Hobonichi Planners – 2021

On August 25, 2020, we released the full lineup of Hobonichi 2021 offerings. Each year, Hobonichi presents a repeat of the classic planners; the Techo, the Techo Cousin, the Techo Weeks and the Techo Weeks MEGA. Each year, NEW Weeks colors and Techo covers are released. Fun designs and textures, gorgeous new colors, some zippered, some with the pen loop closure.

Hobonichi Header

Perhaps the best parts are the Tomoe River paper and the very well thought out organization of the different sizes.

My daughter prefers the Weeks. Brian has tried both the standard A6 Techo, and the Weeks. I prefer a large planner, the bigger the better, but found that the A5 Cousin worked really well for me.

To help you prepare to dive into the world of Hobonichi planners, Let’s dive in and explore the different sizes and features. We hope our brief overview helps you out!

The Hobonichi Techo is a planner notebook created by staff members of the website Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun, shortened to Hobonichi. Techo (pronounced “tetch-oh”) is a Japanese word for a planner notebook.

Hobonichi Techo A6

The Hobonichi Techo has also been described as a Life Book; it demonstrates the planner notebook’s versatility and freedom that accommodate every user’s unique personality and lifestyle.

It first came out as a 2002 edition and new varieties have appeared over the years in response to customer requests, and all the techos improve every year based on these requests and feedback.

New cover designs are released every year so that using a Hobonichi Techo carries an extra sense of excitement and enjoyment.

Here are a few features of the Hobonichi Techo series:

 

Hobonichi Techo Daily

1. An open, intuitive layout. The book’s beautiful layout was carefully designed to be intuitive and easy to use. The graph-lined paper contains lots of open space.

2. Original daily quotes. Each page has fun and interesting daily quotes chosen from articles published on the Hobonichi website.

3. Strong, comfortable construction. The techo’s light, durable Tomoe River paper means the book can be hundreds of pages long and still remain compact. The Planner, Original, and Cousin books open completely flat and are comfortable to write in.

4. Cover designs to fit your style. Each year brings a new lineup of about 80 cover designs, including collaborations with artists and brands.

5. Endless ways to use the book. Techo users are always finding new ways to use the Hobonichi Techo and sharing their ideas.

** Original Techo **

This original form of the Hobonichi Techo has been loved by many users since its introduction in 2002. Its daily pages offer plenty of space to fill despite the book’s compact A6 size. The graph paper offers an open layout for you to neatly lay out writings, clippings, and drawings.

Techo A6 Cover

YEARLY Pages

Yearly calendar – A convenient double-page spread shows the yearly calendars for 2020, 2021 and 2022 at one glance as a useful reference when planning ahead.

Yearly index – With 2 months per page, there are 8 pages covering the 16 months from December 2020 to March 2022. The top of each monthly column includes 4 lines of space for recording things like that month’s goals or commitments, or drawing in checkboxes for a to-do list.

MONTHLY Pages –

Techo A6 Open

Monthly calendar – The monthly calendar is ideal for managing schedules.

Monthly data – Each header includes the year, numerical month,  and the name of the month.

Daily boxes – Each box is lightly printed with a graph design to make it easy to fill in a full day’s worth of plans.

Week number – The monthly calendars include the number of the week.

Free space – The calendars include free space below and to the left for taking notes, making plans or decorating the calendars with stickers and washi tape.

Labeling 2021 – The monthly pages for 2021 have the year in large numbers in the background to easily differentiate them from the 2020 pages.

DAILY Pages

Hobonichi Techo Daily

One day per page – The planner features a format with a page devoted to each day. There’s lots of open space to plan the day ahead and enjoy recording your memories and activities.

To-do list – The to-do list is located at the top of the page with checkboxes for keeping track of your goals for the day.

24-hour timetable – Work and personal plans take place at different times of the day, so the planner uses a full 24-hour timetable to accommodate all schedules.

The “Secret Line” – There’s also something we call the “Secret Line”: a vertical line that runs parallel along the right of the timetable.

3.7 millimeter graph paper – The Japanese planners have slightly smaller graph paper than the English version.

Daily quote

12-color tab

Mini calendar

Turning the page

Remember This

INFO Pages
Memo page – The book includes blank pages in the back for capturing random thoughts, sketching or storing items of interest that aren’t time-sensitive.

Number of memo pages – Full year (January start): 14 pages

Time Table – The book includes two timetables for writing in a recurring hourly schedule for each day of the week.

