Hi everyone! I'm Hino from the techo team.

Before I know it, 2024 is just around the corner! Yet, there are still so many blank pages in my techo...! I'm currently dealing with these two factors and slightly panicking over them.

I use the calendar on my smartphone to manage my schedules, so I decided to only write my favorite things in my techo, and so started to use a Day-Free from this summer. After a while, I came up with the idea of using my Day-Free as a place to list picture books I want to read.


List of picture books I want to read



The Hobonichi office is located in Jinbocho, so I end up buying lots of picture books


I have loved picture books ever since I was little, but I always find myself forgetting the titles of the picture books I was interested in whenever I go to the library.

That is, I learn about the picture books I want to read through conversations with people, childcare magazines, or the radio, and those quickly fall out from my memory, and even if I do jot down notes, they tend to disappear somewhere.


To keep the list in one place, I write them down on pages towards the back of the book

By writing it down on the memo pages towards the back of the book, I make sure my list doesn't blend in with my daily memos I had already written in the pages towards the start of the book.

Thanks to this list, I have since then been able to book them from the library and finally read the picture books that I wanted to read.



Memos of picture books I read



Although I started off using a mechanical pencil so I can continue to write...

As I listed the picture books I wanted to read, my techo took on a new role of a "book to keep a record for anything picture book-related." So, I decided to sketch picture books that I read to my child. I write down the following information as a set:
- Name of book
- Author
- Publisher
- Number of pages
- My child's reaction
- The front cover
- A spread that lasted in my memory


Writing with a pencil didn't last long...

I used to write using a mechanical pencil, but it started to become a chore because it took so long. (Oh no, I won't be able to write continuously anymore...) That's when I found a user submission who uses their Hobonichi Techo as a sketchbook.

I was surprised the techo could be used as a drawing pad considering how thin its pages are, but I carefully tried drawing a sketch of a picture book with acrylic paint.

I used lots of water so I could draw quickly, but other than the area I drew in, the paper didn't ripple that much! When you use a sketchbook that uses acrylic painting paper, it puffs up alot, but this made me realize how great the paper of the Hobonichi Techo is...!


Even with three colors, you can create various colors which makes the whole process faster

I was able to speed up the process by using paint, and it made my spread more fun with the added colors. This seems more up my street.



Memos of picture books I read probably won't be useful immediately, but I'm sure it will be fun to look back on one day.

If your techo has lots of blank pages, why not try painting in it?

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To celebrate the Hobonichi Techo surpassing ten million all-time sales, we’re recruiting stories of everyone’s one-in-ten-million day. We’d love to hear about your own personal unforgettable day, and perhaps were glad you wrote it down in your techo. You will be able to submit your episode by clicking on the image below. We look forward to reading your submission!

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