Compiled from 10 sources; we haven't tested these products ourselves yet. How we research
Quick answer
On published specs, the uni-ball One is the best everyday journaling pen: Mitsubishi Pencil says its pigment gel stays on the surface, dries fast and doesn't bleed through. For tiny planner boxes pick the Pilot Juice Up 0.4, for the thinnest paper a Jetstream ballpoint, for drawing the uni PIN, and for fountain pen ink the Pilot Kakuno.
On this page12 sections
The eight picks side by side, each labelled with the job it is picked for.
uni PIN fineliner (0.03 to 1.2 mm; 0.03 mm PIN003-200)uni
Japan
Not stated*
Price range: $under $5 per pen
Stabilo Point 88 Fineliner (0.4 mm)Stabilo
Germany
Germany*
Price range: $under $5 per pen
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen (hard and soft tip)Tombow
Japan
Japan*
Price range: $under $5 per pen
MUJI Gel Ink Ballpoint Pen, Cap Type (0.38 / 0.5 / 0.7 mm)MUJI
Japan
Japan*
Price range: $under $5 per pen
Pilot Kakuno Fountain PenPilot
Japan
Japan*
Price range: $$$5–20 per pen
Notes on these facts
uni-ball One retractable gel pen (US uniball ONE, 0.7 mm Medium and 0.5 mm Micro; Japan UMN-S, also 0.38 mm): Made by Mitsubishi Pencil Co., Ltd.. Made in Japan: per a US business-supply listing for item 70363 (0.7 mm blue, dozen). Japanese retailer Cainz lists the 0.5 mm black pack (JAN 4902778261354) as made in Japan (生産国 日本), and Escribo (Poland) lists Japan for the 0.5 mm pen. Mitsubishi Pencil's Japanese pages don't state it. A Swiss retailer lists China for one 0.7 mm multi-pack and Japan for a refill set, so origin may vary by pack; check the packaging. Source. Price: example listing. Released: Japan release date per Mitsubishi Pencil's January 21, 2020 press release (Yoseka Stationery agrees); we didn't find a US launch date.
Pilot Juice Up retractable gel pen (Japan LJP-20S3 / LJP-20S4 / LJP-20S5; 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 mm): Made by Pilot Corporation (Japan). Made in Japan: per importer Simple Paper's listing (Origin: Japan). Pilot's Japanese web catalog doesn't state the country of manufacture in the pages we found. Source. Price: example listing. Released: Japanese launch of the 0.3 and 0.4 mm, per Pilot's press release of August 9, 2016. Pilot doesn't sell the Juice Up under its own US brand; it reaches the US through importers.
uni-ball Jetstream RT Retractable Ballpoint (0.5 / 0.7 / 1.0 mm; SXN-210): Made by Mitsubishi Pencil Co., Ltd.. Made in Japan: per US business-supplier spec sheets for items 62152 (0.7 mm black), 62153 (0.7 mm blue) and 73834 (1.0 mm red), all listing Japan; Unsharpen also lists Japan. uni's US store, uni-ball UK and Mitsubishi Pencil's Japanese site don't state it. Source. Price: example listing. Released: Mitsubishi Pencil's February 17, 2011 press release says the Jetstream Standard went on sale in Japan in July 2006; we found no separate US launch date for the RT.
uni PIN fineliner (0.03 to 1.2 mm; 0.03 mm PIN003-200): Made by Mitsubishi Pencil Co., Ltd. (Tokyo). Country of manufacture not stated: uni-ball UK, JetPens and the Swiss Post shop pages we read don't state a country, and the PIN isn't in Mitsubishi Pencil's Japanese catalog. Search snippets showed a Galaxus listing giving Germany and Japan and a UK office supplier giving Vietnam, but we couldn't open either page, so check the pen. Price: example listing.
Stabilo Point 88 Fineliner (0.4 mm): Made by Schwan-STABILO (Heroldsberg, Germany). Made in Germany: Most Digitec/Galaxus single-pen listings (for example violet) give Germany. A few Digitec listings for other colors, such as green and moss green, give China, so origin may vary by color. STABILO's German and US product pages don't state the country, and Icecat no longer shows it; Digitec and Galaxus blocked our reader when we rechecked on October 20, 2026. Source. Price: example listing. Released: From the Swiss retailer Manor's German-language copy: "Schon seit 1977 ist Europas Fineliner Nr. 1". STABILO's German site calls it "Europas Fineliner Nr. 1" but gives no launch date.
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen (hard and soft tip): Made by Tombow Pencil Co., Ltd. (Tokyo); sold in the US by Tombow USA. Made in Japan: LarryPOST (Australia) lists the navy-body black hard tip as made in Japan. Tombow's Japanese, US and European pages don't state a country, and we found no origin for the soft tip (WS-BS 150), so check the pack. Source. Price: example listing. Released: Tombow Japan's 2018 press release says the black Fudenosuke went on sale in Japan in 2001 and in Europe and the US from 2015; the 10-color hard-tip range launched in October 2018.
