Hakubundo

Hakubundo is located in Ward Warehouse. (There is a 2^nd location at Ward Centre.) There is ample parking available. There are stalls in front of the store front, in the outer lot on Auahi, and the parking garage on the Ewa side of Ward Warehouse.
I have made it a point to come to Hakubundo at least 4 times a year. Any more than that, I would be breaking my bank. I have an obsession with Rilakkuma. It started when I visited Japan in 2010. I CANNOT get enough of that cute brown bear! I confessed my obsession to my gf and she told me that Hakubundo has Rilakkuma and friends. What? Since then, I come here to get my Rilakkuma fix.
The store is big. There is an assortment of Japanese books and magazines. And washi tape, and pens, and ink, and really tiny Legos (but they aren’t Legos), and PLUSH!!! So much PLUSH!!! Ok, there is just a big variety of items. I always seem to leave with something overtime I visit.
Customer service is good. My questions are always answered and the clerks are usually informative. There are times that some of the staff can be robotic in their answers, but they don’t come off as rude (in my opinion).
The pricing can be steep for some of the items, but I try to remind myself that most of these items are shipped from Japan. Because of the uniqueness of the items and just the fact that I am still a kid who wants the comfort of really cute Japanese characters, Hakubundo will have my business!
(3)

My daughters love this store. I can not think of any other stores in hawaii that has the same selection on japanese stationery. In fact, my girls like this store more than the Sanrio store! Its small but cozy and just a right size for kids to walk around freely. The staff was very nice too. One of my daughter was looking for a particular eraser that her friends had and lost. (She wanted to get a new one for her friend for xmas) The staff listened to my daughter and went out of their way to find what she was looking for. What a great experience. Im sure we will be returning there soon.

While I usually enjoy browsing/​shopping here, I did not appreciate being ignored by the three employees who stood, socializing, seemingly oblivious to me and another person who walked in after me.
Needless to say, I put back the items I thought of purchasing and left. The other customer left before me.

Love the products from Japan… especially the pens, mechanical pencils & assortment of erasers. Thanks Britney, for your great customer service!

Pens! Washi Tape! Moleskine! Bags!
This is for their second location that just opened up at Ward Village!
Whoever is their social media person for Facebook… should get a raise because they had me drive not just from Ewa Beach but through the rain on a Friday night to buy a Laura Roth clutch bag, pens, pencils, and Washi tape! AND to score a free shopping Hokubundo bag!
Prices is worth it. The items they have in stock at this location slightly varies but you will not be disappointed especially if you are a pen fanatic or Midori Traveler’s Notebook fan.
The location is perfect and parking is easy especially if you choose valet.
It’s worth the visit!

Came across this place not too long ago at Ward Shopping Center. They have really cute stationary items that are great for school or office use. I ended up picking up a couple of notebooks & a few folders in hopes of keeping me organized throughout the semester.
Employees are not incredibly friendly or helpful. I asked one of the workers behind the register if he could take a folder out of the plastic wrap so I could see it & he seemed a bit irritated with my request. No greeting when I walked in with my friend.

Cute Japanese stationery items, and one of the only places with Midori TN (Travelers Notebooks and accessories). I gave only one star because of poor customer service. Basically if you don’t look Japanese (or like you have money) they will not even say hello or smile at you. And FYI Midori TN and accessories are way cheaper on Amazon, direct-​ship (even with shipping). Customer service in retail is VERY IMPORTANT.

LOVE the pens here at this store! It’s an Asian store with lots of cute stationaries. The only down side are the prices. They are pricey but I love all the different color & designs of their multicolor refillable pens so to me they are worth it.

This place is super cute. They have San-​x character plush and stationary, Japanese magazines and miscellaneous Japanese toys. I spent $ 70 on a few things ;)

4.5 stars
This place is similar to Maido or Kinokuniya in that it is a small store that sells Japanese stationary, books, and plushies, but in my opinion, it offers some selections that you typically don’t often see at other stores. I was SO excited to see that they sold tiny Sumikko Gurashi plushies that I NEEDED to have. They also have the usual Rilakkuma, Totoro, etc. In addition, they stock Japanese magazines and manga (in Japanese) as well as books about Japanese culture (in English) that I thoroughly enjoyed. Since this place sells both stationary and books, the selection of each isn’t as broad as the selection of stationary in Maido and the selection of books in Kinokuniya, but there are some gems here for sure.
The only complaint I would have is that they are overpriced. For example, Shirokiya sells some of the same manga for a fraction of the price, although maybe not in the same pristine condition. However this is common among stores selling Japanese stationary and toys so I can’t singly blame them.
Overall, if you’re looking for cute pens, plush, stationary, books, magazines, and such, this is someplace worth checking out.

I discovered this place a couple of years ago, and they have steadily expanded their selection of products. I go here for the latest J-​fashion magazines, and also cute stationery for myself or gifts for my friends.
They carry all sorts of publications, including Japanese language instruction, books about Japanese culture or traveling in Japan, Japanese craft books, animé magazines, manga, music and fashion magazines, and more.
The customer service has never been lacking in my experience, but then again, I usually know what I’m looking for when I go in.
I think my favourite thing about Hakubundo is the assortment of Lolita fashion magazines they have, including Gothic & Lolita Bible, Otome no Sewing, and Kera.
The only complaint I have, is that the prices are a little marked up. Sometimes I go home and order something online instead because it’s cheaper. But sometimes, I just want the instant gratification and will bite the bullet with the price.
Other than that, I do like this store. It is great for when I need my J-​fashion fix, or to pick up a last-​minute gift for a friend.

