Cafe Note B6 Slim Tomoe River Journal GRID New TRP

I adore the paper in these cafe notebooks. I’ve used all the different sizes for my daily journal. The paper handles fountain pen ink very well with no ghosting or feathering. The paper does have a bit of a grit to it so not as smooth as traditional Tomoe River paper. The pages are thin and will give you that satisfying crinkle after writing on them. The Burgandy color of the cover is beautiful and the notebooks are so well made. I also really love that they lay flat too. You seriously couldn’t go wrong with these and I’ve used them for years.

This is like the Goldie-Locks notebook.The first notebook had really nice paper, but it was too expensive and it had a bunch of pre-dated and pre-printed junk in it. You know, the one named after the relative you love but aren't allowed to marry.The second notebook was a great price, pretty nice paper, but the grid was too faint and the numbers and months were impossible to read. We had a nice fling, but now its over.Finally, we come to this notebook. The price is not too much more than the second notebook, the paper is just as good as the second notebook if not as good as the first, and the size is just right. I don't mind the ghosting as it only happens when I use my fineliner markers to make my calendars. When I use my daily ballpoint pen this is not an issue.

This uses Tomoe River paper made by Tomoegawa manufactured on the #9 machine. This is not the ORIGINAL paper made on the #7 machine and this is not the Sanzen paper. No, it's not the same as the OG paper, but it's better than the Sanzen paper, especially now, in light of the current 2025 inconsistency of the paper in some planners.I've used this notebook twice in the last year or so for my bullet journal, and I've had no issues with fountain pens bleeding or feathering on the paper. The size is perfect and I prefer it vs A6 and B6, and I switch between all three. The cover is cardstock and is durable. The 384 pages are enough for me to use for 4 months with monthly (2pages per month), weekly (2 per week), and daily (2 pages per day) along with 80 pages for my "collections" and extra notes. I highly recommend! I will be sad when eventually they run out, because this paper is discontinued.

These excellent use a fountain pens. Even with a wet broad or stub nib, there’s no feathering or bleeding. Very minimal show through from the other side of the page, and the experience is very smooth. I wish all paper was made like this.

Love that Nanami offers TRP in this B6 Slim size. The burgundy cover is really nice as well. I also like that it comes with an ink blotting paper - great for fountain pen users like me.

The review questions about absorbency is not appropriate. The wonderful thing about Tomoe River Paper is that inks and watercolor paints does not immediately sink into the paper fibers and that is the magic of this paper. Ink and watercolor paint colors stay true to form on Tomoe River Paper and does not bleed through. B6 is just the perfect size (for writing, drawing, bullet journaling, memory keeping) to fit in a purse or book bag.

I love this size and the grid paper. Im a stationary nerd and this ticks off all my nerdy boxes.

I’ve been looking for a daily journal to use. I’ve always liked the B6 slim size. This felt perfect since it claims to have “new Tomoe River Paper (TRP).” I recently started using fountain pens and wanted some quality paper to use it with. The book is beautiful. I love the thin reddish purple cover and the small, compact size of Nanami’s B6 slim. It’s unique for sure. HOWEVER, imagine my dismay when I started using it as a travel journal. The paper felt VERY different from my Hobonichi Weeks 2024 (TRP Sanzen). I kept smearing and smudging more than I thought I would and wasn’t sure from where? I could usually tell if my hands had ink residue but it was hard to spot. So anyway, I like to scribble in the back of the book to test pens and markers and I noticed some bleeding. So, I went to do a more official pen swatch test and what I noticed was astonishing. My Writech 0.7 mm gel-pen was bleeding through. The mildliners bled through at the end (they don’t typically on TRP). My other highlighters and pens seem to be fine, for the most part, but some of my fountain pens were feathering a lot. I also noticed that my fountain pen inks looked way more dull on the paper. That happens when the paper quality is poor. I cannot believe that would be Tomoe River Paper - the paper that is KNOWN for being bleed-through resistant, feather-resistant, and best for fountain pens. It is supposed to show the shading of inks really well, too. I attached the front and back of my B6 Cafe Note to show bleedthrough. I also attached an image of my Hobonichi 2024 Weeks to compare with the Cafe Note. The color of the inks, shading, and feathering properties are different. In addition, I would notice that some pens, notably my Jinhao 82, would write very dry. If I test it on TRP/H Weeks, the ink flows more naturally and wetter. I thought it could be the pen’s fault, but it has to be due to poor paper quality. The paper also feels like easily broken. Like it feels wayy too thin and as if my pens could poke holes through it. It doesn’t feel like it holds a ton of ink. It feels cheap and not durable. In addition, when I use my Leonardo Momento Magico and write my daily journal entry, it felt like I was unable to control my writing and thus the handwriting came out way sloppier compared to using the same pen on other papers.Before I tested the paper, I bought a second book. I deeply regret it, now seeing how much I can’t use certain pens in it, along with all of the other issues. If you’re looking for the TRP, I would try elsewhere.TL;DR It is not like original/old or Sanzen Tomoe River Paper. It is not fully bleed-through resistant or feathering-resistant, does not show shading or inks nicely, and makes pens write dryly. This is a cute notebook, but it has a very poor paper quality that is not appropriate for fountain pens. Would not buy again.