Check out the cutest stationery stores in Tokyo

Strolling along the quiet Jujo Ginza shopping street, you can’t help but be attracted by the charm of Rainbowholic Stationery Cafe. The store’s smiling three-color mascot Rainbow-chan waves to greet you at the door, and some trinkets are displayed on the open window, like a miniature shrine dedicated to recording inspiration. A warm, nostalgic vibe fills the entrance, creating a cozy atmosphere inside, while a welcoming store sign reads: KawaiiwengoodasoberuKisaten — A cute cafe where you can play with stationery.

Tokyo has no shortage of eye-catching concept cafes, from retro to kisaten Experience animal petting, animated pop-ups, and even muscle girl bar. but what makes Rainbow Mania What stands out is its engaging atmosphere, enthusiasts kawaii Like stationery, you can relax away from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo and take some time to write a letter or diary to yourself.

Rainbowholic has an extensive library of paper goods (including art by small independent artists), figure collectibles, Japanese crafts and gourmet teas. At a café, you can order a drink, like a classic melon soda, and sit at the counter while you drink it and write in your journal. The Stationery Corner offers a great range of stickers, washi tape, notepads and stamps – all free for customers to use at their discretion.

In the digital age, when everyone can easily snap hundreds of photos on their phone, quickly send emails and text messages, or make video calls, journaling and sending physical letters are becoming increasingly rare; today, printing photos, Not many people make scrapbooks or handwrite letters anymore. With no need to maintain physical communication, most of us seem to leave a written record. In doing so, we lose the intimate art of paper.

When was the last time you picked out writing paper or the perfect greeting card, wrote each message by hand, decorated it with fun stickers and stamped the envelope just to surprise a friend? Of course, words usually do the trick, but letters are more personal and affectionate. What’s more, its physicality allows you to retain memories forever. Rainbowholic encourages this time-honored practice and with over half a million followers on social media, it’s clear that people are resonating with the store’s message of romanticizing life’s moments, as well as its stationery.

The origins of Rainbow Mania

Kaila Ocampo is a 33-year-old Filipino co-founder of Rainbowholic and the brand’s main spokesperson. She originally created Rainbowholic as a blog and maintained it throughout high school and college, sharing Filipino artwork and daily life. But her passion for stationery, color and all things cute started long before that. Among her many boxes of journals and keepsakes, Ocampo pulls out a piece of paper covered in crayons with a sunflower scrawled on the corner—8-year-old Kayla’s first foray into handmade stationery one.

build business

People often say that it takes 10 years to become famous overnight. After Ocampo moved to Japan with her brother in 2011, she tried e-commerce for the first time, selling handmade Blythe doll clothes, but it ultimately failed. She turned to sales cardcaptor sakura Later in 2016, with the support of tens of thousands of YouTube subscribers, she launched the Rainbowholic online store, selling journaling supplies. But the global pandemic threw everything into disarray as Japan Post was not allowing packages to be shipped out of Japan.

Ocampo invested much of his own savings to open the cafe, while co-founder Akiho Ito left a stable working-class life to pursue the dream with her. Ocampo wonders if they will go bankrupt before their dreams take flight. But when the world stopped moving, Rainbowholic received an unexpected response from people who found bittersweet comfort during lockdown. For many, lockdown has been a moment of reflection, making us realize that we need to make space for the seemingly insignificant but precious things in our lives. Journaling became a comforting hobby, a private moment to write down thoughts and play with stickers.

Looking for simple happiness

“Stationery and diaries create a simple and happy environment…I always tell myself, It’s not a bad day, it’s a bad time. you [can] Focus on the little things that make you smile,” Ocampo said.

“For example, if you don’t feel tired when you wake up today – at this age, it’s good if you don’t feel tired when you wake up. It’s that simple,” she continued with a smile. “If you have this appreciation, you will be mentally strong because you can see the good in every situation.”

A journal becomes a written testament to the joy you experienced or the bad moments you overcame, a book where you can turn to the chapters of your life—reflection, compromise, finding joy. In this spirit, Ocampo began receiving messages online from people who had discovered her content and her shop and found that their new hobby had greatly improved their mental health or encouraged them to celebrate Simple happiness. “I knew it would help, but I had no idea it would actually save lives,” she told us.

Today, most of us move our photos to social media, the cloud, or our hard drives, while our memories are abandoned or lost to servers. “I took a lot of pictures but I don’t know when was the last time I took one [went] Through them…you will only be reminded of [those memories] When Facebook alerts you,” Ocampo says. There’s a more intimate, concrete feel to protecting photos with a personal journal, where you can jot down the emotions you’re experiencing in that moment.

On the surface, stationery is just a bunch of paper, stickers, and washi tape. But in the minds of many, journaling creates a safe haven for self-expression, private reflection, and unbridled celebration of life.

“Even if you’re busy, there’s more to life than just ‘adulting’… You feel good that you did something; not only did you work, but you did something for yourself,” Ocampo said.

Global Stationery Community

The Rainbowholic Stationery café has a community diary where customers from all over the world can leave their mark on the store’s story. There are notes and doodles from Brazil, the United States, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore—Rainbowholic devotees all over the world.

Japan has become a major center for stationery lovers. Although digitalization threatens the market, Japan is known for its dichotomy between tradition and modernity. Even with new technologies and developments, there continues to be a nationwide push to protect craft trades, such as making paper products. Demand for high-quality, carefully designed Japanese stationery is increasing overseas, as evidenced by media and merchandise company Hobonichi’s website crashing multiple times on the day it launched the 2025 edition of its popular Hobonichi Techo annual planning series.

The Japanese love for stationery is not new. It stems from a deep appreciation of calligraphy and words. During the Heian period, calligraphy was revered as an art form and an important skill for expressing thoughts and emotions. Additionally, the tangibility of stationery conveys a message of care and stability, which doesn’t always translate well to text messages or phone calls. Japan also has cultural traditions that focus on stationery, such as the custom of giving gifts. Read Hecheng Postcards for friends, family, colleagues and clients during the New Year. According to NHK World, Japan Post has prepared 1.65 billion cards for 2023.

Today, the Rainbowholic brand continues to shine. Aesthetically, this is thanks to artist Natasha Ting, who has been a fan of Ocampo’s Rainbowholic since his days in the Philippines. Since then, Ting has followed the company’s evolution and is now an important part of building its lovable brand.

When it comes to spreading the joy of stationery, Ocampo and her team not only run a stationery cafe, online store, and Patreon page, but they also actively post on several successful social channels. Rainbow Mania Instagram page and Youtube Both channels have over 166,000 followers, and RainbowholicTV received a YouTube Silver Play Button in 2020. Rainbowholic’s Instagram sub-channel, stanflick and Gacha maniashowing Ocampo’s other hobbies while living in Japan: collecting commemorative stamps and gashapon toys.

The dynamic between Ocampo, Ito and Din is the beating heart of the company. They joke with each other, help out with the shoot, and are all very passionate about using each other’s strengths to keep living their dreams – just three rainbow geeks expanding the arc’s colors and celebrating life’s simple joys.

You can visit Rainbowholic Stationery Cafe Jujo Ginza Shopping Street in Kita Ward.

Rainbowholic Stationery Cafe Location

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