Hiroko Kubota: Twinkle-shells A6 Original Size - Techo Lineup

Hiroko KubotaTwinkle-shellsA6 Original Size

A train runs along a track high in the gray sky. Look closely, and you'll see that the stars shining in the sky are in the shape of various seashells. A giraffe stands quietly on the ground, looking up at the sky. You can really feel the quietness of the scene.

This fantastic view, which looks to each person to have a different season, time, and place, was created by illustrator Hiroko Kubota. She brushed up a previous work of art in order to extend the story to the back of the cover as well.

The seashell-shaped stars all have their own appearances, as some have a soft glow while others are sparkling brightly.

On the back of the cover you can see a puddle where the moon has fallen, and animals playing jump rope nearby.

In order to portray the soft color scheme of the original illustration, we chose an extra-fine cover material that’s smoother to the touch than ever before.

The interior pockets are blue-gray, with seashell stars sparkling in a sky that’s been printed behind the pockets. The bookmark charms are also shaped like shells.

By keeping this quiet world by your side, you’ll find yourself able to calm down and self-reflect. It’s a good cover to spend the next year with.

Items that include illustrations by Kubota include techo covers, a Weeks book, and a pencil board.

In the Hobonichi Techo 2025 lineup, the Original book comes in either English or Japanese.

*The English book is only available as the January-start version.

About Hiroko Kubota

Born 1971. Illustrator. Uses acrylic gouache etc. to draw landscapes, people, and animals.

Instagram: @hiroko_kubota

Homepage: https://kuvotahiroko.jimdofree.com/

Cherishing tranquility

Hiroko Kubota’s illustrations often evoke sounds you can almost hear. This time, she illustrated a quiet, tranquil world. The Twinkle-shells techo cover brushes up a previous work of her art. I first pursued this design because I was fascinated with the colors of the original illustration. The colors of the train running across the gray sky, the seasell stars, and images across the pale yellow ground are unrealistic, and yet they work well in the artwork. This dreamlike mysteriousness felt perfect for a cover users would carry around on a daily basis. There’s a print of the night sky on the interior of the cover that hides behind the techo book once you fit the book into the cover. I liked how wonderful it was to know it’s still there even when you can’t see it anymore.

The Weeks has a quiet image as well. The black sky and the black sea both look so chic, I love it. You can’t tell at first, but this piece actually has a ton of layers of color to it.

It was important to us to portray this quiet world—which feels vaguely lonely yet contains a warm presence—the best that we could. We worked with Kubota very closely and tried all kinds of iterations in the details, including switching out the animals, changing the placement of things, and varying the brightness of the street lights or stars in the sky.

I love the way the sparklers actually sparkle in the light when holding the techo.

Obviously, there’s a great power to Kubota’s artwork, but I think the popularity of her cover designs also comes from the rich imagination of everyone choosing these designs. These people have a good feel for the world depicted in the artwork and have a good read on it. That’s why we tried to make sure we didn’t lose any sense of silence in this design. It has a front design that connects to the back design, and we hope you can really immerse yourself in this world.

Staff List

Photographer: Styled Images: Nobuki Kawaharazaki / Product Detail: Hiroyuki Oe
Stylist: Minami Nosaki

Hiroko KubotaTwinkle-shellsA6 Original Size

¥5,610 - ¥6,600(incl. tax)
¥3,410(incl. tax)

Normal

Available

Compatible Techo Books

Planner (A6)1 page per day English edition
Original (A6)1 page per day
Original Avec (A6)1 page per day 6-month book
Day-FreeMonthly notebook

[Planner] Daily Pages (English Version)

The English-version daily techo with a refined design: This compact A6 size techo has spacious daily pages and a simple graph-paper design that offers plenty of freedom to draw, paste, and write.

Monday-start
A6 size
Thickness: 15 mm (0.6”)

Daily pages
Yearly calendar
Yearly index
Monthly calendar
Memo pages

[Original] Daily Pages・One Piece Edition (*1)

A classic easy-to-use techo: This compact A6 size techo has spacious daily pages and a simple graph-paper design that offers plenty of freedom to draw, paste, and write.

Monday-start
Sunday-start
A6 size
Thickness: 15 mm (0.6”)

Daily pages
Yearly calendar
Yearly index
Monthly calendar
Memo pages

*1 Also compatible with the One Piece Edition Original Book.

