I can’t believe this is my first Muji notebook review! I’m a big fan of the Japanese chain Muji. I first went to one of their stores in London at least 15 years ago and loved their minimal aesthetic and practical offerings. Back then, I mainly remember buying a recycled yarn t-shirt and a small wallet that I used for many years until the zipper broke. I would imagine they also sold stationery at that time, but for some reason, it didn’t make an impression on me. But nowadays, the stationery is usually front and center in their stores, with lots of notebooks, pens and fun office supplies to tempt shoppers. I particularly like their glue sticks! But I hadn’t bought a Muji notebook until this one.
I love the look of Muji’s notebooks. They have a nice muted color palette in beige, black and grey, with the occasional pop of orange, blue or green tape on the spine. They have small jotters, wire-o bound notebooks, and larger journals. But for my particular pocket notebook preferences, everything was either a little too small or a little too big until I spotted this rarity: the “A6 Slim” size notebook.
Instead of being a true A6 size, this Muji notebook is just slightly smaller in height, and almost a centimeter smaller in width. It is 92 x 147mm, vs the official A6 dimensions of 105 x 148mm. I am so partial to the 90 x 140mm dimensions of Moleskine and other brands that I can’t bring myself to use a 90 x 150mm Leuchtturm, or other brands that are actual A6 size. But this Muji notebook is close enough for me. (And actually, the Moleskine shown below in the comparison shots measures 92 x 141mm, if we’re really being picky.)
Anyway, this is a great pocket size. The thickness is just under 5mm. The notebook has sturdy cardboard covers, with a taped spine. Once you remove the Muji price sticker, it is totally free of any branding. (The sticker comes off easily and doesn’t leave any residue, but the paper under it is slightly darker.)
Inside you get 80 pages (40 sheets) of plain white paper. (A line/grid version is also available, with a dark grey cover.) The paper is in two stitched signatures, which is what gives you the nicely squared off spine. To me, this is an attractive upgrade from the standard stitched or stapled single-signature pocket notebook.
The paper is creamy and smooth, and works great with almost all pens. There is some bleed-through with wetter pens, but hardly any feathering. I love the way my fountain pens look on the page, and the finer nibs don’t have much bleed-through, but there is enough that I feel like I can’t give this a 100% “fountain pen friendly” rating.
I found myself comparing this to the Kokuyo Sketch Book in terms of its fountain pen compatibility, and also its value. This Muji notebook is $3.00 for 80 pages. The Kokuyo Sketch Book is also 80 pages, larger and has a hard cover, and is usually priced around $5.00, but can be much cheaper if you buy a 10-pack. It’s not really an either/or proposition– these are both great pocket notebooks and a great value.
Muji’s products are mainly sold exclusively in their own stores. You can find some Muji notebooks for sale on Amazon, but unfortunately I didn’t see this model listed. Muji’s website does sell them (Slim Notebook A6 Plain Beige), but shipping starts at $5.95 so you’ll want to buy more than one notebook to make it worthwhile. But this is just the kind of pocket notebook that makes you want to have a dozen of them!