Nohara Kogei’s gold-finish wooden mechanical pencils and ballpoints now cost ¥1,100 more, including tax, under a price increase that took effect on August 1. The maker’s July 23 notice identifies the cause precisely: higher gold prices have pushed up the cost of gold plating.
The change applies at Nohara’s main store and its online store. It is specific to the gold specification, so the finish matters when comparing prices across the range.
The cost is in the hardware
Nohara says it had worked to improve productivity and cut expenses, but could no longer maintain existing prices for products using gold plating. That is a useful piece of manufacturing context for a business whose most visible material is wood: the metal finishing has its own cost pressures.
The notice gives a flat ¥1,100 increase for the affected versions, without an old-and-new price table for every wood species. It does not announce the same increase for silver-finish pencils.
There is a separate caution about the wood itself: Nohara says some species may face future price changes as resources become depleted. It gives no amount or effective date for those possible changes.
The next order window is still a plan
Pricing and availability are separate developments here. In a May 13 announcement, Nohara closed reservations for deliveries through December 2026 after reaching its production capacity for that period.
As of September 28, the official store banner says the next reservations are planned for late October, covering deliveries in the first half of 2027. That means January through June, rather than an October shipment.
An exact opening date and the next window’s detailed terms are not yet confirmed in the material available. For now, the firm development is the August price increase; late October remains the maker’s stated reservation plan.