Graph Paper – The graph paper is convenient for recording your daily weight or other changes when you have a certain target in mind.

Favorites – The Favorites page is a great place to list rankings for movies, books, music, restaurants, plays, games and much more — on a sliding scale of 5 stars.

My 100 – This popular 100-item list from the 2018-edition Hobonichi Techo has made its comeback. You can make a list for anything you want: things to accomplish this year, books you’ve read, movies you’ve seen, snacks you’ve tried, shops you want to visit — it’s up to you!

Gifts – Record the presents you’ve given or received in the Gifts page so you don’t forget who gave what to who and when.

Personal Notes – Be sure to enter your contact information on the Personal Notes page in the back of your planner in case it’s misplaced.

** Techo Cousin **

Hobonichi Cousin Cover

The one-day-per-page A5-size techo was created in response to customer requests for more space to fill with writing and clippings and is designed to be paired with the A5 cover of your choice. The Cousin is perfect for collecting a great deal of information into a single book, using as a school notebook or parenting diary, or simply writing in larger letters. The larger size means this book is ideal for leaving in a single place at work or at home. The Cousin also has an exclusive section: the popular “Weekly Pages” tracks a week in each two-page spread for easy planning.

Book cover – The front of the planner book is made of strong card stock with a soft ivory hue, and includes the label “HOBONICHI TECHO 2021 cousin” printed in gray letters.

A5 size is largest in lineup – The Cousin is 5.8″ x 8.3″, twice the size of its A6 Original counterpart, so there’s plenty of room to use the Cousin for both business and pleasure.

Perfect planner paper – The thin, light paper, called Tomoe River paper, is strong, resistant to bleeding, and allows ink to dispense smoothly across the paper — an ideal choice for a planner.

Hobonichi Cousin Binding

180-degree lay-flat binding – Special stitch-binding allows the planner to lay completely flat without having to hold it down.

Cousin-exclusive weekly page – The weekly page is a special section only available in the Cousin edition. It contains one week per two-page spread, with 24-hour timetables labeled 0:00 to 24:00.

YEARLY Pages
Yearly calendar – A convenient double-page spread shows the yearly calendars for 2020, 2021 and 2022 at a glance for a useful reference when planning ahead.

Yearly index – Each 2-page spread contains 6 months, with a total of 12 months in the yearly index. The top of each monthly column includes 3 checkboxes for writing goals and to-do lists, and the bottom of the page has extra space for note-taking.

MONTHLY Pages
Monthly calendar – The monthly calendar is ideal for managing schedules.

Monthly data – Each header includes the year, numerical month, the traditional Japanese name of the month, and the English name of the month.

Daily boxes – Each box is lightly printed with a graph design to make it easy to fill in a full day’s worth of plans.

Free space – The calendars include free space below and to the left for taking notes, making plans or decorating the calendars with stickers and washi tape.

Labeling 2021 – The monthly pages for 2021 have the year in large numbers in the background to easily differentiate them from the 2020 pages.

WEEKLY Pages

Weekly pages – The Cousin contains weekly calendars that are useful for managing detailed schedules for the week.

Time line – The weekly calendar contains a time line that begins at 5 AM and ends at 4 AM the next day.

INFO Pages
One day per page – The planner features a format with a page devoted to each day. There’s lots of open space to plan the day ahead and enjoy recording your memories and activities.

To-do list – The to-do list is located at the top of the page with checkboxes for keeping track of your goals for the day.

24-hour timetable – Work and personal plans take place at different times of the day, so the planner uses a full 24-hour timetable to accommodate all schedules.

The “Secret Line” – There’s also something we call the “Secret Line”: a vertical line that runs parallel along the right of the timetable.

3.7 millimeter graph paper – The Japanese planners have slightly smaller graph paper than the English version.

12-color tabs – Similar to a dictionary, each month is labeled with a different colored tab on the edge of the page for easy reference, even when the book is closed.

Mini calendar – The daily page also includes a mini monthly calendar at the bottom right of every two-page spread. The dates of the current pages are outlined.

Turning the page – This warming-up page helps you get ready for the new year. It’s a great place to write your reflections on the past year, list your goals for the year ahead, copy down important information from last year’s planner, or do anything else you need to feel prepared.

Remember This – We’ve included a page at the beginning of each month for highlighting important dates, making to-do lists, and writing other notes to help in planning ahead.

