Hobonichi Techo

falling in love with the perfect planner

a photo of a planner, two pencil cases, a canvas bag, and a latte sitting on a cafe table

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by life and just want to go hide in whatever mindless hobby that sparks joy? Yes, of course. This is why everyone decided to make sour dough starters during the pandemic and why my head contains a ridiculous number of Corgi breed facts. But the biggest one, for me, is journaling.

Back in the spring of 2023, my gastroparesis decided it wasn’t actually done wreaking havoc on my digestive track, making it perfectly clear that it wasn’t going anywhere. On on of the many nights I couldn’t sleep while my stomach felt like it was eating itself alive, I found planner TikTok.

Planner TikTok is a heavenly place inhabited by hundreds of dedicated artists who create aesthetically pleasing spreads, complete with cute emoji stickers, and plenty of fountain pens. I found myself consumed, every thought gravitating towards this new-found world of bliss. I swiped up over and over, mesmerized.

One time, my spouse jokingly asked what on earth could I be watching that had completely stolen my attention. When he asked, I felt the heat fill my face as I handed him the phone. His eyes bugged out slightly at first, but then he burst out laughing as the woman on the screen carefully created her weekly spread.

What can I say? Some people love napkin folding videos. I love Japanese stationary.

In the world of faulty memory, a good planner is worth its wait in gold. Meetings, doctor’s appointments, deadlines, podcast recordings—all jumble around, bouncing off my skull like an absurd game of pinball. Some people swear by Google calendar (and, trust me, I use that too), but if I don’t handwrite something down, it’s gone.

I’ve been fighting memory loss for so long. A couple years ago, I finally decided to make some changes to help me remember my everyday life. Journaling and I have a long, fraught history, but I decided to give it another chance. After some research online, I found the Japanese stationary brand Hobonichi Techo.

“The Hobonichi Techo is a Life Book that’s flexible enough to fit the lifestyle and tastes of its user, allowing for freedom in how to use it. . . . We hope you can find which Life Book perfectly suits you as a book that accompanies you through all the precious experiences of daily life.” - Hobonichi Techo

The Original

a series of images of the A6 Hobonichi Planner

The A6, the perfect little planner to slip into a pocket or a small bag, was my first venture into the Hobonichi world. I thought, why invest in the big one if I wasn’t sure I even liked it?

When I first opened my A6, I thought that I’d never felt silkier pages. Never had my pens sailed so smoothly across the page. It had yearly, monthly, and daily spreads, each formatted so that you could take the planner in whatever organization pattern that you liked.

My copy arrived in early March, and in just a couple weeks, I had back-journaled back to the beginning of the year. I wrote lists of books I loved or wanted to read, planned out social media content, and printed out photos on sticker paper to place right in its pages.

This is my third year using the A6, and it’s one of my favorite parts of my journaling practice. It’s a diary where I record my days and helps me keep a grip on my memories. Now if I forget what happened during a particular day or week, I can just flip through and find that day to read what was happening on any particular day.

The Cousin

a series of images of the Hobonichi Cousin planner

The Cousin is the perfect canvas for creativity. It’s big enough for more writing, more planning, more stickers—more everything! It includes yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily pages, giving planner fans limitless possibilities for tracking and planning. It even includes bonus pages at the back with places to write favorites, make lists, and mark off achievements.

For me, it’s my common place book, the place I jot down notes for interviews, quotes I want to remember, and drafts of anything I write creatively. I also insert business cards, greeting cards, playbills, and scraps of anything I might want to keep.

To write anything for Winchester Ave, I draft everything in my Cousin, reworking ideas as I go along. When I type it up, I edit sentences and streamline paragraphs. In the monthly and weeks sections of the planner, I write out my schedule, keeping track of deadlines and filling in my habit tracker. The Cousin is a one-stop-shop sort of place.

The Weeks

a series of images of the Hobonichi Weeks Planner

The Hobonichi Weeks is a slim planner perfect for a purse or other small handbag. It includes monthly and weekly spreads that help you plan for appointments of all kinds. But I had a different idea for mine.

I bought my first Weeks as a book journal for 2024. I started with the mega, thinking the extra pages would give me more room for TBRs, book lists, and notes on what I’d been reading. But I had so many pages at the end that I went with a regular-sized weeks for 2025.

My favorite part of the Weeks are the monthly spreads where I place stickers of the covers of the books that I’ve read so I can see them all at a glance. It saves me a lot of time sorting through my lists of books that I’ve completed.

Summary

a photo of eight planners stacked on top of one another

While I’ve tried out countless journals throughout of my life, I can say that I’ve rarely connected with a journal system like I have with Hobonichi Techo planners. Everything from the feel of the paper to the different kinds of spreads works well with my brain. Working in analog helps reduce migraines, and the different planner types inspire endless opportunities for creative expression.

Most importantly, my journals are a way to help my brain store information that would normally slip from my mind. They’re a tool to help me along as I try to retrain my brain’s ability to memorize and recall details, all in a beautiful and fun little package.

I’d love to know what planners or journals you use. Tell me ALL the things in the comments!