New arrivals — May 2026

Aderia Tsugaru Vidro — summer patterns

Twice a year, the Hirosaki workshop releases seasonal pattern variants of the standard Tsugaru Vidro lineup. The May drop is always our favorite — they call it the natsu-iro (summer color) collection, and it leans into pale blues, soft yellows, and translucent greens that read like Aomori in late June.

Three new patterns this week:

• Hare-yaka (晴れやか, "clear weather") — pale blue with gold flecks. Looks like an Aomori sky at noon. Sake cup form, 90ml.
• Suzukaze (涼風, "cool breeze") — soft mint-green and white. Available in both sake cup and the matching beer tumbler.
• Hatsuyuki (初雪, "first snow") — white fragments on clear glass. Technically a winter pattern, but the workshop fired a small run for the May collection. Limited to about 30 pieces.

All three are now listed. Browse Aderia →

Hobonichi mid-year refills (Day-Free, A6 and A5)

Hobonichi releases the next year's full planner lineup in September, but mid-year they often quietly add Day-Free refills — undated daily-page books for users who don't want to wait for January or who blew through their first year of Day-Free faster than expected.

We picked up about 40 each of the A6 and A5 Day-Free books in the May drop. These pair with any existing Hobonichi cover (sized matched to your A6 or A5 cover). At $35–40 per book vs $55–65 for the full dated Techo/Cousin, Day-Free is the sleeper purchase that more Hobonichi users should know about.

New to Hobonichi? Read our buying guide.

Tombow ABT-PRO alcohol markers

Tombow's new alcohol-based marker line launched in Japan in April. They sit alongside (not replacing) the existing water-based Dual Brush Pens — the ABT-PRO uses pigmented alcohol ink that bleeds and blends differently. Designed for illustrators and manga artists who'd otherwise reach for Copic or Promarker.

Initial Japanese retail rollout was 12 colors; the May refresh added 12 more for 24 total. We have the 12-color basic set in stock now and will pick up the 24-color extended set when it lands in our wholesalers (estimated June). The basic set is $45 and ships from our Tokyo hub.

Vintage Mino-yaki from Tajimi (small batch)

Last Sunday Lisa and our packing lead Hiro spent the morning at the Tajimi antique pottery market — a monthly outdoor flea market in Gifu Prefecture that specializes in mid-20th-century Mino-yaki from retired kilns and estate sales.

They came back with about 20 pieces: small Oribe-style serving dishes (1960s–70s), a few Shino chawan in honest used condition, and a set of Ki-Seto sake cups that we think date to the late 1950s. All hand-cleaned, photographed individually, sold as-is with the small chips and glaze variations noted on each listing.

We list these under "Vintage / one-of-a-kind" once we've finished photo and description work. The first 8 are listed now; the remaining 12 will appear over the next two weeks. These don't restock — once sold, they're gone.

What's coming next week

On Lisa's list for next week: a sourcing visit to a Hasami contemporary tableware wholesaler (we're trying to expand the Hasami section), a check-in with our Kuretake watercolor supplier about the new metallic-pigment Gansai launch, and the seasonal restock of incense from Shoyeido (Kyoto, founded 1705) and Nippon Kodo (Tokyo, founded 1575).

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