I think Leuchtturm was not a particularly good paper. Midori is very good, but they are not a paper mill. And they don't disclose who produces their raw sheets

I think Leuchtturm was not a particularly good paper. Midori is very good, but they are not a paper mill. And they don't disclose who produces their raw sheets. An example of a good Japanese paper mill is Tomoe River, who perhaps also supply Midori. In my opinion, the best paper out there comes from Fabriano, which has additional advantage of being totally chlorine free and pulp has been sourced from biologically controlled crops in Italy. Regarding pens, Pilot is very good. But if talking about Japan, we should also mention Platinum (and more importantly their sister company Nakaya) plus, at least, Sailor. There are also exceptionally good non-Japanese pen manufactures out there. One example is Conid. Or Romillo. I also love Japanese goods, but it's nice to keep a balanced perspective. Some Western brands are on the same level of quality. In fact, if you go to Japan, they will worship some Western brands.