Read this if you’re thinking about starting a travel journal and not sure if TRAVELER’s Notebook is right for you.

I recently re-started my travel journal to document the trips we’ve been taking since moving to USA at the end of 2023 from Australia.

Starting with journalling about my recent trip to the stunning Yosemite National Park in California.

Travel journalling was something I used to do more of back in Australia, but it would fall on the way side when life and work got busy. I use a TRAVELER’S COMPANY notebook that I got from Japan in 2018. You can use any notebook or journal to do your travel journalling.

But, I love using this notebook for three big reasons:

1. It’s not a notebook, it’s a notebook system

I’m a bit of a systems and organisation nerd.

What hooked me onto the TRAVELER’s Notebook is that it’s modular. The Starter Kit contains:

• The leather cover
• A blank 64 page notebook
• A little cotton bag to protect your notebook
• A spare rubber band to hold your notebook to the leather cover

You can buy different types of notebooks refills (e.g. lined paper, grid paper, dated diary paper) and accessories like a zipper case to put insert into your leather notebook.

You can even insert multiple notebooks inside the one leather case.

Once a notebook is filled, you can replace it with a brand new one. I only use it for travel journalling so I only use one notebook at a time. But you can insert 2 or 3 notebooks into your leather holder, each for a different purpose if you like to.

The TRAVELER’S Notebook comes in two sizes: A regular size (shown below) and a passport sized notebook.

The size you pick comes down to what you’re using it for. I find the regular size notebook perfect for me because the narrow body makes it easy to fit into any bag, but large enough so I have space to write and add little paper mementos like airline boarding passes, maps and attraction tickets.

(By the way, if you’re enjoying this, you’ll probably enjoy my twice-a-month Travelling Lens Insider newsletter, where I share travel and photography stories, tips and reviews to help you travel more and take better photos.)

2. Stylish, minimal and high quality

TRAVELER’S COMPANY is Japanese notebook and accessory maker. 

Japanese companies are known to produce high quality, artisan level products. The TRAVELER’S Notebook is no different.

The leather is soft and smooth when you first start using it.

Over time, the more you use and handle it, the leather will patina and age naturally. Giving it a charming old school vibe. This is the big reason why each person’s notebook looks slightly different even when it started out exactly the same.

Being a high quality notebook, it comes with a price tag.

While it’s not excessively expensive, it’s not your $2 notebook. The flexible modular notebook system means it’s designed to last you a lifetime with normal every day use. If you buy a TRAVELER’S Notebook, you’re actually investing into a system that last you a long time.

I’m not a paper expert.

From my research, the notebook paper has been tried-and-tested for fountain pen and watercolouring, and is bleed resistant. From personal experience, the writing experience is very smooth.

3. Infinite flexibility

If you don’t like being confined to one type of notebook (i.e. just lined paper) and enjoy the flexibility of different notebook for different situations, then the TRAVELER’S COMPANY notebook system might be for you.

They have dozens of insert options and accessories to personalise your notebook, writing experience and achieve your specific goals of having your notebooks.

The name of the notebook (TRAVELER’S) is also a big hint that its designed to be a minimalist system that you can take with you wherever you go.

I only use my TRAVELER’S Notebook as a travel journal and scrapbook, and I also like to journal after a trip instead of during a trip. So my journal stays home. But I’ve have taken it on quieter trips before, where I knew I had time to journal during my trip. 

And it’s most definitely a travel-friendly size that doesn’t take up much space or weight, even if you’re travelling carry-on only.

The flexibility of the system is what I love most about it.

You can create your ideal notebook!

Wrap Up

We experience so many unique things with we travel and create memories with those we travel with or meet during our travels, especially as expats living in a foreign country.

Don’t just rely on your memories and phone camera photos. Document your travels and know they’ll still be there in 10 years.

Do this with your words, paper mementos and even Instax prints to add to your journal.

I thoroughly enjoy using the TRAVELER’S Notebook. It might also be for you if you are looking for a highly flexible, minimal, top quality and lightweight Notebook system as your travel journal (or a series of journals for different areas of your life).