Maido Stationery

Originally founded by Takeshi Imanishi in 1963, this Tokyo-born stationery trove is akin to a grander, more thoughtfully stocked Muji. Tucked into the Kinokuniya Building—an otherwise uninspiring Japantown mall—the 30-year-old San Francisco store is a boon for stationery snobs. The shop specializes in hard-to-find Japanese imports, including specialty papers, gel and calligraphy pens, Midori notebooks, ink stamps, and high-end stationery. The space is crowded, but neatly organized, with testers and sketchbooks scattered about for testing.