MUJI Gel Ink Ballpoint Pen, Cap Type (0.38 / 0.5 / 0.7 mm): Made by Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd.. Made in Japan: MUJI USA's product details for the 0.38 mm cap-type pen give "Country/Region of Origin: Japan", and MUJI Japan's page for the gel ink refill lists 原産国 (country of origin) 日本 (Japan). We read both on October 21, 2026. Source. Price: example listing.
Pilot Kakuno Fountain Pen: Made by Pilot Corporation (Japan). Made in Japan: Unsharpen gives Japan as the country of origin, and Mynavi News calls the Kakuno a domestic (kokusan) fountain pen. Pilot's Japanese catalog page for FKA-1SR (read in full on October 20, 2026) doesn't state a country. LarryPost, cited earlier, no longer loads. Source. Price: example listing.
Price bands are typical US retail, checked October 2026. Conversions to US dollars are approximate, at October 2026 rates (US$1 = ¥158 = ₩1,330 = NT$32.5 = CN¥6.7 = SEK 9.9 = DKK 6.7 = ₺49.6 = C$1.41 = A$1.43 = CZK 21.7; €1 = US$1.12; £1 = US$1.32; CHF 1 = US$1.21).
Key takeaways
Journal paper is thin: Moleskine lists 70 g/m², a standard Leuchtturm1917 80 g/m², and Hobonichi uses Tomoe River S, which Hobonichi says bleeds through less than its old paper.
Pilot says the black Juice Up 0.4 mm writes a 0.2 mm line, fine enough for the small boxes of a weekly planner.
The uni PIN comes in 13 line widths from 0.03 to 1.2 mm, and JetPens includes the PIN 03 in its pen sampler for Hobonichi users.
The Stabilo point 88 comes in 65 colors with a 0.4 mm tip; the MUJI gel pen in 10 colors at 0.38 mm.
Hobonichi's own writing-utensils catalogue, tested on Tomoe River paper, includes the Pilot Kakuno, which lists at ¥1,100 (about US$7.00) in Japan.
What is the best pen for journaling?
The uni-ball One is the best everyday pen for journaling, but the best pick for tiny planner boxes, the thinnest paper, drawing, color, headers, a low price or fountain pen ink is a different pen. The uni-ball One is #1 because Mitsubishi Pencil says its pigment gel stays on the surface, dries fast and doesn’t bleed through, the three things thin journal pages need.
Best overall:uni-ball One 0.5 mm. Why it’s here: pigment gel that Mitsubishi Pencil says stays on the surface, dries fast and doesn’t feather or bleed through, so it suits thin and thick pages alike.
Best for small writing:Pilot Juice Up 0.4 mm. Why it’s here: the finest gel line here, 0.2 mm for the black per Pilot, for tiny planner boxes; pastels write 0.3 mm.
Best for the thinnest paper:uni-ball Jetstream RT 0.5 mm. Why it’s here: a quick-drying oil-based ballpoint, and Hobonichi used a Jetstream 0.5 mm refill in its own Tomoe River pen test.
Best for drawing and lines:uni PIN. Why it’s here: the most widths here, 13 from 0.03 to 1.2 mm in pigment ink, and part of JetPens’ sampler for Hobonichi users.
Best color fineliner:Stabilo point 88. Why it’s here: 65 colors, far more than the MUJI’s 10, with a 0.4 mm metal-encased tip that works with stencils, per STABILO.
Best for headers:Tombow Fudenosuke hard tip. Why it’s here: the only brush pen, a small hard tip with water-based pigment ink for lettering titles.
Best budget:MUJI Gel Ink Ballpoint Pen 0.38 mm. Why it’s here: a low-cost refillable cap pen in 10 colors, made in Japan.
Best fountain pen:Pilot Kakuno EF or F. Why it’s here: the only fountain pen, a light steel-nib pen that Hobonichi includes in its writing-utensils catalogue.
How did we choose these picks?
We compiled these picks from published sources, not hands-on testing: makers’ ink and line claims, Hobonichi’s Tomoe River pen test, JetPens’ sampler, US availability and price band. We chose by line width and ink type, because they decide show-through on thin journal pages.
How do the eight journaling pens compare?
They differ most in line width and ink type, which is what decides show-through on thin pages.
