The Day-Free comes in two sizes: A6 and A5. You can use the BS Lite cover designed specifically for the Day-Free, or opt for covers that are for the Original and Cousin.



Day-Free basic specifications:



Day-Free A6 Size

Cover Size: 148 x 105 mm

Thickness: 8 mm



Day-Free A5 Size

Cover Size: 210 x 148 mm

Thickness: 8 mm

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 bright blue cover reminiscent of a lovely clear sky. The words day-free and HOBONICHI TECHO 2025 are printed in ivory.

The book uses thin, light yet durable Tomoe River paper. This paper that underwent an overhaul with the 2024 edition techo is more resistant to bleed through, lighter despite being the same thickness, and has a smoother surface by adjusting the fibers of the paper. It’s a new, specially crafted paper for the techo.

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.

The bonus pages have been updated.



New for the 2025 Edition:

- Sample Symbols and Icons

- How to Have Fun Keeping a Diary

- Recommended Noodle List of 47 Prefectures



Removed from the 2025 Edition:

- An Interview with Myself

- Seasonal Sweets to Make at Home

- Caring for Your Eyes



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

A convenient double-page spread shows the yearly calendars for 2024, 2025 and 2026 at one glance as a useful reference when planning ahead.

This page is for managing schedules in the long-term with 4 months per spread on the A6 size and 6 months per spread on the A5 size. At the top of each page is extra space for note-taking.



Yearly index coverage:

- A6 size

December 2024 to March 2026



- A5 size

January 2025 to Decamber 2025

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 pages for 2026 have the year in large numbers in the background to easily differentiate them from the 2025 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.

Since its launch in 1998, the website ""Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun"" has been updated daily. From various interviews, columns, reader submissions, and Hobonichi School content featured on the site, we’ve thoughtfully selected words that bring joy and delight. These chosen words are displayed at the bottom of each page.

The book includes two timetables for recording recurring schedules by day of the week. They’re useful for organizing activity schedules, dividing household chores, and more.

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 section has a collection of 55 icons for you to copy and use to brighten up your techo. Adapt them, simplify them, color them, add to them — use them any which way you like!

With the help of Fumitake Koga, we’ve come up with some hints to help you write and keep writing in your diary.

We asked Hobonichi users to share their top noodle recommendations from their hometowns or places they’ve visited.

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 2025 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 2025 (Year of the Snake).

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.