The weather report this morning said that the inbound Typhoon #9 would make landfall sometime this afternoon. I had already stocked up on food and water, so I thought that I'd take advantage of free time this morning to visit the Toguchi Fountain Pen Shop in Naha. It's located in a small neighborhood of shops and apartments, on a backstreet near Kokusai Street and the Prefectural offices. I parked my little Daihatsu at the curb and climbed to the shop on the second floor of the concrete building. There were some other offices and even a little coffee shop upstairs, and the walls were lined with black and white photographs covering Okinawan history since the end of WWII.
The door to the office has a glass window inscribed with the company logo--very cool, like something from a noir film. Mr. Toguchi was on the phone when I arrived, so he motioned me into a chair. He was such a nice, friendly man--when he hung up, he immediately started talking to me as if we were old friends. His family has made and sold fountain pens in Okinawa since 1931. His office is like a combination of museum and store. The walls are lined with glass cases containing his own collection of pens as well as all kinds of pens and ink that he has for sale. In one case, he has the remaining pens from the days when they made their own. On top of that case is a small machine that he uses to inscribe pens--you can see him using it in the photo below.
We talked for a long time about pens and his family's business, but we worked our way around to talking about lots of other things too. His family even dropped in to say hi.
When loudspeakers along the street started broadcasting storm warnings, I thought I'd better get on the road. I hated to leave without a memento of my visit, so I ended up buying a Pilot Custom 74. He inscribed it for me too.
When I woke up this morning, I had no idea that my day would turn out like this. Not only do I have a nice new pen, but I had a great experience too. The wind from the leading edge of the typhoon is rattling my windows now: I think I can kick back and relax and feel like I accomplished something today.
The door to the office has a glass window inscribed with the company logo--very cool, like something from a noir film. Mr. Toguchi was on the phone when I arrived, so he motioned me into a chair. He was such a nice, friendly man--when he hung up, he immediately started talking to me as if we were old friends. His family has made and sold fountain pens in Okinawa since 1931. His office is like a combination of museum and store. The walls are lined with glass cases containing his own collection of pens as well as all kinds of pens and ink that he has for sale. In one case, he has the remaining pens from the days when they made their own. On top of that case is a small machine that he uses to inscribe pens--you can see him using it in the photo below.
We talked for a long time about pens and his family's business, but we worked our way around to talking about lots of other things too. His family even dropped in to say hi.
When loudspeakers along the street started broadcasting storm warnings, I thought I'd better get on the road. I hated to leave without a memento of my visit, so I ended up buying a Pilot Custom 74. He inscribed it for me too.
When I woke up this morning, I had no idea that my day would turn out like this. Not only do I have a nice new pen, but I had a great experience too. The wind from the leading edge of the typhoon is rattling my windows now: I think I can kick back and relax and feel like I accomplished something today.