[Original Avec] Daily Pages (2-Book Set)

Each 6-month daily techo is thin and light for easy carry: This techo splits the year into two 6-month books, making it easy to carry while keeping the same page design and layout as the standard edition.

Monday-start
A6 size
Thickness: 8 mm (0.3”) each

Daily pages
Yearly calendar
Yearly index
Monthly calendar
Memo pages

[Day-Free] Monthly Techo + Notebook

A monthly notebook with undated pages to write freely: This techo starts with monthly calendars and ends with undated graph paper pages so you can write whenever you want, and as much as you want.

Monday-start
A6 size
Thickness: 8 mm (0.3”)

Monthly calendar
Yearly calendar
Yearly index
Graph paper notebook pages

Specifications

Cover

Size	H: 165 x W: 244 x T: 3 mm / H: 6.5" x W: 9.6" x T: 0.1" Excluding pen holders Specifications may vary slightly
Weight	Approx. 100 g
Main material	Exterior: Polyester / Interior: Polyester

Book (Original English Edition / English / January Start)

Size	A6 size H: 148 x W: 105 x T: 15 mm / H: 5.8"" x W: 4.1"" x T: 0.6"" *Actual book size may vary slightly
Weight	Approx. 195 g
Language	English
Pages	464 pages
Paper Type / Binding	Thin, light Tomoe River paper resistant to bleeding and designed for planners / Stitch-binding
Graph Paper Size	3.7 mm *Monthly calendar pages are 3.45 mm
Start of Week	Monday-start week or Sunday-start week
Yearly Calendar	2024, 2025, 2026
Yearly Index	Dec. 2024 - Mar. 2026 (8 pages)
Monthly Calendar	Dec. 2024 - Mar. 2026 (32 pages)
Daily Pages	Jan. 1 - Dec. 31, 2025 (377 pages) A blank two-page spread is featured at the beginning to provide a free area when starting out the book. A page is included at the beginning of each month to help in planning ahead. All daily pages include daily quotes. Includes a mini monthly calendar at the bottom right of every two-page spread (Monday- / Sunday-start).
Daily Quotes	One quote per two-page spread (English)
Weekly Pages	Not included
Memo Pages	17 pages
Bonus Pages	Time Table / Graph Paper / Favorites / My 100 / Sample Symbols and Icons / How to Have Fun Keeping a Diary / Oodles of Noodles / Words to Remember / 365 Days Check-Off Sheet / Looking Back at the Year 2025 / Getting the Most Out of Your Hobonichi Techo / Gifts / Addresses / Personal Notes
Listed Information	Day of the year / Week of the year (listed on monthly calendars / Moon phase (daily pages include every phase, monthly calendars only include full and new moon)
Other	See the Exploring Each Type page for more details

Book (Planner / English / January Start)

Size	A6 size H: 148 x W: 105 x T: 15 mm / H: 5.8"" x W: 4.1"" x T: 0.6"" *Actual book size may vary slightly
Weight	Approx. 190 g
Language	English
Pages	448 pages
Paper Type / Binding	Thin, light Tomoe River paper resistant to bleeding and designed for planners / Stitch-binding
Graph Paper Size	4 mm
Start of Week	Monday-start week
Yearly Calendar	2025, 2026
Yearly Index	Dec. 2024 - Mar. 2026 (8 pages)
Monthly Calendar	Dec. 2024 - Mar. 2026 (32 pages)
Daily Pages	Jan. 1 - Dec. 31, 2025 (377 pages) A blank two-page spread is featured at the beginning to provide a free area when starting out the book. A page is included at the beginning of each month to help in planning ahead. Every two-page daily page spread includes one daily quote. Includes a mini monthly calendar at the bottom right of every two-page spread (Monday-start).
Daily Quotes	One quote per two-page spread (English)
Weekly Pages	Not included
Memo Pages	16 pages
Bonus Pages	Important Contacts / International Size Charts / The Ultimate Packing List / My 100 / How to Have Fun Keeping a Diary / Oodles of Noodles / Personal Notes
Listed Information	Day of the year / Week of the year (listed on monthly calendars and daily pages) / Moon phase (daily pages include every phase, monthly calendars only include full and new moon)
Other	See the Exploring Each Type page for more details

