My one request on a recent vacation to Los Angeles was to visit the Hightide Store pop-up in Downtown LA. Friends: It did not disappoint.

I held myself back and got a nice mix of things I’d planned to buy and fun surprises that didn’t break the bank too much!

The store itself is lovely and the planners are all located on a cart-like structure in the back of the space, organized beautifully and clearly. Each planner type has an open “tester” so it’s pretty easy to figure out which one you want, then choose a nice fresh new one.

I went for one of the vertical A5 sizes, as I’ve been wanting one for a long time! I plan to do a full review of this planner, so I won’t go into too much detail here, but it is pictured in these photos. It’s the NZ Vertical A5. They had most, though not all, of the Hightide Diary range in this US pop-up (I would have liked to see the nahe cover range, for example). You can semi-easily sort through all the options on their Japanese page if you are curious. I do believe the only way to get these planners in the US is at this store or through Rakuten or Amazon Japan, so I was really excited to visit the shop!

Besides planners, I picked up a few little miscellaneous items that have turned out to be super useful! (I so often go into stationery stores and buy things I’m sure I “need” and then…never use them…anyone else?)

I had been meaning to order the matte black washi, so I picked up one of those (as expected since it’s MT brand, it’s great). I also got a random pen that writes in this bizarre and irresistible way! Apparently a cult favorite according to Jetpens, the Pentel Tradio Pulaman pen is sort of a calligraphy pen, sort of a fineliner, and sort of a faux fountain pen!? I have not yet mastered it, but it feels extremely unique on paper. It’s smooth but also has kind of some friction and will spatter if you go too fast. I’m excited to keep playing with this one.

Finally I couldn’t resist two countertop buys: bookmark tabs/pagekeepers! The black ones are a thin metal and look so sharp with my white Scribbles That Matter bullet journal, and the colored ones are magnetic and a little flimsier. I’ve been using those in my notebook that I write my Morning Pages in (my new year’s resolution and the topic of a future post). They were both a little pricey at around $5-8, but since I’ve actually been using them, I’m not thinking about that too much now.

The staff at the store were extremely nice and even threw in a logo sticker (perhaps they noticed my ridiculous happiness as I bounced around the store, examining every little item). Although the location is a bit hard to find, it’s certainly worth a visit if you’re in LA. If it becomes permanent, all the better to have a New Year’s excuse to visit LA annually to get a new planner!