I have owned both the passport and larger Traveler’s Notebooks for nearly seven years now. I first saw them over 10 years ago in a department store in Hong Kong and never took them seriously. I was using moleskin notebooks at the time and didn’t see the point. But every time I visited Hong Kong (every other month or so) I saw them in the shop and all of the different inserts and I wondered if I was missing something…
When I finally took the plunge I felt guilty for spending so much money for two single pieces of leather that were made 400km from where I lived at the time in Thailand. In Hong Kong (as well as when I lived in Japan) they weren’t considered cheap but not unreasonably expensive. Back in Thailand I felt as if I had spent a small fortune. It was hard to justify.
Seven years later both notebooks are still my daily companions. I no longer buy Midori refills. There is a whole DIY cottage industry online that creates pdfs that can be printed and bound for a fraction of the cost. I now live in Phnom Penh and I have found a print shop who does this for me for about a US dollar a refill. I also buy student exercise books which are the same height as the Travelers inserts and chop them down to size.
I completely understand your pilgrimage. I suspect that ten years from now when you think back on your trip to Tokyo, as you write in your notebook, you will smile knowing that even though few people will ever understand, it was the right thing to do.
