Tombow MONO eraser: Japan's standard eraser, and how to get one

Our takeA plain plastic eraser that gets pencil off the page with less rubbing than most — nothing to look at, just a tool that does its one job well. I picked it because it's the eraser Japan has treated as the default since 1969; it's one of the first erasers many people here would name.

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What it is

The Tombow MONO is a white plastic eraser in a blue, white and black paper sleeve. That’s the whole product. It takes pencil off the page with less rubbing than most, and Japanese reviewers say it leaves very little gray behind.

Why I picked it comes down to how ordinary it is here. It has been on sale since 1969, in the same stripes, and in Japan it’s simply the eraser — one of the first many people here would name, and the one you’d expect to find in a school pencil case. My favorite proof of that: Tombow sells a version with a plain sleeve and no lettering, because Japanese exam rules restrict anything with printed text at the desk. It comes as a two-pack, since exam takers carry a spare in case one rolls off. (The stripes themselves are a registered trademark in Japan — colors only, no logo needed.)

The history, briefly: it began in 1967 as a freebie in boxes of MONO 100, Tombow’s top drawing pencil. People kept asking for the eraser on its own, so two years later Tombow sold it separately.

Who should skip it: if you want something that looks good on a desk or works as a gift by itself, this isn’t it. If you write or sketch in pencil and you’re tired of scrubbing, it’s worth a try.

Good and not so good

Good

Erases cleanly with light pressure — the point Japanese reviewers make most
Costs very little, in any of five sizes
Tiny and cheap; a box adds little to a bigger order

Watch out for

The white body shows pencil dirt quickly (a common review complaint)
Looks ordinary; on its own it doesn't make much of a gift

For someone ordering from outside Japan, the case is simple. It erases with less rubbing than most, it costs very little, and it’s so small and light that it adds almost nothing to the shipping cost of a bigger Rakuten order. That last point is the real reason to buy it from Japan: not because it’s rare, but because it’s an easy thing to throw in.

The other side: it’s not worth shipping on its own — the forwarding fee would dwarf the eraser. It looks like nothing, so it’s a poor gift by itself. And the white body shows pencil dirt quickly, which reviewers in Japan grumble about too.

How to order it

The link is a box of the standard PE-01 size — the sensible amount to forward from Japan, since the shipping barely changes whether you send one eraser or a dozen. The steps below follow Rakuten Global Express as it works today (checked 2026-09-06); the layout’s screenshots cover each one.

Rakuten Global Express (ships to most of Europe, Australia, Canada and more)

Coming soon — US route in preparation. The steps below are the route used for other countries.

Sign up for Rakuten Global Express (free, but identity verification is required) and note the personal Japanese “address for shopping” it gives you.

Screenshot — step 1

Order the eraser on Rakuten — ideally together with other things — and use that address as the delivery address.

Screenshot — step 2

When the parcel reaches the warehouse it shows up on your RGE My Page. Ask for packing, then for shipping, and pick a shipping method.

Screenshot — step 3

Pay the international shipping fee (and, for the UK, VAT) on My Page before it leaves. Check the fee and your country’s rules on the RGE country page first.

Screenshot — step 4

Questions people ask

How is it different from the eraser I already have?

MONO is a PVC plastic eraser. When it came out in 1969 most erasers in Japan were still rubber, and the plastic type was the new thing. Plastic erasers are common abroad now too, so if yours is a modern vinyl one the gap is smaller than the story suggests. What Japanese reviewers keep coming back to is how little rubbing it needs and how little gray it leaves behind. If you're still on an old rubber eraser, that's where you'll feel it.

Do I have to buy a whole box?

The link goes to a box of the standard PE-01 size, which is the pencil-case one most people mean by 'MONO.' A box sounds like a lot, but these are tiny and cheap, and buying several at once is the sensible way to order from Japan — the forwarding cost barely moves whether you send one or a dozen, so the price per eraser drops. If you only want one, single MONO erasers are easy to find on Rakuten too.

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Sakinome · Written from Okayama, Japan. Route checked 6 Sep 2026.

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