WHAT IS A HOBONICHI?
Hobonichi 2024 -collection available at Paperimuru in September 2023.
I get a lot of questions regarding the different Hobonichi book types and what Hobonichi techo would be the right fit for different situations. So i decided to write this little instructional guide about the different Hobonichi Techo book types, i hope this helps a little.
First, all Hobonichis are techos, techo means planner or book in Japanese. All of the books have the same high quality Tomoe River paper. Tomoe River is very light and thin paper, but at the same time it is strong and works extremely well with inks and fountain pens. Because the paper used in Hobonichis is so light, the planners are easy to carry with eventhough some of them have quite a many pages. Hobonichi´s book binding technique is strong to keep your Hobonichi from falling apart even though it is opened many times a day. Hobonichi also opens flat, so it is easy to write on the pages. (The Nuance Weeks cover needs some time for it to lay fully flat)
Lowest in top row is Hobonichi Cousin and on top of that Hobonichi Weeks. Below them Hobonichi A6 Planner. photo: Paperimuru
Hobonichi offers the following book types: A5 Cousin, A6 Planner and wallet sized Weeks and Mega Weeks. Hobonichi also has a day-free planner and 5 year planner in sizes A5 and A6 as well as notebooks and large variety of accessories. Next i will explain all the models and their differences in more detail.
HOBONICHI A5 COUSIN
Hobonichi A5 Cousin features a page per day format. Cousin also has yearly pages, monthly pages, weekly pages and one full A5 size page for all 365 days of the year. Cousin comes in Japanese only, but all essential information like weekdays are also in English. Weekly pages have daily 24 hour clock time schedules to help you plan your days effectively. Tomoe river paper in Hobonichi Cousin is white and all pages have light 3,7mm grid to make writing easier.
Simple weekly view in Hobonichi A5 Cousin. Girls by La Dolce Vita, dot stickers by Stalogy Photo: Paperimuru
Many people use Cousin as their work planner, me included. I use monthly pages to track down my invoices, work hours and things like that. On weekly pages i write down my thoughts on different work related things. (Us small entrepreneurs have lot on our minds!) On daily pages i write everything i need to do or remember that specific day as well track down daily shipped orders etc. I use the daily pages like bullet journal and move the tasks forward in case i wasn´t able to finish everything that day.
Journaling in Hobonichi A5 Cousin weekly view photo : Paperimuru
With us retailers Cousin is available as book only or book + cover -package, with different cover options. All covers have pockets for your important papers and treasures. Also available is so called cover on covers that are plastic covers made to protect the cloth covers. Cousin comes also as Cousin Avec, where the book is splitted into two. Cousin Avec features all the same elements as the regular Cousin its is just lighter to carry with.
Daily notes of an entrepreneur in Hobonichi A5 Cousin daily pages photo : Paperimuru
- Cousin has 544 pages in total, it weighs 482g empty, has yearly, monthly, weekly and daily pages.
- Each Cousin Avec book has 288 pages and weighs 278g empty, has yearly, monthly, weekly and daily pages.
HOBONICHI A6 PLANNER
The Hobonichi A6 Planner also features a daily pages format. Due the A6 size it is light to carry around. A6 planner is in English and features lovely daily quotes. It has yearly pages, monthly pages and daily pages, it doesn´t have a weekly format. Many people use A6 as a diary or to write down daily schedules. I use my A6 as a memory planner, where i make collages and write about our daily life.
Hobonichi A6 Planner daily pages photo: Satu Muhonen / www.instagram.com/plannersaddicted
Hobonichi A6 Planner has gridded pages with 4mm grid. Weight is approximately 200g empty without cover. Hobonichi A6 Planner can be bought as a book only or as book + cover -set, there is a large variety of covers available. Also available is so called cover on covers that are plastic covers made to protect the cloth covers.
Hobonichi A6 is also available as half year Avec books, but only as A6 original that is in Japanese. Can be used without any knowledge of Japanese.
Hobonichi A6 Planner pic : photo: Satu Muhonen / www.instagram.com/plannersaddicted
- A6 Planner has 448 pages, weighs 200g, has yearly, monthly and daily pages. Weekly pages NOT included.
- Each A6 Avec has 240 pages, weighs 117g, has yearly, monthly and daily pages. Weekly pages NOT included.
HOBONICHI WEEKS
Hobonichi Weeks is light and small and is designed to carry with you every day. Weeks comes with many different cover designs. Weeks has both soft and hard cover formats depending on the chosen cover design. Cover on covers are also available for this format.
Hobonichi Weeks weekly spread photo : www.instagram.com/lorascrafts
Weeks has weekly pages on the left side of the spread and empty gridded page on the right side for your weekly notes and tasks. I use Weeks to plan all my familys schedules as it is easy to carry with me everywhere i go. Hobonichi weeks also has yearly and monthly pages, but no daily pages. At the end of the book are 71 empty gridded pages for your notes.
Hobonichi Weeks weekly spread photo : www.instagram.com/lorascrafts
Hobonichi weeks measures ca. 94 x 188mm and weighs ca. 135 grams empty depending on the cover type. The Tomoe River -paper used in Weeks is creme colored and language is Japanese, but all important features like weekdays are also in English so no knowledge of Japanese is needed.
Hobonichi Weeks weekly spread photo : www.instagram.com/lorascrafts
- Weeks has 240 pages, weighs approx 135 grams empty (depends on the model), has yearly, monthly and weekly pages, but NO daily pages.
HOBONICHI MEGA WEEKS
Mega Weeks has basically the same format as Hobonichi Weeks except it has more empty notepages in the end of the book, 215 in total.
Hobonichi Mega Weeks on left and regular Hobonichi Weeks on right photo : Hobonichi
- Mega Weeks has 384 pages, weighs approx 186 grams empty, has yearly, monthly and weekly pages, but NO daily pages.
HOBONICHI 5 YEAR TECHO
Hobonichi lineup also has two 5 year techo planners that come in sizes A6 and A5. The five year techo features a 2-page spread with writing space for five years on the left and empty, gridded notepage on the right.
Hobonichi 5 year techo before any journaling photo : Hobonichi
- 5 year techo A6 has 752 pages and weighs approx 340 grams.
- 5 year techo A5 has 752 pages and weighs approx 680 grams.
DAY FREE
Day Free was first introduced in 2020 and is now available with us retailers also. The Day Free comes in A5 and A6 sizes. It features monthly pages, but rest of the book has only gridded notebook pages, so it is lovely for example as a bullet journal. A6 Day Free has 175 notebook pages and A5 Day Free 171 notebook pages.
Hobonichi Day Free monthly pages photo : Hobonichi
The day free has about half the pages vs. Hobonichi Cousin or A6 planner, so it is light and easy to carry with. The paper color in day free is Tomoe River white.
Hobonichi Day Free gridded memo pages photo : Hobonichi
- Day Free A6 has 240 pages and weighs approx 117g. Has yearly and monthly calendars.
- Day Free A5 has 224 pages and weighs approx 230 g. Has yearly and monthly calendars.
HOW AND WHEN TO BUY?
This year Paperimuru will also offer a wide range of Hobonichi accessories like pencil boards, stencils, cover on covers etc. Please note that retailers don´t sell covers only, we only have cover + planner -sets or planner books only. Also some of the covers you can see on Hobonichis own website are sold in Japan only.