Pen
Type
Tip or line
Ink
Colors
Made in
uni-ball One
Gel
0.38 (Japan), 0.5, 0.7 mm
Pigment gel
Many
Japan
Pilot Juice Up
Gel
0.3, 0.4, 0.5 mm
Pigment gel
Many, incl. pastels
Japan
Jetstream RT
Ballpoint
0.5, 0.7, 1.0 mm
Oil-based
Black, blue, red and more
Japan
uni PIN
Fineliner
0.03–1.2 mm
Pigment
Black; 05 in 6
Not stated
Stabilo point 88
Fineliner
0.4 mm
Water-based
65
Germany
Tombow Fudenosuke
Brush pen
Hard or soft tip
Water-based pigment
Black and colors
Japan
MUJI Gel Ink
Gel
0.38, 0.5, 0.7 mm
Pigment gel
10 at 0.38 mm
Japan
Pilot Kakuno
Fountain pen
EF, F, M nib
Cartridge or converter
Any ink
Japan
All are in our $ band (under $5 a pen) except the Kakuno, which is $$ ($5–20). The Juice Up is a Japanese import in the US.
Which pens are best for Hobonichi and Tomoe River paper?
Fine, quick-drying pens: a 0.5 mm ballpoint, a 0.4 mm gel pen or a fine fineliner. Tomoe River is thin enough to fit 464 pages into the 15 mm Hobonichi Techo Original, so writing shows faintly from the back.
Hobonichi says its newer Tomoe River S paper bleeds through less and dries faster. Its store still warns that some pens and inks may feather, show through or dry slowly, and suggests testing first.
What is the difference between ghosting and bleed-through?
Ghosting is writing you can see through the page; bleed-through is ink that soaks through and marks the back. Thin paper ghosts with almost any pen, while bleed-through comes from wet inks: broad fountain pens, markers and some brush pens.
Which pens work in Leuchtturm1917 and Moleskine journals?
Almost all of these on Leuchtturm1917’s 80 g/m² paper, and the finer ones on Moleskine’s 70 g/m². Reviewers report bleed-through on Moleskine with wet inks, so keep markers and broad nibs for heavier paper.
How are these different from Bible journaling pens?
Bible pages are thinner still, so our Bible journaling pens roundup favors pigment fineliners and pencils. Our gel pen roundup ranks gel pens for everyday writing; this list is built around planners and journals.
What do other reviewers recommend?
JetPens and Hobonichi both mix ballpoints, fine gel pens, fineliners and a starter fountain pen.
JetPens’ Hobonichi Techo pens sampler includes a uni Jetstream 0.38 mm multi pen, a Pilot Acroball, a Platinum Preppy 03 fountain pen, a uni PIN 03 and a Zebra Sarasa Mark On gel pen.
Hobonichi’s writing-utensils catalogue, re-edited from its 2019 guidebook, lists pens it tested on Tomoe River, from the Pilot Kakuno and Custom 74 to the Hi-Tec-C Coleto 0.3 mm and FriXion pens.
Where are journaling pens made?
Retailers and makers list Japan for the uni-ball One, Juice Up, Jetstream RT, Fudenosuke, MUJI pen and Kakuno, and Germany for most point 88 colors. No source we read states where the uni PIN is made.
Frequently asked questions
What pens don't ghost on Hobonichi paper?
None are invisible from the back, because Tomoe River paper is thin, but ballpoints and fine pens show least. A 0.5 mm Jetstream or a 0.38–0.4 mm gel pen leaves a thinner line than a fountain pen or marker.
What pen is best for a Leuchtturm1917 journal?
Most gel pens and fineliners suit its 80 g/m² paper. For a bullet journal, the uni PIN or Stabilo point 88 for drawing and the uni-ball One for writing are good fits on paper specs.
Do gel pens bleed through Moleskine paper?
Fine gel pens usually don't, but reviewers report bleed-through on Moleskine's 70 g/m² paper with wet inks such as broad fountain pens and markers. Choose 0.5 mm or finer.
Can you use a fountain pen in a planner?
Yes, with a fine nib and a test page. Hobonichi lists the Pilot Kakuno in its writing-utensils catalogue, and the Kakuno comes in EF, F and M nibs.
What is ghosting in a journal?
Ghosting is when writing shows faintly through from the other side of the page, without ink passing through. Bleed-through is when ink actually soaks through and marks the back.
What is the best cheap pen for journaling?
The MUJI Gel Ink Ballpoint Pen: MUJI lists it at ¥120 (about US$0.80) in Japan, in 10 colors at 0.38 mm, with refills that fit both its cap and knock bodies.
What pens are best for bullet journal headers?
A small brush pen such as the Tombow Fudenosuke, whose firm hard tip suits small lettering, or a color fineliner such as the Stabilo point 88.
uni-ball One retractable gel pen
Pilot Juice Up retractable gel pen
uni-ball Jetstream RT Retractable Ballpoint
uni PIN fineliner
Stabilo Point 88 Fineliner
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen
MUJI Gel Ink Ballpoint Pen, Cap Type
Pilot Kakuno Fountain Pen