The Hobonichi Techo is for you to fill with every aspect of your life that you’d like, day by day, from the mundane to the milestones. You can read back through it some day in the future and see how it turned into a one of a kind book that’s uniquely your own.
The Hobonichi Techo is a Life Book that we hope makes your Life just a little bit brighter.
Nice to meet you.
I’m the Hobonichi Techo.
Ever since the Hobonichi Techo debuted in 2001, we’ve been gradually making improvements every year based on user feedback. And now, 24 years later, the techo is used by many people all over the world. So what is the Hobonichi Techo? Here’s a look at the main features.
01What’s the “Hobonichi”
from “Hobonichi Techo”?
- This techo was created by the team from the website “Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun.”
- The Hobonichi Techo is designed and manufactured by Hobonichi Co., Ltd., the company that runs the website Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun (“Almost Daily Itoi Newspaper”). The Hobonichi staff gathered to make a techo that they would want to use themselves. This resulted in the debut of the Hobonichi Techo in 2001, which then led to where we are today, with users in over 100 countries and regions and all-time sales surpassing 10 million copies. The Hobonichi Techo is in its 24th year, and once again is available with an all-new lineup.
- Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun (shortened to “Hobonichi”) is a website run by copywriter Shigesato Itoi. The URL, 1101, is a string of numbers that can spell out Itoi’s name in Japanese: i (one), tō (ten), i (one). The website features new and free original content every day, such as interviews and talks, essays, video streams, and more. Come take a look!
- Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun >
- This official online store is run by Hobonichi. In addition to the Hobonichi Techo, Hobonichi sells a wide variety of original, collaborative, and curated products such as towels, clothing, food and drinks, and all kinds of things you can use in your daily life. Many of these products are available for overseas shipping, and while not all product pages have English translations, the check-out process at the end can still be conducted in English so you can enjoy shopping for other products alongside your Hobonichi Techo.
- Hobonichi Store >
Hobonichi Techo
02LIFE BOOK
Hobonichi Techo
- You have total freedom to use it how you’d like.
- The Hobonichi Techo is a Life Book that can fit the lifestyle and style of anyone, letting everyone use it however they want with total freedom.
So use the techo however you like and read back through it from time to time. As the book becomes yours and yours alone, we’re sure it will become a treasure in your daily life.
- A page-per-day techo you’ll want to fill with anything and everything
- One of the allures of the techo that has been around since the beginning is the ability to write a lot into the pages.
You can fill the pages with plans, notes, and scraps, work and play, and anything and everything about yourself,collecting it all into a single book. Our users do all kinds of things within the pages of their techos, and itmakes every day seem like so much fun.
Our lives are comprised of single days, from the mundane to the milestones.
That’s why the Hobonichi Techo is fundamentally based on the concept of having a whole page devoted to each day.
- Daily Quotes to feel like you’re carrying around a small reading book
- There are daily quotes at the bottom of the pages. These are specially curated from articles on the Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun website, including recurring columns and interviews, and range from heartfelt to humorous. The quotes are from all kinds of people, including creators, actors, our readers, and Shigesato Itoi himself.
We’ve also carefully organized the quotes to best fit them with the timing you’d want to read them, such as matching the contents with holidays and seasons. Read them at your own pace, whether you’re looking to pass the time or prefer to save them to look forward to each day you use the techo. Perhaps they’ll provide you with some guidance to your work or personal life.
- A wide variety of designs that are fun to choose from
- What do you think of when you think of the Hobonichi Techo? Perhaps it includes a wide variety of colorful designs?
Our covers span from simple designs that fit well in any setting to unique designs with patterns and colors designedto fascinate. We also have a large range of collaboration items made alongside various artists and brands.
One of the fun parts of the Hobonichi Techo is searching for the cover and book that fit you perfectly. Go ahead and explore the lineup to find your favorite so you can spend the next year with a techo that encompasses who you are.
Over 10 million copies sold all-time
Thanks to all of our lovely users, the Hobonichi Techo has sold over 10 million copies all-time as of September 2024. It’s because of everyone that we collaborate with — and everyone who manufactures, distributes, and sells the Hobonichi Techo — that we’re able to deliver this product every year.
