Apica Premium C.D. Notebook A5: Paper & Rulings

Drawing of a black Apica Premium C.D. Notebook A5, 210 mm tall and 148 mm wide, closed and opened flat on its first page, a small index with entries and page numbers, with thread stitching in the fold — The Premium C.D. A5 closed and open at the index page, magnified in the inset (1 mm = 1 px).

Product facts

Product: Apica Premium C.D. Notebook A5, 96 sheets (blank CDS90W; also lined and grid)
Brand: Apica
Brand origin: Japan
Made in: Japan^*
Material: A.Silky 865 Premium paper (86.5 g/m², per retailers), fancy-paper card cover, thread-sewn binding
Price range: $$$5–20 per notebook

Notes on these facts

Made by Nippon Note Co., Ltd. (日本ノート株式会社). Made in Japan: Papeterie Makkura lists Made in Japan for the blank and grid A5; The Journal Shop lists Japan as the country of origin for the ruled A5, and Write Gear says all CD Notebooks are made in Japan. Nippon Note's Japanese product pages give codes, JAN, weight and price but no country of manufacture. 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; €1 = US$1.12; £1 = US$1.32; CHF 1 = US$1.21).

Key takeaways

The A5 measures 148 × 210 mm (5.8 × 8.3 in) and holds 96 sheets, or 192 pages.
Its paper is Apica's A.Silky 865 Premium, given as 86.5 g/m² by Goulet Pens and The Pen Addict.
Wirecutter picked it as its best medium softcover notebook; 4 of its 5 panelists ranked it first or second.
Nippon Note, which makes Apica notebooks, lists it at 290 g and ¥1,397 (about US$8.80) including tax in Japan.
Retailers including The Journal Shop and Papeterie Makkura list it as made in Japan.

What is the Apica Premium C.D. Notebook?

It’s a thread-sewn, soft-cover A5 notebook from the Japanese brand Apica, sold on the strength of its smooth A.Silky 865 paper. Apica notebooks are now made and sold by Nippon Note (日本ノート), whose Japanese site calls the line 紳士なノート, “the gentleman’s notebook”.

Nippon Note’s product page notes that it won the grand prix in the function category of the 21st Japan Stationery Awards (日本文具大賞). In the US, Wirecutter’s notebook guide names the Premium C.D. A5 its top pick for a medium softcover notebook; four of its five panelists chose it as their first or second favorite.

Apica Premium C.D. A5 specs

Spec	Value
Size	148 × 210 mm (5.8 × 8.3 in), A5
Pages	96 sheets (192 pages), not numbered
Paper	A.Silky 865 Premium, 86.5 g/m² (per retailers)
Rulings	7 mm lined, 24 lines (CDS90Y) · 5 mm grid (CDS90S) · blank (CDS90W)
Binding	Thread-sewn (糸かがり綴じ); opens flat
Cover	Shimmering fancy-paper card, black cloth spine
Weight	290 g (Nippon Note)
Index	A small index on the first page
JAN	Lined 4970090340071 · grid 4970090340088 · blank 4970090340095
List price (Japan)	¥1,397 (about US$8.80) with tax; ¥1,270 (about US$8.00) before tax
Made in	Japan, per retailers

Nippon Note’s Japanese product pages list each A5 as W148 × H210 mm with 96 sheets of A.Silky 865 Premium, a weight of 290 g, the three codes and JAN barcodes, and a list price of ¥1,397 (about US$8.80) including tax. They don’t give a paper weight or a country of manufacture, so the 86.5 g/m² comes from Goulet Pens, Papeterie Makkura and The Pen Addict, and the index and the lack of page numbers from Wirecutter. Goulet measures the book at 10.5 mm (0.4 in) thick.

What is A.Silky 865 paper?

A.Silky 865 Premium is Apica’s own name for the paper in the C.D. Notebook; the “865” appears to refer to its 86.5 g/m² weight. That is a little heavier than the 80 g/m² in a standard Leuchtturm1917 and lighter than Clairefontaine’s 90 g/m².

Published paper weights for five common notebooks.

Nippon Note doesn’t publish the weight itself, so the figure above is the one Goulet Pens, Papeterie Makkura and The Pen Addict give for the A5. Nippon Note also sells a cream-paper A5 (CDC90Y) on Apica’s traditional cream woodfree ledger paper; it’s a different paper, so this figure doesn’t apply to it.

