I recently have begun planning our first ever trip to Japan, and I decided it would be fun to have a journal dedicated to it. A journal that I could take with me and photograph at all of the spots we visit. Something that would look great in both the high tech futuristic looking cities, the retro showa era kissatens, and the slow paced countrysides.
I first got the idea for a red TN cover from RachelleinTheory, who mentioned spending a "pretty penny" on a red Traveler's Notebook. I didn't exactly mean to spend a pretty penny, but I couldn't get the idea of a red TN out of my head. What better for a trip to Japan than a Traveler's Company notebook? After much research, I discovered that the cover for the Love and Trip line is the only red TN cover that has been produced to date, and it's debut (though recent -April 2025) has long since passed.
All the shops are out of stock.
Love and Trip
I could get a knock off, but it's not the same... ( T - T")
Apparently all of the TN stockists were hoping they would restock the line, but after emailing a ton of them, I came to the conclusion that this is unlikely to happen, and waiting to buy one would just mean the resell price could continue to go up...
So I found the cheapest one I could on Ebay and went for it.
While trying to decide what to get, I also came across a lovely collab TN made with the Kanaya Hotel, to commemorate the 150th anniversary for the oldest classic resort hotel in Japan. I already own a dark brown TN cover, so I didn't really want to buy this set. But the extra accessories that came with the cover for this collab seemed absolutely perfect for my trip.
Kanaya Hotel x Traveler's Notebook
I could have been a reasonable person and just spent another ~pretty penny~ on the accessories for the Kanaya collab (forgoing the cover), but instead, I decided to do something that would cost way more and be a lot more work. (e - e ")... But also be way cooler.
I researched the designs for the collab's notebook and stickers and found exact (or close to exact) matches for the actual vintage pieces TN based their designs from.
The notebook / The brochure
The postcard and the luggage tag / The sticker set
Other similar pieces
My original plan was to directly use these vintage pieces to create my own makeshift TN notebooks. But after receiving the pieces and realizing how valuable they were as relics from their era (1950s and 60s), I decided it would be best to scan them and print them rather than do anything that could potentially destroy them. I decided they would be beautiful framed as decorations in my home once I'm done using them for reference.
The good thing about this, is that you all can benefit as well!
I scanned all of the various pieces (front and back) and even (tried) to create a printable brochure of them for the TN size (I have no idea if it's sized down correctly so you might have to play around with it). If you want to download them, feel free! Just please do not re-upload them anywhere or use them for commercial purposes. These are for PERSONAL USE ONLY. ;-)
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