I Went to One of Japan’s Biggest Stationery Festivals! Stationery Girls Expo in Osaka 2026
Category: Goods
Hello, I’m Rina, a writer for Kodawari Times.
This might come out of the blue, but have any of you ever bought stationery as a souvenir from Japan?
Notebooks, pens, stickers, stamps, masking tape, and more… Japanese stationery boasts a wide variety of designs and outstanding functionality. Its appeal is spreading not only among Japanese people but also overseas.
So, this time, I attended a preview event for Japan’s largest stationery event, “BUNGU JOSHI HAKU Stationery Girls Expo in Osaka 2026.” From the latest goods and limited-edition items to unique finds, here are the stationery items that caught the eye of the Kodawari Times editorial team!
What is the Bungu Joshi Haku (Stationery Girls Expo)?
The Bungu Joshi Haku (Stationery Girls Expo) is one of Japan’s largest stationery festivals and trade shows, held annually since 2017. To date, it has attracted a cumulative total of approximately 750,000 visitors! You can see, touch, and purchase over 50,000 items on-site, including the latest stationery and event-exclusive products.
Attendees range from children to adults, men and women of all ages, with a focus on people who use stationery in their daily lives. Furthermore, the event attracts not only visitors from within Japan but also a large number from overseas, evolving into a global stationery festival. It is an event that boasts immense popularity and a strong presence as the ultimate destination for stationery enthusiasts from around the world.
A Sneak Peek at the Stationery Girls Expo in Osaka 2026!
The “Stationery Girls Expo in Osaka 2026” was held at the Osaka Nanko ATC Hall from Thursday, March 5, to Sunday, March 8, 2026. Kodawari Times attended a media preview on Wednesday, March 4, prior to the event. On that day, a special preview event for the general public called “Premium Time” was also held. A long line of visitors had formed at the entrance, demonstrating the popularity of the Stationery Girls Expo.
The theme of this year’s Stationery Girls Expo was “Which One Will You Choose Today? Stationery Coordination.” The event was designed to encourage visitors to choose stationery based on their daily mood, just as they would select clothing or accessories. The main visual featured a fashion-inspired pattern, and merchandise featuring this design was available exclusively at the venue.
Just as there are trends in fashion, there are trends in stationery. A quick look around the venue reveals that the current trend is “stickers”! In Japan, the sticker craze isn’t just for kids—adults are getting in on the action too. The plump “Bonbon Drop Stickers” are particularly popular, with stores constantly selling out.
At the Stationery Girls Expo, the popular stickers sold out immediately, and crowds gathered around the sticker buffet.
Kodawari Times: A Roundup of Featured Stationery Items
Featured Event! Stationery Buffet
The highlight of the Stationery Girls Expo is a buffet-style section where you can choose and purchase your favorite items, such as stickers, washi tape, and stamps.
This is the “Sticker Buffet” by MIND WAVE INC., a manufacturer specializing in stationery and lifestyle goods. You have 5 minutes to select 10 stickers of your choice for 1,100 yen. With so many stylish stickers featuring flowers, food, and other designs, you’ll have a hard time deciding which ones to pick.
▼MIND WAVE INC. Official Website
https://www.mindwave.co.jp/
Here’s our Pochi Bukuro buffet! Pochi Bukuro are cute little envelopes used for New Year’s money or tips.
At “RiraRira Hanko,” you can get seven Pochi Bukuro for 500 yen. Each of our original designs, made with rubber stamps, is charming and sure to make you chuckle.
▼RiraRira Hanko Official Store
https://rirarira.shop/
“O’Band ,” a long-established rubber band brand with a history spanning over 70 years, is hosting the “O’Band Buffet,” where you can choose any combination of 10 colorful rubber bands. This is an extremely popular event exclusive to the Stationery Girls Expo.
For 660 yen, you can fill two O’Band design bags to the brim until the zippers close.
▼O’Band Official Website
https://oband.jp/
Last but not least is the Stationery Girls Expo’s signature event, the “Masking Tape Lottery & Buffet.”
For 300 yen per play, you can draw an original masking tape from a box. You’re guaranteed to receive one. If you draw the foil-accented design from among the four limited-edition designs, you’ve won!
You’ll then be able to participate in the masking tape buffet, where you can choose your favorite pattern from about 500 varieties to take home. Be sure to try your luck and take home your favorite masking tape!
