My Sakura Journalling Sketchbook

I'm down to the last four pages of completing 5 months of daily journalling in my latest journal/sketchbook. Having been loyal to the US Barnes and Noble sketchbook for well over twenty years, they did as all superstores ultimately do in that they tell you what you can and cannot buy by simply withdrawing an item you depend on without warning. They dropped the preferred journal I enjoyed as one of the best and simply stopped selling this old favourite of mine: by this one act, I was forced out by lack of supply. Previously, I'd bought a ten-year supply from them. Of course, my piffling investment in B&N wasn't even a drop in the bucket, but, well, had I had warning I might well have bought enough to see me out. I was 65 years old at that point. Because of my current age, closing in on 76, I am unsettled as to just how many I should realistically expect to see me through. Two per year assumes the same rate of writing and drawing as in my past two decades, me keeping the same interest level, the same health and mental acuity, things like that. Who wants to guess how many years to buy for, anyway? Not me. Could i still be doing well for another 25 years and get my letter from the King on my hundredth, or might the raise that age to 110?

It's not always easy to find pages that match your pen and pencil work. Papers have texture that often impacts your sketch or writing. Though a texture might work in your drawings, it rarely ever enhances your ink pen work in the form of nibbed writing. There is no rolling ball rotating through gelled ink. In a nib pen, the ink wicks and pumps by your pressing the pen to paper in your natural writing action. Texture can grab at the smooth flow of your polished pen-point negatively, causing a scratchy feeling through the nib that you just do not want. The smooth, even flow to every letter cursively written is of paramount importance, so a smooth, even and consistent paper texture becomes a must to every dotted 'i' and line-crossed 't' letter and every looping 'f' and 'g'.

My five-month trial of this Sakura 30cm by 21cm sketchbook with its 80, two-sided pages has been an exceptionally pleasing experience, though the slightly creamier tone did put me off at first. I understand they sell a white-paged version, but no one seems to stock it. I have got used to the change of colour and quite like the softer-on-the-eyes tone now.

This journal began in April 2025 and now has 50 of my full-page pencil sketches, leaving 110 pages of my handwritten cursive account of life for others to read of my past in the future. I think that it's important to understand that you really don't want more pages for a working book like a sketchbook or journal; extra pages will extend its use beyond its wear limit. The good features, aside from the excellent paper quality, is that it has the non-invasive smoothness I want and like that disallows any bleed-through and surface bleed-spread from my fountain pen ink at all. The highly protective hard-back, skin coated cover has worn well over my near six-month span.

The pages are stitched in rather than imperfect perfect binding, and I have never liked spiral binding too much because rarely does the spirals often snag and distort and so fail to keep their shape where the pages turn easily.

The page locating silky ribbon is thin enough not to intrude and is hand if and when I want instant access.

The elasticated strap enclosure for isolating pages or then too the overall outer cover front to back, is especially practical for stowing the book or, as I often do, when working outdoors. My particular Sakura version, I didn't look at the other options, also has a non-intrusive elasticated pen holder to the top corner area. Both these features are ones that I use extensively.

The rounded corners to both pages and the hardbound cover ensure that the book slides into my backpack space gracefully, to then fit neatly and without catching. The cover itself extends past the page edges by a couple of millimetres, so the pages are very well protected from edge damage with this feature. Oh, one more thing, when you open the book at any page it lies flat.

Cost is fine at around £13. That's 50 pence a week for storing information over several centuries.