Review: Elia Note Journal (Tomoe River Notebook)

Notebooks with Tomoe River paper aren’t as common despite the paper’s popularity in the fountain pen community so I decided to create a list of my own. Read: Best Tomoe River Paper Notebooks in 2019. The Elia Note is one of these journals has been in my wishlist for quite some time because it has almost everything I want in a notebook:

So imagine my excitement when Olivia from Elia Note sent me one my way. I received a dot-grid A5 journal that was enclosed in a durable cardboard sleeve (this will look great on a bookshelf!).

Description of the notebook from the website:

Tomoe river paper is widely known for its thinness and smooth texture, making it perfect for fountain pen use, general writing tools and even watercolour. It is resistant to bleed through, feathering and is able to take on various writing materials.
All our journals are made in Japan using smyth-sewn binding, allowing the journal to lay completely flat, making it easier for you to read and write on it. Smyth-sewn binding is associated with durability and quality, and is able to stand up to years of wear and tear, making it ideal for a journal that’s meant to be kept for long period of time. 

Disclosure: This product was sent to us for free in return for my honest review. Photos are ours unless otherwise stated. All opinions expressed here are the author’s own and are not in any way influenced by the aforementioned organization. For inquiries, please visit our Partnership and Advertisements page.

The Cover

The notebook cover is made out of a thick black (for A5) cardboard. Take note that this is a softcover notebook which could be a pro or con, depending on how you handle your notebooks.

The cover does not have a logo on either side so there have been instances where I’ve opened the book upside down. Don’t worry, there is a front cover inside so you shouldn’t worry about using it upside down the first time you use it.

Elia Note also sells vegetable-tanned leather covers which I think matches the simplicity and sophistication of the notebook’s design.

Features and Design

Properties of notebook:

• 496 pages of white Tomoe River paper (52gsm)
• A5 size
• Physical dimension: 210mm * 148mm * 15mm
• Soft cover
• Smyth-sewn binding
• 5mm grey dot grid
• Cover page

Source: Elia Note

I don’t enjoy thread-bound softcover notebooks because I usually have a difficult time writing in the first and last few pages.

The binding on the Elia Note is Smyth-sewn which allows you to lay the book flat and write with ease.

I started writing my morning pages after I received the notebook and I really had a pleasant writing experience in the first few pages.

• The dots on this notebook are faint and small that they don’t obstruct my line of sight when I’m writing. When I was writing with the old Rhodia Goalbook, the dots were larger and darker compared to the Leuchtturm – and that was something that didn’t sit well with me.

• The pages aren’t numbered which isn’t a dealbreaker for me (unless I wanted to use this for bullet journaling).
• It does not include a ribbon bookmark
• It does not include an elastic band

Dimensions

• Physical dimension: 210mm * 148mm * 15mm

I compared it with my current notebook, the A5 Leuchtturm1917. The Elia Note has 496 pages, the Leuchtturm has 251. They are of the same thickness because the Elia Note uses 52gsm Tomoe River paper while the Leuchtturm has 80gsm.

Paper Quality

Tomoe River paper notebooks have the same quality of paper. It’s thin but resistant to feathering and bleed-through. It can handle fountain pen inks and also show off the ink properties.

This has a 52gsm paper so expect ghosting. If you don’t like ghosting, you might not enjoy your writing experience. I don’t mind ghosting – I actually like it because I get to see how “used” and well-loved the notebook is.

Fountain Pen Use

I’ve only used this notebook for a couple of days and I can easily say that I have really enjoyed my writing experience so far. Tomoe Paper is well-known and well-loved by the fountain pen community because it can bring life to fountain pen ink. Take a look at these:

For Other Pens and Markers

I tried using some of my pens and markers for good measure. Most of my “regular” pens are Tombow brand (I have a lot of these lying around because I won a giveaway a couple of years ago).

Pen used (in order of use):

1. Tombow Dual Brush Pen
2. Stabilo Pastel Highlighters
3. Tombow Twintone Pastel
4. Calligraphy Pen (Tombow)
5. Tombow Mono Drawing Pen
6. Sharpie Fine Point Marker

The paper handled these pens and markers well. I was expecting the Stabilo Highlighters to bleed through because they bled through the Leuchtturm1917.

The Sharpie was the only one that bled through but it was very minimal.

This Notebook is Best For:

1. Fountain pen users. The Tomoe River paper will bring out the best in your fountain pen ink and will provide a better writing experience.
2. People who write journals in long-form. Aside from the paper quality (its smoothness in particular), the Elia Note journal has stays flat which makes it easier to write – both for the left-handed and right-handed. The book is also light and thin even if it has over 500 pages.

Final Thoughts and Score Rationale

• Paper Quality – 10. No bleed-through, no feathering, can handle fountain pen ink and watercolor. Ghosting is not considered to be an issue because it’s normal for a 52gsm paper.
• Value for Money – 10. It’s a good price (at $29 as of writing) for a well-packaged
• Durability – 8. The notebook itself can easily be damaged in a bag because it’s a softcover. If I were to carry this around in my bag, I would need to use a notebook cover. If you’re careful, then this wouldn’t be a problem.
• Design – 9. I like the sleek and slim design. As I’ve mentioned in my Best Tomoe River Notebooks post, this notebook is like a blank version of a Hobonichi. By the looks of it, it is really meant to be paired with a notebook cover.

Overall, I like this notebook. I have already assigned this as my primary notebook for my morning pages. I also like the fact that it comes with a hardbound book sleeve – which reminds me of old photo albums that my mom still leaves on display. Small grey dots are a huge plus for me. It has a softcover but that’s not a dealbreaker especially since the book lays flat. Thick Tomoe River notebooks are not easy to come across so I’m glad to have this in my possession.

Where Can You Buy This

You can buy it directly from https://elianote.com (ships from Malaysia) or Wet Paint (ships from the US).