Is it good for fountain pens?

Reviewers mostly say yes, with a caveat; we haven’t tested it ourselves. Wirecutter’s panelists saw little feathering with fountain pen ink, and The Pen Addict’s 2020 review praised the very smooth paper.

The Pen Addict’s follow-up on September 24, 2026, saw some feathering with a sharp flex nib and one ink, so results depend on the nib and ink. Paper weight alone doesn’t decide it; sizing does. See our best notebooks for fountain pens for how it ranks.

How does it compare to the Midori MD and Leuchtturm1917?

The Apica has more pages than the Midori and slightly heavier paper than the Leuchtturm1917, but no ribbon and no page numbers.

	Apica Premium C.D. A5	Midori MD Notebook A5	Leuchtturm1917 Medium A5
Size	148 × 210 mm	148 × 210 mm	145 × 210 mm
Pages	192	176	251, numbered
Paper	86.5 g/m²	80–90 g/m² (retailers)	80 g/m²
Cover	Card	Paper	Hard cover
Ribbon	No	Yes	2

Wirecutter points people who want numbered pages and a ribbon to the Leuchtturm1917 Softcover instead. For 200 pages of cream paper in a thread-bound A5, see the LIFE Noble Note A5.

Does it lie flat?

Yes: Nippon Note says it uses thread-sewn (糸かがり) binding so the book opens flat, with a colored thread as an accent. Wirecutter and retailer listings say the same.

The trade-off is the cover. It’s a card cover, not a hard case, so it bends in a bag and gives you nothing firm to write on away from a desk. If you mostly write at a table, that matters less; if you write on your knee, a hard-cover A5 is steadier.

Which ruling should you choose?

Pick lined for writing, grid for planning and diagrams, and blank for sketching. All three share the same paper and page count.

Nippon Note’s Japanese site gives the lined A5 7 mm spacing with 24 lines a page, and the grid 5 mm squares; each ruling has its own cover color. Goulet sells the A5 in black and red, and Nippon Note also lists limited-color covers. The last letter of the code marks the ruling (Y lined, S grid, W blank), so check it if you’re reordering.

Where is the Apica notebook made?

Retailers list the Apica Premium C.D. A5 as made in Japan. Papeterie Makkura states “Made in Japan” for the blank and grid A5, and The Journal Shop lists Japan for the ruled A5.

Write Gear says all CD Notebooks are made in Japan. Apica is a Japanese brand, but Nippon Note’s product pages don’t name the country of manufacture, so the origin rests on retailers.

Frequently asked questions

What paper does the Apica Premium C.D. Notebook use?

It uses Apica's own A.Silky 865 Premium paper, which Nippon Note says glides smoothly under fountain pens and ballpoints. Goulet Pens, Papeterie Makkura and The Pen Addict give its weight as 86.5 g/m².

How many pages does the Apica C.D. Notebook A5 have?

The A5 has 96 sheets, which is 192 pages. The pages are not numbered, but the first page has a small index.

Is the Apica Premium C.D. good for fountain pens?

Wirecutter's panelists saw little feathering with fountain pen ink, and The Pen Addict praised its smooth paper in 2020, though a 2026 follow-up saw some feathering with a sharp flex nib and one ink. We haven't tested it ourselves.

Does the Apica C.D. Notebook lie flat?

Yes. Nippon Note says it uses thread-sewn (糸かがり) binding so it opens flat, and Wirecutter and retailers agree. It has a soft card cover, not a hard case.

What does CDS90 mean?

It is the code for the A5 Premium C.D. A letter at the end marks the ruling: Nippon Note's Japanese site lists CDS90Y for 7 mm lines, CDS90S for a 5 mm grid and CDS90W for blank. CDC90Y is the A5 with cream paper.

Where is the Apica notebook made?

Papeterie Makkura and The Journal Shop list the Premium C.D. A5 as made in Japan. Apica is a Japanese brand now made and sold by Nippon Note, whose own pages don't state the country.

Does the Apica C.D. Notebook have a ribbon?

No. Wirecutter notes it has no ribbon marker and no numbered pages, and points to the Leuchtturm1917 Softcover if you want those.

Sources (14)

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