Fountain Pens & Unique Inks
Japanese fountain pens are prized for their high quality and smooth writing experience, making them popular even among international customers.
The fountain pen I’ve discovered this time is the “Fonte Sky Blue Fountain Pen,” the latest addition to the popular “Fonte” series of skeleton fountain pens produced by NIPPON SHUPPAN HANBAI INC.
It features a luxurious design with a translucent body sprinkled with glitter. Available in a total of six colors inspired by the theme of “the sky,” it’s perfect not only for writing but also for a variety of creative uses, such as art projects. Priced at 1,210 yen (tax included), it is an affordable option, making it ideal for fountain pen beginners.
▼Fonte Sky Blue Fountain Pen Press Release
https://www.nippan.co.jp/news/fonte_sorairo_20260109/
When it comes to fountain pens, ink is an essential component. Let me introduce “KA-KU Osaka,” a brand known for its unique ink selections. They offer a wide range of products designed to make writing a joy, including “ink mazeru,” which allows you to mix your own custom colors.
The event features stylish designs and innovative ideas, such as glitter-infused ink exclusive to the Stationery Girls Expo and ink inspired by local dialects. You can also purchase fountain pens and glass pens to go with the ink.
There were also lovely illustrations on display created using KA-KU Osaka ink. Highly recommended for artists!
▼KA-KU Osaka Official Online Store
https://www.ka-ku.jp/
Cute characters and animals
I found some merchandise featuring “Fueki-kun,” the character from Fuekinori Kogyo Co., Ltd. that enjoys idol-like popularity in the stationery world!
Made from 100% cornstarch, Fueki Glue is known for its high quality and safety, making it perfect even for children. I used it myself back in preschool, so seeing it brought back a flood of nostalgic memories!
Don’t just stick to the glue—be sure to check out Fueki-kun’s cute stationery items, including sketchbooks and ballpoint pens.
▼Fueki Official Website
https://fueki.co.jp/e/
SANBY CO.,LTD., a manufacturer of stamps and ink pads, has introduced the SANBY Boy. The “all over Japan Stamp L” features designs depicting local landmarks and culture alongside the Sanby Boy. Since Osaka is known as the city of comedy, the SANBY Boy on the Osaka stamp is performing a manzai (Japanese stand-up comedy) routine.
▼Sanby Official Website
https://www.sanby.co.jp/
Speaking of stationery that embodies the spirit of Osaka, I’ve discovered tiger-themed sticky notes! “TORAPPY,” an item being offered exclusively at the Stationery Girls Expo Osaka by “Shikisaisai,” features a unique pop-up design with a tiger that jumps right out.
These pop-up sticky notes come in so many other cute animal designs—just looking at them made my heart flutter ♡
▼Sikisaisai Official Website
https://packagenow.stores.jp/
Japanese Tradition × Stationery
There was a wide selection of wonderful stationery items incorporating Japanese traditions and traditional Japanese elements.
This is “Shogado,” a Kyoto-based Japanese stationery brand. They offer a range of items made from Yuzen washi paper, which utilizes the “Yuzen-zome” dyeing technique—a method used to apply beautiful patterns to Japanese kimonos. The appeal lies in the vivid, delicate, and beautiful designs, each piece hand-dyed by artisans. While featuring classic Yuzen patterns, the modern color palettes and designs make them perfect for everyday use.
I fell in love with the soft texture of Yuzen fabric at first sight, so I bought a ring-bound notebook featuring a design exclusive to the Stationery Girls Expo!
▼Shogado Official Website
https://shogado.co.jp/en/home/
“yuEN” offers stationery made from traditional woven fabrics from across Japan.
Their products, such as the “Ori-Pen”—where fabrics like Kyoto’s Nishijin-ori, Tango chirimen, and Kagoshima’s Oshima-tsumugi are wrapped directly around the pen barrel—and the “Ori-ru Note” ring notebook, which features woven fabric covers, allow you to experience the unique texture of these textiles. Why not explore their collection and find your favorite item by touching and feeling the designs for yourself?
▼yuEN Official Website
https://www.yuen.co.jp/
Here, we’d like to introduce another very rare brand of stationery made from tatami beri.
The fabric sewn onto the edges of tatami mats—traditional Japanese floor mats—is called “tatami beri.”
