Bring a touch of Scandinavian-inspired charm to your everyday notes with this SOU.SOU × Kokuyo A5 Soft Ring Notebook in the Northern Countries pattern. Part of a creative collaboration between Kyoto design house SOU.SOU and renowned Japanese stationery maker Kokuyo, this notebook marries expressive visuals with thoughtful writing features for everyday use.
Design & Inspiration
The "Northern Countries" patterned cover takes its cues from restful, pastel-toned landscapes and simple architectural shapes that evoke the clean, quiet beauty of northern Europe’s towns and countryside. This playful yet calming motif captures a sense of open space and harmony - a lovely visual accent for your notes, plans or sketches.
User-Friendly Features
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Soft ring binding: Kokuyo’s “soft ring” makes it effortless to write all the way to the edge of the page without your hand hitting the rings - ideal for extended writing sessions
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Fold-back convenience: The soft rings allow the notebook to fold fully back on itself, so you can write comfortably even in tight spaces, perfect for desks, cafés or on-the-go notes.
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Compact & portable: A5 size (approx. 21 x 14.8 cm) is ideal for everyday note-taking, sketching, journaling or school work.
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50 lined pages: Includes 50 pages of lined (dot-ruled) high-quality paper that supports neat handwriting and creative use.
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D-shaped ring: The unique D-shape keeps the ring binding compact and avoids the bulky feel of traditional spiral notebooks, without sacrificing usability.
Notebook Details
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Size: A5 (21 × 14.8 cm)
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Pages: 50 pages/1 book, lined for structured writing (dotted lines)
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Cover: Transparent colour PP with SOU.SOU "Northern Countries" print
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Paper: High-quality Kokuyo interior pages
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Origin: Designed in and imported from Japan. Made in China.
This notebook is perfect for anyone who appreciates contemporary Japanese aesthetics combined with thoughtful stationery design. Whether you’re jotting down ideas, planning your week, or making notes at work, the Northern Countries pattern brings visual calm and inspiration to every page. Its smart binding and portable size make it a joy to use
About SOU.SOU
We first visited the SOU.SOU Okurimono flagship store in their hometown of Kyoto, back in 2019, and just fell in love with the joyfulness of their designs. It was established in 2003 by Katsuji Wakisaka (Textile Designer), Hisanobu Tsujimura (Architect), and Takeshi Wakabayashi (Producer).
Based in Kyoto, Japan, SOU · SOU created textile designed to depict seasonal beauty of nature founded on the concept of "Creating New Japanese Culture". Whilst pop and edgy, the brand is using skilled craftspeople and time-tested materials to decorate modern life.
When in Japan, you may often hear conversations with the phrase "sou.sou (そうそう), short for sou desu (そうです). This roughly translates as "Yes, that's right", or "I agree with you". Even down to the brand name, SOU.SOU designs really evoke the essence of Japan