We’ve come to be able to deliver the Hobonichi Techo to people all over the world, and the popularity of the product surpasses language and culture to become a part of everyone’s lives around the world. We hope you’re as excited as we are to see how we can expand even further.
03Features that
make it easy to use
- A techo that’s grown into what it is with everyone’s help
- The Hobonichi Techo is in its 24th year, and every year, we conduct a survey and receive emails with everyone’s thoughts on the techo. We reference this feedback and continually make improvements so that we’re always making the product better every year.
With that said, here are some of the features that make the Hobonichi Techo easy to use and easy to keep up with.
- Tomoe River paper that’s thin and light but doesn’t show through
- The Tomoe River paper is specially designed for planners, as it’s soft to the touch yet sturdy and is easy to write on. Ink permeates nicely into the paper, yet it’s resistant to showing through on the other side of the page, making it ideal for fountain pens.
- Stress-free by opening flat 180 degrees
- The book opens flat without the need for you to hold down the pages to keep the book open. This is achieved with thread-stitch binding, a bookbinding method that involves sewing and binding the book with thread. You’ll be impressed when you experience for yourself what it feels like to open the book and write in it so easily.
- Sturdy bookbinding that keeps pages secure
- This thread-stitch binding also makes the techo incredibly secure. It holds up well against constant opening and closing over the course of a year, so even if you put the bookbinding to the test by pasting in papers, tickets, and other items that give the book some bulk, it will pass the test. You don’t have to worry about the book coming apart halfway through the year. It’s also well-suited for long-term storage when you’re done with your book.
- 3.7mm graph paper squares to make it easy to write
- After much trial and error, our techo pages have 3.7mm* squares, which are the perfect size to either write within the lines, or ignore the lines and write outside them. The graph paper design makes it easy to draw charts and graphs, and the lines can provide a guide for pasting in papers or photographs totally straight.
*The Weeks and Planner have different size graph paper squares.
- A very flexible design that’s easy on the eyes
- The ink color and thickness of the lines in the techo are specially designed to be easy on the eyes and not get in the way of your writing. The design keeps the user in mind, with lines you can either use to their full extent or ignore complete and write around. It’s up to you!
- A format that’s easy to use after years of refinement
- Not only have we made annual improvements to the daily pages to make it more convenient and comfortable to write in, but we’ve extended this process to the monthly calendar, yearly calendar, yearly index, and even the memo pages, for a fully enjoyable experience.
- Bonus pages in the back that are updated annually
- There are bonus pages in the back that include useful contents you can write in, such as handy graphs, time tables, the My 100 list where you can list out things to do, books to read, movies to watch, or any other theme you decide on. There are also pages with interesting contents to read. Each year these pages change, and the 2025 edition also has new contents to enjoy. Use these pages to your heart’s content for whatever purpose you end up using them for.
- Enjoying each day even more with your favorite cover
- Once you’ve got your techo book picked out, the next step in enjoying the Hobonichi Techo is picking out your favorite cover. There are so many designs to choose from, so explore the lineup and see which one you like the best. The covers also include plenty of storage space so you can carry more around with you, such as stickers, sticky notes, shop cards from your favorite stores, tickets, and more.
04Hobonichi
Techo Types
- There are more to choose from than daily page types
- The Hobonichi Techo is in its 24th year. It all started with the Original, an A6 size page per day type, but the lineup has grown since then. Over the years the choices have grown to include the A5 size Cousin, the weekly format Weeks, the long-term use 5-Year Techo, and even editions translated from Japanese.
We hope you find the book that fits your “everyday” like a glove.
The Original, Cousin, and Weeks come in Japanese, English, and Simplified Chinese editions. The HON books (A6/A5) come in an English edition.
For more detailed information about each book, see the Book Buying Guide.
Choose whether or not to use a cover
The Hobonichi Techo comes in types that involve picking out your favorite cover, and using it by itself without a cover.
- Choose from many different designs!
- Usable with a techo cover
- Original / Cousin / Planner / Day-Free / 5-Year Techo
- Keep it simple and portable
- The cover is already attached
- HON / Weeks
The combinations are limitless!
