!

This is my 2nd and most expensive leather journal. I mainly bought it because Midori offers refills with high quality paper. The refills are pretty expensive though and the journal is really thin. My current journal is twice as thick and far more durable.Thinner means more portable but at this size you're likely putting it into your bag, so it does not really matter. I recommend buying the passport sized version if you want a portable journal but otherwise I'd look elsewhere for cheaper but sturdier product.

Its sublime quality gives me an ultimate pleasure while holding and looking at this. Two notes, plastic pockets and sleeves fits well. I had a long hesitation between camel and blue, but finally chose blue-black one as I use my fountain pen ink of pilot’s murasaki shikibu (lavender colour) and yama budo (reddish purple colour) so I thought blueish black would fit better. Voilà, they are a perfect set together!

Very unhappy with this purhcase. It arrived scratched and used looking with black dots on it. I've owned midoris before and they have never arrived looking like this. Was given a £5 promotional balance but not happy at all with it.

I purchased this almost 5 months ago and it is still going strong. I carry it around in my handbag without the protective fabric sleeve that it came with and it has started to develop a lovely slightly battered finish. The leather is good quality. The shipping took about 3 weeks to get to me in the UK, but that is to be expected for items coming from Japan.The 'genuine' refill notebooks can be a bit expensive. There are sellers online offering 'fauxdori' refills at more affordable prices. There are also various websites with free templates for Midori pages available online, so if you are in any way crafty you can make your own refills.