I cannot remember the last time I’ve been treated so rudely by a clerk. I asked her recommendation on a certain product and she shrugged and said, «I have no clue.» Now you have to understand, she said it with major attitude like I was interrupting her day. So I asked if there was anyone else working who had a clue. I left without buying anything. There are too many other stores who treat their customers with respect for me to patronize places like this. Management needs to teach its employees customer etiquette.

Hakubundo is a small bookstore specializing in Japanese books and magazines, stationary, pens, and kawaii small gift items. We searched all over for traditional Japanese cards for weddings, funerals, etc. and finally found them at Hakubundo. If you love Japanese products, definitely go check them out.

They had so many neat stationery items! I loved the selection of the different ink colors for my multi color pen! Prices seemed awfully high– since quite a bit of stuff I could find less at home on the mainland but overall it was a cool store & I found some pretty awesome things!

I remember this store from hanabata days. It’s moved from one place to another over the decades but still is a cool place to get Japanese books and stationery. Current home is Ward Warehouse on the ground level. Pretty small store but it has some cool stuff if you’re in the market for Japanese kawaii stuff. I found this weird bath toy thing with what looks like two whales or seals mating (see photo). Lotsa parking in Ward Warehouse but your mileage may vary depending on when you go there. It’s all Japanese import stuff so pricey as you may expect.

Some things to ponder before you go into Hakubundo.
What are you looking for? Are you going to buy anything? What is your budget? Are you looking for something specific (for example I was looking for 0.5 pens)? Are you looking for a specific character? Are you looking to buy manga? Maybe you should write a list.
When you first enter Hakubundo you must
1) Take it all in.
There’s a lot to process so I advise you to just look at the whole store from the front… kinda like an overview.
2) Work from the back first.
Go to the back first and then work your way to the front. *Briefly look at everything.
When you reach the front of the store
3) Find out what section you are going to be focusing on. For me it was the pen section in the back left corner.
4) Make sure you keep track of time.
You will be overwhelmed and spend maybe a good 30 mins. to 1 hour in here. Be sure to budget your time and money! Most importantly FOCUS. You will be distracted by all the cutesy Totoro stuff and character mugs and bear ears that you clip onto your hair so just FOCUS on what you came in there to get!
5) Once you have what you want, pay for it and GET OUT!
Seriously. Otherwise you’ll be pulling a Walmart walking out with bags and bags of stuff you don’t need. Trust me.

It’s super overwhelming! A lot to look at, as it was my very first time here! Woo boy I was in heaven! Loooooove all the stationery, stickers, tapes and pens! I did not have time to browse all the Japanese books but hey maybe next time!
I bought lots of Rilakkuma notebooks today, I’m a happy camper! :)

One word… OVERPRICED!!! Although this is a neat little Japanese Shop located at Ward Centre that’s filled with books, stationary, and pens, I can’t see myself spending almost $ 10 for just a 0.28 Gel Pen or $ 7 sticky paper tabs. They’re all good to look at but not good enough to buy. Also, I’ve seen a few products at other stores that sell the same products for less than HALF the price. Didn’t really experience any Customer Service since there was only one employee helping others when I looked around. If price doesn’t matter to you and you’re obsessed with Japanese stationary and knick-​knacks then this is the Store for You!

THE reason why I visit Hakubundo is for their stationary… namely, the pens!!! They have the Uniball StyleFit pens and pen refills. The StyleFit allows you to customize your pen (these are the multi-​color pens, so you can have 3 to 5 different colors in a pen) — you can choose what color and how fine of a line you want (they have it as fine as .28 to as thick as 1.0).
They also have a huge variety of other pens, as well as a variety of paper supplies, like notebooks, staplers, and paper clips. I came here frequently last year, not just for my pens, but to pick up the really nice origami paper. They also offer really cute washi tape and the Japanese writing notebooks to practice writing your Katakana, Hiragana, and Kanji.
If you are looking for Japanese books, magazines or manga, this is the place to shop at. It does not offer as large of a selection as Book-​Off, but they still have a nice selection to choose from.
If you love Rilakkuma, this shop is the place for you! As soon as you enter the shop, you will see a long shelf to your left that is filled with Rilakkuma items.
The good thing about this place is that it has a large selection of Japanese products and its not usually crowded, but the bad is that it can be a bit pricey.

I LOVE RILAKKUMA!
This is one of the only places I can go to find a lot of rilakkuma and piggy girl products. Other then this place, they also sell some at Marukai Market.
I was really sad when Hakubundo moved from Kapiolani to Ward Warehouse, only because Ward is so out of my way –_​-​. For the shop though, I’m sure business is much better for them so I’m happy for them as well.
This shop is great because they sell so many great things like bento boxes, manga, magazines, cute characters like rilakkuma, piggy girl and totoro!
Only down fall of this store is I feel they are very over priced. I bought a pen here that was super cute for $ 9 and found it at morning glory for only $ 3. Very disappointing when I find things I bought way cheaper somewhere else.