Memo pages – The book includes blank pages in the back for capturing random thoughts, sketching or storing items of interest that aren’t time-sensitive.

Time Table – The book includes two timetables for writing in a recurring hourly schedule for each day of the week.

Graph Paper – The graph paper is convenient for recording your daily weight or other changes when you have a certain target in mind.

Favorites – The Favorites page is a great place to list rankings for movies, books, music, restaurants, plays, games and much more — on a sliding scale of 5 stars.

My 100 – This popular 100-item list from the 2018-edition Hobonichi Techo has made its comeback.

Gifts – Record the presents you’ve given or received in the Gifts page so you don’t forget who gave what to who and when.

Personal Notes – Be sure to enter your contact information on the Personal Notes page in the back of your planner in case it’s misplaced.

** Techo Weeks & WeeksMEGA **

Hobonichi Weeks Size

Hobonichi Techo Weeks

This weekly-edition Hobonichi Techo is a compact book that’s easy to carry everywhere. The book is slim and roughly the size of a long wallet or checkbook, making it easy to fit into a bag or suit pocket.

The main layout of the book consists of a weekly calendar on the left page and blank graph paper on the right page. Each weekly spread also contains the characteristic Hobonichi quote in Japanese on the bottom of the page.

The Weeks is available with a variety of different cover designs on the book itself and does not require an additional cover purchased separately.

Even at 240 pages, the Weeks is incredibly compact. It’s 9 mm thick and weighs under 140g, making it effortless to keep on hand.

The Weeks Mega  is 384 pages, 13 mm thick, and weighs 190 g.

*As the Weeks does not lay completely flat by itself, hold it down lightly with your hand as you write.

Wallet Size – The Weeks is about the size of a ladies’ wallet or checkbook. It may look slim, but the surface area of a page is actually nearly the same as the A6.

Perfect planner paper – The thin, light paper, called Tomoe River paper, is strong and resistant to bleeding ― an ideal choice for a planner. The Weeks contains a cream-colored paper variant that’s easy on the eyes when used outdoors.

Variety of covers – The Weeks lineup offers a wide variety of designs on each book cover.

Embossed spine – The spine of many of the the Weeks book is embossed with “2021” for easy reference when storing the planner in a bookshelf.

Two bookmarks – The Weeks includes two bookmarks you can use to hold your place in commonly-used pages.

YEARLY Pages

Yearly calendar – A convenient double-page spread shows the yearly calendars for 2019, 2020 and 2021 at a glance for a useful reference when planning ahead.

Yearly index – The Yearly Index is designed for long-term planning and tracking, with one entire year laid out in a full-page spread.

MONTHLY Pages

Hobonichi Weeks Monthly

Monthly calendar – The monthly calendar is ideal for managing schedules.

The monthly calendar spans the following dates – December 2020 – March 2022

Monthly data – Each header includes the year, numerical month, the traditional Japanese name of the month, and the English name of the month.

Daily boxes – Each box is lightly printed with a graph design to make it easy to fill in a full day’s worth of plans.

Free space and check boxes – The monthly calendars include free space below and to the left for taking notes, making plans or decorating the calendars with stickers and washi tape. The right page includes 4 checkboxes for listing goals and commitments for the month ahead.

WEEKLY Pages

Hobonichi Weeks Monthly

Dual-spread design – The weekly spread contains the weekly calendar on the left page and the blank graph paper on the right page.

2-dot timeline – In order to facilitate the most efficient use of the limited space in each day, we’ve included two subtle dots to split each day into morning, afternoon, and evening.

Memo page – The right page on each weekly spread contains blank graph paper to give full reign to users when drawing out plans or writing out schedules. You can also draw lines across the page to correspond with each of the 7 days on the left to give yourself more writing room.

The “Secret Line” – There’s also something we call the “Secret Line”: a vertical line on the memo page that allows such things as topics on the left and details on the right, or drawing out visual timetables and plans.

Mini calendar – The weekly page also includes a mini monthly calendar at the bottom right of every two-page spread. The week of the current pages is outlined.

Techo WeeksMEGA 

Hobonichi Weeks Mega Size

There’s also a “Weeks Mega” edition, which contains approximately three times the number of blank graph-ruled pages in the back (213 pages total). This allows users to feel free to fill up their note pages.

** EXTRAS  **

The “Clear Cover” for the Weeks includes a pen holder and a pocket and fit over the Weeks’ already-attached book cover.

And don’t forget the new notebooks that we are offering this year to fit with your planner.