A Minimalist Low-Cost Japanese Sketchbook

These Blank Note sketchbooks by MUCU, a Japanese stationery brand, almost look like some kind of military surplus. But in fact they're just as minimal a sketchbook as possible: Two pieces of recycled paperboard for the covers, a canvas strip for the spine, and 60 pages of recycled "comic paper" (what manga is printed on in Japan).

They come in three sizes, and have the model numbers printed on the spine, presumably for manufacturing/inventory purposes.

These run ¥770 (less than five bucks) in Japan, but there's no U.S. distribution. Tariffs and shipping would eat up any cost savings.

The images here are from New Zealand importer Kiosk.