ZenPop Japanese Stationery Pack is a subscription box brought to you by ZenMarket filled with unique Japanese stationery and studying goods handpicked by their staff in Japan.
I am SOOOO excited to review this box! As soon as I saw it via Instagram, I knew I must have it! The contents are right up my alley since I love stationery, pens, and office supplies. Especially from Japan! I was delighted to see their super cute packaging. I love the design of their box (although it could be a little sturdier, as it got a little smooshed in transit).
In addition to the Stationery Pack, ZenPop offers a Sweets Pack, Ramen Pack, and Beauty Pack, all for $29.50 one time purchases.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
The Subscription Box: ZenPop Japanese Stationery Pack
The Cost: $29.50 with free international shipping
The Products: 12 or more cute and useful stationery items like pens, notebooks, stickers, and more.
Ships to: Worldwide
Check out all of our stationery reviews in the Paper and Stationery Subscription Box Directory!
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In addition to the Japanese Stationery Pack, ZenPop offers a few other subscription boxes as well. Here, they are offering $2 off of their Ramen Pack or Sweets Pack (they also have a Beauty Pack).
Next, there is a little thank you leaflet with info and a QR-code to save on items from their marketplace. 
The last literature included is the info sheet that lists out all of the amazing items they've chosen this month! It's back to school, so they really have studying on the brain! OMG let's get to the contents!!!
ZenPop Plush Charm
The first item they include is this cute little plush of their mascot who looks like a bunny! I'm not sure if this is always included, or just in your first shipment. So cute, I always love a plush charm!
Film Sticky Labels
This is actually a bonus item from ZenPop. They normally included 12 items, so this makes it 13 (not counting the plushie). I love the bright yet muted colors of these thin plastic page markers! I've been using these little flags as bookmarks lately, but they can also be used in planners, cookbooks, or anywhere you need to save a spot.
Rink Washi Tape - Value $3.12 (Buy a set of 8 for $24.99)
I am a washi tape fangirl to the max, so new additions are always welcome to my own "stationery village". This particular washi tape is a little wider than most of my others, at 3/4" wide. The design is a pleasing blue and purple water color motif, almost like a washed out ink blot test.
Schedule Stickers (2 sheets)
I love planning and organizing, so seeing these fun stickers to use in a planner made me want to get back to my roots! I used to buy a new planner every year when I was a teenager, well into my late 20s. It was usually of the Sanrio or San-X variety, but it got me so excited to fill out the pages and use little stickers made especially for them to denote when I was going to a concert, or getting a haircut. These days, I rely heavily on my phone, since it's always on my person, but I miss the days of color-coding and doodling in the side margins. There were three designs available and I got the ones with colorful speech bubbles. They're plastic, so they won't tear, and there's space to write in anything you need!
Dot Tape Glue
Japanese companies are the best at having well-designed tools for every type of need. This one happens to be a double-sided device to use when you need to add something to your notebook or planner. It looks similar to how correction tape looks these days but is actually a dry glue. Simply glide it onto the back of whatever you need to stick somewhere, and it holds tight.
Campus Word Cards - Value $3.58
I'm familiar with the brand Campus already, so I was stoked to see one of their products in the box! They make a lot of great notebooks, and here we have what is essentially a stack of small heavy note cards, bound with a metal ring to easily flip through. I used to have a Tare Panda set like this, and never fully understood the design. Judging by the name, it seems that these are used as flashcards when you need to learn quick facts.
Smareco A6 Notebook - Value $2.62
At first, this seemed like a normal small notebook with a pink plastic cover. However, there are directions on the front and back (in Japanese) that let you know this has some sort of smartphone capabilities, so I went to the website listed on the info sheet to find out more. I had to download the Smareco Note App from the AppStore on my smartphone to get the full functionality of the notebook. Unfortunately, once I opened the app, it said my device (iPhone 7) was not compatible. 😞 Looks like it may be for Japan only? Ah well, it's still a nice little notebook!
Zipper Bag
Tee-hee! I love these little bags! There were three variations and I received the "manmaru" or round man bags. The info sheet says you can use them to organized washi tape or erasers, but I think they'd be great for snacks! The round man has a clear belly so you can see what's inside, and they seal just like a resealable plastic baggy you normally use in your kitchen.
Mt. Fuji Sticky Notes
More sticky notes! This set comes with three styles in one. The larger sticky pad is Mt. Fuji, and the other two are sticky flags featuring an angry looking little guy (probably has a proper name that I am not familiar with) and a maneki-neko (good luck cat). I love the Mt. Fuji sticky notes! So cool!
Surari Emulsion Ink Ballpoint Pen - Value $1.65
Surari means "smooth" in Japanese. Good to know! You may have heard me talk trash on ballpoint pens, but this one is quite nice. The point size is 0.5 mm which I love, and it has smear and water proof ink inside!
Pure Nocks Mechanical Pencil
I hold a special place in my heart for mechanical pencils. I once purchased a $12 one specifically for doing crossword puzzles. A lot of them don't have erasers built in, but this one actually does (under the plastic cap). I love the light blue color as well!
Fruit Scented Eraser
Out of the four possibilities, I received the orange-scented eraser, but it's not very scented. I thought maybe it'd smell more citrusy after using, but still nothing. I don't really need my erasers to smell like fruit, so I'm ok with it!
Zebra Mildliner (Set of 5) - Value $5.23
I love Mildlighters! I actually already own the grey one (my favorite color), so I was very pleased to get a full set of five in the box! The other colors include pink, purple, blue, and green, all in muted, mild hues. Zebra has to be my favorite pen maker, and their products are just a great quality. The Mildliners also happen to be double-ended so you can highlight with the wide end, and write or circle important info with the thinner end. This is the star of the box for me!
Gui Clips - Value $2.40 (Buy a 4 pack for $9.60. I think these are listed incorrectly on Amazon as being a pack of 30 when the packaging is just saying you can fit 30 pages in each clip. It looks like this is actually a case of four packs of 20 like the one I received because you received a total of 80)
I can't believe we are already at the end of this stationery adventure. The last item included is this set of 20 metal clips. You can use these for a stack of paper that is larger than a regular paper clip can hold, in leiu of a binder clip. They come in four colors (white, black, red, and blue) and I'm delighted to learn that "gui" is an onomatopoeia to describe clutching something in Japanese. How fitting! I can certainly use these to organize some important documents I have at home like car repair receipts or veterinarian paperwork for my kitties.
Verdict: I am over the moon about my first ZenPop Japanese Stationery Pack! As soon as I saw it arrive, I was dying to rip it open, and as I was unpacking it, my excitement grew. I highly recommend this for any stationery nerd who loves Japanese pens and office/school supplies like myself. My favorite store of all time is a Japanese book store called Kinokuniya that sells a variety of things just like this. I assume if they had a box, it'd be very similar. I always pay them a visit when I'm in a larger city that is lucky enough to have one, so if I can get similar items delivered to my door, it's a dream come true. It's tough to determine retail prices, as many of these are hard to find online. I received 14 total items for $29.50 (with free shipping), which makes each item cost $2.10. I feel super comfortable with that, especially since I was so excited about everything!
What did you think of ZenPop Japanese Stationery Pack this month?
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