Whether it be traditionally practiced Japanese calligraphy or simply an extremely neatly written signboard, there's something very satisfying about watching perfectly handwritten kanji.

Taught from a young age in schools, calligraphy and proper penmanship requires adequate writing tools. When sweeping strokes, sudden stops, and stroke finish are important, you need the right pen. That's why Japanese stationery (especially pens) often get such praise.

Japanese handwriting enthusiast Machiko Katada (@machiko798) demonstrates that even some of the most standard pens in Japan can be used to write beautiful kanji!

While Machiko often uses common ballpoint pens in her videos to write kanji, this time she's using a rollerball gel pen with a 0.7mm tip from Japanese stationery maker Pentel. Using the EnerGel 0.7mm, she gorgeously writes the kanji for "sky".

Machiko's handwriting and technique are obviously gorgeous, but what has many people surprised is that the pen itself only costs 200 yen in Japan (less than $2.00 USD), which shows that you don't need a fancy pen or brush to write this smoothly.

While the pens are great, those interested in Japanese handwriting are in luck--Machiko has her own calligraphy lesson book available on Amazon and Rakuten. She also posts videos to Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, so be sure to follow!