Hoshino

This is something I personally want to do now, and it’s to try out all the pens I bought but never used. I hope I find a new favorite!

Beckham 3

I recommend slipping in a photo of your family having a great laugh. Write in funny stories of your children, too. It always lifts up my moods to read back on them.

Okamura

Ways to use a techo in spring. The only thing I do in my techo is to paste packages of snacks and sweets though… Oh, what about eating limited edition snacks of this season and pasting the package in your techo? You can get the feeling of spring and it’ll liven up your techo.

Hirano

Write your favourite words on the inside front cover! I feel that a brand new techo will instantly feel like your own by doing so. (I personally write words by Shigesato Itoi that I want to remind myself of, using a brush pen)

Tsuruki

How about taking this opportunity to think of monthly goals and writing it in the monthly calendar section? “Try to wake up early” and “Walk a station’s worth everyday” are good examples. After a year, you’d have accomplished twelve goals!

Tanaka

An easy way to change your mood is to change techo covers. I have two leather techo covers that I like, and I go back and forth between them. I feel like changing it up a bit, so I’m planning to change my cover to the other one on April 1st. If you use the Colors techo cover, the illustrated cover on cover is great too!

Iwakuro

What about writing out travel plans for places you want to go after everything has calmed down? Use the Souvenir Snack Encyclopedia and the Local Gourmet Encyclopedia on the Hobonichi Techo website as references (both pages in Japanese only).

Murakami

I always feel like starting something new in spring, so what about trying to cook a dish you’ve never made before and writing down its recipe and how it was? I think it’ll make you happy when you read back on it.

Annen

I often paste in things on my techo, like shop cards. I currently use this Tape’n’Fusen that stands out, and I recommend it because it will brighten up your techo. Just opening the pages will lift up your mood if you use bright-colored stationery.

Komata

I use the January-start techo, so it’s been a few months since I started my new techo. I’ve noticed that my writing has started to become a bit sloppy. That’s why I want to take this opportunity to try to write neatly again. It feels better when I read back on it, and I want to spend everyday calmly too.

Shiori

It’s fun to try out all the things listed on the “Just for a change” in the informational pages of the 2020 techo (Japanese only). I tried out “polish the faucets till they gleam” the other day, and I ended up cleaning my whole house. It felt good to come home to a clean home that day.

Kumiko

How about taking this opportunity to start a new hobby? Spring is the season of starting new things (in Japan, new fiscal and school years start in April) and the Hobonichi Techo is perfect to keep track!

Marutani

I currently am soothed when I paste in stickers given to me from the techo team. I think it’s a great idea to find your favorite sticker. It’s easy to turn a simple page into a cute one if you paste them in.

Maiko

This is something I personally do, but what about pasting in the words of “Ochitsuke” (stay calm in Japanese) somewhere in your techo where it’s easy to see? It really does keep me calm whenever these words come in my eyesight.

Asako

I recommend writing in everything you ate that day in the to-do list section of your techo. The key is to write everything quite detailed, all down to the ingredients that were in it, because the more detailed it is, the more fun it is to look back on.

There are a lot of things happening currently, but spring is a perfect time to change up your mood and spend a fun time. I hope these tips gave you a little idea to those starting a new techo, or to those wanting  to change up the way you use it.