The Day-Free comes in Original Size or Cousin Size. Each book can be used with the Day-Free cover BS LIte, or the same covers as their standard counterparts.



[Day-Free Specifications]


Day-Free A6 Size

Cover size: A6: 105 mm x 148 mm (4.1" x 5.8")

Pages: 240 (notebook section: 171 pages)

Thickness: 8 mm (0.3")

Weight: About 110 g (3.9 oz)



Day-Free A5 Size

Cover size: A5: 148 mm x 210 mm (5.8" x 8.25")

Pages: 224 (notebook section: 171 pages)

Thickness: 8 mm (0.3")

Weight: About 220 g (7.8 oz)

The full-year A6 Original techo has 464 total pages, while the A6 Day-Free has 240. The full-year A5 Cousin techo has 544 total pages, while the A5 Day-Free has 224.This makes the Day-Free books basically half the thickness and weight of the standard full-year counterparts.

The Day-Free comes with a blue cover reminiscent of a lovely clear sky. The words Day-Free and Hobonichi Techo 2024 are printed in ivory.

The book uses thin and light yet durable Tomoe River S paper. The paper has supported the Hobonichi Techo for over 20 years with its special characteristics, but it’ll be undergoing an overhaul starting with the 2024 edition techos. The paper is more resistant to bleed through, lighter despite being the same thickness, and has a smoother surface by adjusting the fibers of the paper.

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

The page corners are rounded to minimize creasing and damage to the edges when carried around or stored in a bag.

Serial numbers on the inside back cover give each planner a unique identity and make your planner your very own special book.

- We removed the illustration at the bottom right of the two-page spread so it could be used more freely.



- Bonus pages have been updated.



Sections added in the 2024 edition

- An Interview with Myself

- Seasonal Sweets to Make at Home

- Caring for Your Eyes



Sections removed since 2023 edition

- My Favorite Things

- How to Better Enjoy Conversation

- Enjoy Learning at the Hobonichi School



- National holidays are subject to change due to law revisions.

A convenient double-page spread shows the yearly calendars for 2023, 2024 and 2025 at one glance as a useful reference when planning ahead.

The yearly index covers 4 months per page for a total of 16 months, allowing users to track long-term plans and information (the A5 size covers 6 months per 2 page spread for a total for 12 months). The top of each monthly column includes 4 lines of space for recording any kind of information, such as that month’s goals or commitments, or drawing in checkboxes for a to-do list.

The graph paper design is lightly printed to make it easier to write in your plans and take notes in an even line. The blue gray and red print both allow for high visibility when writing in the calendar.

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

Each box is lightly printed with a graph design to make it easy to fill in a full day’s worth of plans. You can also take full advantage of the graph design by drawing out sections to allocate plans or entries visually.

The monthly calendars include the number of the week. The formula we use begins counting with the first week in January that includes a Thursday.

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

The calendars include icons depicting new moons (●) and full moons (○). (While the moon phase is the same across the world, the exact dates the moon phases land on are listed in Japan time.)

The monthly calendar days are labeled with rokuyo, a cycle of six days said to predict good or bad fortune that day. The labels are commonly found on Japanese calendars and used to plan weddings and funerals.

The monthly pages for 2025 have the year in large numbers in the background to easily differentiate them from the 2024 pages.

This white-bordered design contains graph-paper with 3.7 mm squares. Feel free to write along the lines of a single line or two ― or just ignore the lines altogether.

There’s something we call the “Secret Line”: a vertical line that can split each page into a header section on the left and details section on the right. We’ve printed it lightly enough that you can easily ignore it when using the page as a whole. The placement of the Secret Line is the same as that of each book’s standard counterpart.

Each notebook page features a quote in Japanese, specially selected from the planner’s parent site, Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun.

The A6 Size book includes one timetable and the A5 Size book includes two timetables for writing in a recurring hourly schedule for each day of the week. These are useful for things like filling in the broadcast times of favorite television shows or splitting up house chores.

The graph paper is convenient for recording your daily weight or other changes when you have a certain target in mind. The horizontal X-axis along the bottom contains 31 boxes to easily cover a one-month span, with extra space at the bottom for additional notes.

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. The A6 Size contains space for 10 entries while the A5 Size contains space for 12 entries.

You can use this 100-item list to make a list of up to 100 entries 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!

This is a section for thinking about you. Fill in the answers and read them over again once in a while, and maybe you’ll discover something new about yourself.

A page with recipes of some delicious desserts by chef Shiho Nakashima to
enjoy with each season of the year.

Your eyes are indispensable, not least for writing and reading your techo. This page looks at some ways to look after your eyes when they are tired. It also comes with an image to check your vision.

This section explains the names and origins of solar terms that make up the 24 points in traditional East Asian lunisolar calendars. These include well-known days such as the start of spring and the winter solstice.

This page contains a checklist of items to have ready in case of an emergency. There is also a space to list nearby evacuation zones (common in Japan), emergency contact information and topics discussed between family and friends.

This chart features conversions between units of measurement for easy reference and calculation.

This page includes information to further enjoy your Hobonichi Techo and an introduction to what Hobonichi does. Also contains a link to a list of Japanese articles the quotes are selected from.

Record the presents you’ve given or received in the Gifts page so you don’t forget who gave what to who and when. This is also helpful for thank-you cards. There are spaces for 17 entries in the Original Size book and 20 entries in the Cousin Size book.

This table lists the year people were born and their age in 2024 at a quick glance. The number to the left of the year is the corresponding year based on the traditional Japanese Imperial Era calendar, and to the right of their age is the character for the Chinese Zodiac. Highlighted years have the same Chinese Zodiac as 2024 (Year of the Dragon).

The address book allows you to write in the contact information for up to 6 people in the Original Size and 8 people in the Cousin Size.

Be sure to enter your contact information on the Personal Notes page in the back of your planner in case it’s misplaced. Be careful not to write any private information you do not want others to see.