Takada Orimono, a leading manufacturer of tatami beri based in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, offers a wide variety of designs, with over 1,000 options available.
At “FLAT,” the brand operated by Takada Orimono’s “Tatami-beri Factory Shop,” you can purchase a variety of items, including small pouches, coin purses, pencil cases, and mini tatami-beri pieces.
They also sell 1.5-meter rolls of tatami-beri, so we recommend trying your hand at making your own original handmade items.
▼FLAT Official Website
https://flat-kojimaberi.com/about-tatami-beri/
A brilliant idea! Creative stationery
Finally, we’ve found some innovative stationery items that showcase the strengths of Japanese stationery. You might think, “Surely there must be something like that,” but actually, there wasn’t! Here, we’ll introduce a few practical and unique items.
Here are Kodawari Times’ top picks!
Maruai’s “Tip Envelope” lets you use Japanese gift envelopes anywhere in the world. It features not only Japanese but also 23 other languages, including English, French, Indonesian, and Chinese.
The design featuring the traditional Japanese “Oiri-大入” motif reads “Thank you.” The design featuring Mount Fuji, a symbol of Japan, translates to “just a little something.”
These tip envelopes make the perfect souvenir of Japanese culture—why not use them to convey a small token of your gratitude?
▼ Maruai “Tip Envelope” Details Page
https://paper.maruai.co.jp/shop/c/c03039978/
“Soebumi Bookmarks” from Furukawa Shiko Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of Mino washi paper and stationery products with a 191-year history.
These bookmarks combine a bookmark and a memo pad, allowing you to jot down notes such as the date and your thoughts on the book you’re reading. Made from traditional Mino washi paper from Mino City, Gifu Prefecture, they offer a simple, soft texture. The designs—featuring cats, dogs, and puddings peeking out from the pages—are absolutely adorable.
▼Furukawa Shiko Co., Ltd. Official Website
https://www.furukawashiko.com/
Next up is Sun-Star Stationery Co., Ltd.’s “Ukanmuri Clip.” Since its release in June 2023, this smash hit has gone viral on social media among students and fans, with cumulative sales surpassing 400,000 units.
Inspired by hair clips, this wide-opening book clip can easily hold even thick textbooks and reference books. It also helps prevent pages from getting bent, and the clear and sheer colors are designed to make the book’s contents easy to read.
It’s truly a piece of stationery that feels like it should have existed all along!
Another appealing feature is that you can freely customize it by choosing your favorite color or decorating it with stickers and rhinestones.
▼Sun-Star Stationery Official Website
https://www.sun-star-st.jp/
Last but not least, we have the “Customizable Roll Sticker Set” from “bande,” a new-concept masking tape that lets you peel off each sticker one by one.
The innovative idea of swapping out faces, bodies, and legs is truly fresh and sure to tickle your inner girly side. It’s the perfect item for this year’s Stationery Girls Expo theme: “Which One Will You Choose Today? Stationery Coordination.” Why not try dressing up these stylish girls who live in Cat Town in cute outfits to match your mood that day?♪
Not only the cats, but the cherry blossom petal roll stickers, which are so typical of Japanese spring, are lovely too.
▼bande Official Website
https://bande.ne.jp/
Let’s enjoy discovering new stationery
It was my first time visiting the Stationery Girls Expo, and I had a wonderful time discovering all kinds of stationery. Before I knew it, I found myself wanting to buy this and that, so I highly recommend setting aside a generous budget for your visit!
There were also many booths where you could get freebies and other perks just by following their social media accounts, and I ended up collecting this many freebies.
This event isn’t just about buying stationery—it’s also a great opportunity to discover a wide variety of stationery brands. If you love stationery, be sure to visit the “BUNGU JOSHI HAKU – Stationery Girls Expo” as part of your trip to Japan.
Although it’s called the “Stationery Girls Expo,” men are welcome to attend too!
Upcoming Events
BUNGU JOSHI HAKU – Stationery Girls Expo Tokyo 2026
Dates: June 11 (Thu) – 14 (Sun), 2026
Venue: Ariake GYM-EX
Admission: June 11 (Thu) & 12 (Fri)…990 yen (tax included)
June 13 (Sat) & 14 (Sun)…1,190 yen (tax included)
Details Page: https://bungujoshi.com/event/tokyo2026/
▼Stationery Girls Expo Official Website
https://bungujoshi.com/
