Life (or L!fe) notebooks are another Japanese notebook favorite with a classic design. I don’t know much about them but apparently the company has been around since the 1940s. I had seen them a lot but never actually bought one until a few months ago when I found this adorable little wire-bound notebook:

Most of the Life notebooks I’ve seen have a taped spine– the wire binding seems more unusual. The 127 x 80mm size is adorable. It’s about 5mm thick and the rings are quite small so it’s a great format for slipping into a pocket. And at only $4.85 at JetPens, how could I not buy one?

Below you can see how slim and small it is vs. a pocket size Moleskine:

I chose the red cover with 5mm graph paper inside– that is what the word “Section” refers to on the cover, though I’ve never noticed that term being used for squared notebooks elsewhere. (Lined and plain pages are also available with different color covers.) I love the cover design with the Life name stamped in gold and the elegant border design. It seems timeless, somehow (except for the barcode). All four corners of the pages and cover are rounded. The front cover is a light cardstock, while the back cover is a heavier grey cardboard that provides more rigidity.

The paper has a creamy color with fine grey grid lines so it’s easy on the eyes. There is a tiny L!fe logo in the corner of each page– I could live without it for sure, but it’s not bothersome. The paper is super smooth and works beautifully with pretty much any pen including fountain pens. Show-through is a bit better than with some other Japanese notebooks I’ve reviewed, and bleed-through is very minor, only with my wettest, most penetrating pens.

What’s not to love about this notebook? If you want a cute little wirebound pocket notebook, I’m sure the Life Noble Note will make you happy!