Customize your Hobonichi Techo by pairing your favorite book and cover and supplementing it with some stationery and accessories.
- Techo book
- You can choose from various formats, from a page per day type to a monthly calendar + notebook type, and several sizes or languages including English or Japanese editions, just to name a few.
- View lineup
- Techo cover
- The “butterfly-stopper” type is the Hobonichi Techo standard and includes pen holders on the side of the cover. The Zippers type and Tri-fold type are also part of the many options you can choose from when picking out your favorite design.
- View lineup
- Accessories
- There is a large lineup of convenient stationery and accessories you can choose from to use with your Hobonichi Techo, such as the Hobonichi Pencil Board. They can fit into your techo cover and be carried around with your techo. Some accessories even come in designs that match the covers.
- View lineup
*Sizes and types of accessories differ and may or may not fit with certain techo book and cover sizes, so be sure to check each product page for more information about compatibility.
05Friends all
over the
world
- It’s a TECHO.
- The Hobonichi Techo is used by people from over 100 countries and regions. The Hobonichi Techo, which comes from Japan, isn’t quite a planner, or a diary, or a notebook. The fact that people all over the world refer to it as a “techo” is a point of pride for us.
- Available in 3 languages
- The techo comes in Japanese, English, and Simplified Chinese editions. The English edition, for example, excludes national holidays in the daily pages, yearly calendar, monthly calendar, and yearly index because it’s designed to be used in any country around the world.
*The Simplified Chinese edition is not available for sale through the Hobonichi Store.
- Enjoy Japanese culture
- We want everyone outside of Japan to enjoy techo culture, but we also want them to enjoy the high quality construction of Japanese products, from the sturdy thread-stitch bookbinding to all the little details in the design. It’s also a great pleasure for us to be able to familiarize people with Japanese art and culture through our collaboration items with many artists.
Various articles and contents translated into English for overseas users to enjoy
- Reading contents
- We have English translations for many of our articles originally offered in Japanese, including articles about how to use the techo, interviews, product information, announcements, and more.
- Reading contents >
- Official social media
- We have official global editions of our Facebook and Instagram accounts where Hobonichi Techo team members post information and features in English for everyone to enjoy.
06Getting the Most Out of
Your Hobonichi Techo
- Making the Life Book even more substantial
- Hobonichi makes a variety of fun, original items that make the techo even more convenient, and provides exclusive articles about the techo.
- Hobonichi original stationery and accessories fun to use with the techo: Tools & Toys
- Hobonichi has all kinds of original stationery and accessories that are fun and convenient to pair with the Hobonichi Techo, including the Hobonichi Pencil Board, see-through folders, and the Cover on Cover that can protect your techo.
- TOOLS&TOYS >
- The Drawer Pouch can cleanly store your techo and accessories
- This pouch is like carrying around your very own “drawer.” You can pick out your favorite design and size to pair together your items however you like.
- The Drawer Pouch >
- Hobonichi Techo Online Magazine
- This is the Hobonichi Techo Official Website’s “reading material.” We have articles about ways to use the techo, interviews, product information, announcements, and all kinds of articles that we post on an irregular basis.
- Hobonichi Techo Online Magazine >
- Hobonichi Techo News
- This page provides sales information, recommended stationery and accessories, usage examples provided by our readers, and other posts by the Hobonichi Techo team.
- Hobonichi Techo News >
- Newsletter
- Every week, we send out a newsletter with announcements about the Hobonichi Techo, links to the latest articles to read on the official website, new product information, and more.
- How It’s Used
- We’re always accepting submissions about the ways you use the Hobonichi Techo, and we list examples on our websites with photos and written blurbs.
- How It’s Used >
- Download City
- This website offers free pages to download and print out to tape into your Hobonichi Techo. These are great for anyone who wants to further customize the Hobonichi Techo, or change up the cover with more image options to print out and fit into a Cover on Cover.
- Download City >
- Meeting Caravan
- The Meeting Caravan is a meetup where members of the Techo team invite users who love the Hobonichi Techo and stationery to come and share their Techos. It’s a lot of fun spending time swapping ideas and chatting.
- Meeting Caravan >
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