Pentrace East: The Pilot Pen Station
The new Pilot Pen Station has opened up on the first and second floors of Pilot headquarters in Kyobashi, Tokyo. Considerably bigger than the Pilot Pen Museum which it replaces, the Pen Station includes a cafe on the first floor, with the museum on the second floor.
You can see writing instruments displayed in chronological order from early reeds and quills all the way up to modern pens. Also on display are diagrams of various filling systems, pens cut away to show their inner workings, and photographs and artifacts from Pilot's past. The historical pens on display are not limited to Pilot, but also include other pen makers who helped to mold the history of modern writing such as Parker, Sheaffer and Waterman.
The Maki-e exhibit is quite impressive, and there is even a computer display where you can select a particular maki-e pen and zoom in to see all the details.
This is definitely one place you should not miss if ever you are in Tokyo.
2-6-21 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku
Phone: 03-3538-3700
(Subway Eidan, Ginza-line, Kyobashi station)
Museum hours: weekdays 9:30 - 17:00
Cafe Hours: weekdays 8:00 - 19:00
Saturdays (both museum and cafe)10:00 -16:00
Closed on Sundays & holidays, including winter and summer holiday seasons.
The cafe extends to the sidewalk
Inside the cafe
Photos of people using fountain pens are displayed over the counter
Dozens of maki-e pens and articles on display
You can get a closer look at the detail of maki-e pens on a computer screen (shown here between the people)
Lighted panels describing various filling sustems
Gold nib display
Tiny balls of iridium
A Vanishing Point (Capless) pen cut away to reveal the inner workings
Antique brush and ink holders
Maki-e pen holder with clock
Ink bottle display with perpetual video in the background explaining the Maki-e process
Wooden foot-powered lathe (These are still used by some pen craftsmen in Japan)
The chronological pen history display
The display even includes an old quill pen
The stairway between the first floor cafe and the second floor museum is also a history of the Pilot Pen Company.
Details from the steps
The cafe menu