[Freak_NL]

Nah, mechanical pencils are a niche, and those Japanese ones are a niche within a niche here in the Netherlands too. In Japan they are common, mainly due to the writing system that is very well suited to mechanical pencils, so they are common in schools.

I use the Uni Kuru Toga in its fancy aluminium variant for both Dutch (mostly random notes and DIY measurements) and Japanese (I'm Dutch, but proficient in Japanese). For writing kanji, the self-rotating core just can't be beat. The line thickness remains a very neat 0.3mm with 0.5mm pencil lead due to the cone at the writing end staying, well, a cone.

Fortunately, these pencils can be ordered worldwide these days via various resellers. In Japan you get the luxury of just being able to walk into a 文房具屋 (a stationary shop) and buy one starting from ¥500 or so.

[vr46]

The Kuru Toga is so versatile, I have three with different lead. But I do want to investigate these others :D About thirty years ago, I had a Faber-Castell where the lead sleeve retracted and automatically dispensed new lead so finally I will be able to get a similar replacement. It’s not always Japan!

[eb0la]

I guess you're talking about Faber Castell gripmatic.

They are still in production. Problem is they are plastic and the brand and model fades after using it heavily, which makes hard to guess which @#$! lead size you need (I use Staedler leads because the case has feeding mechanism that feeds the lead into the pencil without having to touch the leads with your hand. Neat and tidy).

[arcen]

Hoi! I am in the Netherlands as well, which site did you use to purchase the Kuru Toga? I am interested in buying one too

[mtts]

PenStore.nl is like a Dutch version of Jetpens. Really nice. Alternatively something called japanstore.nl has the fancier versions.

[Freak_NL]

I think I used amazon.de the last time. The standard plastic 5mm one shouldn't cost you more than €5 there. Good luck!