Book (Original / Japanese / January Start)

Size	A6 size H: 148 x W: 105 x T: 15 mm / H: 5.8" x W: 4.1" x T: 0.6" *Actual book size may vary slightly
Weight	Approx. 195 g
Language	Japanese
Pages	464 pages
Paper Type / Binding	Thin, light Tomoe River paper resistant to bleeding and designed for planners / Stitch-binding
Graph Paper Size	3.7 mm *Monthly calendar pages are 3.45 mm
Start of Week	Monday-start week or Sunday-start week
Yearly Calendar	2024, 2025, 2026
Yearly Index	Dec. 2024 - Mar. 2026 (8 pages)
Monthly Calendar	Dec. 2024 - Mar. 2026 (32 pages)
Daily Pages	Jan. 1 - Dec. 31, 2025 (377 pages) A blank two-page spread is featured at the beginning to provide a free area when starting out the book. A page is included at the beginning of each month to help in planning ahead. All daily pages include daily quotes. Includes a mini monthly calendar at the bottom right of every two-page spread (Monday- / Sunday-start).
Daily Quotes	One per day (Japanese)
Weekly Pages	Not included
Memo Pages	15 pages
Bonus Pages	Time Table / Graph Paper / Favorites / My 100 / Sample Symbols and Icons / How to Have Fun Keeping a Diary / Recommended Noodle List of 47 Prefectures / Solar Terms / Emergency Preparedness / Conversion Chart / Getting the most of Hobonichi / Gifts / Age Table / Addresses (for 6 people) / Personal Notes
Listed Information	Day of the year / Week of the year (listed on monthly calendars) / Old lunar calendar / Rokuyo (traditional Japanese lunisolar calendar) (listed on monthly calendars) / Solar terms / Japanese holidays / Moon phase (daily pages include every phase, monthly calendars only include full and new moon)
Other	See the Exploring Each Type page for more details

Book (Original Avec / Japanese / January Start / 2-Book Set)

Size	A6 size x 2 books Each Book: H: 148 x W: 105 x T: 8 mm / H: 5.9"" x W: 4.1"" x T: 0.3"" *Actual book size may vary slightly
Weight	Each Book: Approx. 110 g
Language	Japanese
Pages	Each Book: 240 pages
Paper Type / Binding	Thin, light Tomoe River paper resistant to bleeding and designed for planners / Stitch-binding
Graph Paper Size	3.7 mm *Monthly calendar pages are 3.45 mm
Start of Week	Monday-start week
Yearly Calendar	2024, 2025, 2026
Yearly Index	Book 1: Dec. 2024 - Mar. 2026 (8 pages) Book 2: Jun. 2025 - May 2026 (6 pages)
Monthly Calendar	Book 1: Dec. 2024 - Jul. 2025 (16 pages) Book 2: Jun. 2025 - Jan. 2026 (16 pages)
Daily Pages	Book 1: Jan. 1 - June 30, 2025 (187 pages) Book 2: July 1 - Dec. 31, 2025 (190 pages) A blank two-page spread (three pages for Book 2) is featured at the beginning to provide a free area when starting out the book. A page is included at the beginning of each month to help in planning ahead. All daily pages include daily quotes. Includes a mini monthly calendar at the bottom right of every two-page spread (Monday-start).
Daily Quotes	One per day (Japanese)
Weekly Pages	Not included
Memo Pages	Book 1: 2 page Book 2: 0 page
Bonus Pages	Time Table / Graph Paper / Favorites / My 100 / Sample Symbols and Icons / How to Have Fun Keeping a Diary / Recommended Noodle List of 47 Prefectures / Solar Terms / Emergency Preparedness / Conversion Chart / Getting the most of Hobonichi / Gifts / Age Table / Addresses (for 6 people) / Personal Notes
Listed Information	Day of the year / Week of the year (listed on monthly calendars) / Old lunar calendar / Rokuyo (traditional Japanese lunisolar calendar) (listed on monthly calendars) / Solar terms / Japanese holidays / Moon phase (daily pages include every phase, monthly calendars only include full and new moon)
Other	See the Exploring Each Type page for more details

Book (Original - One Piece Edition / Japanese / January Start)

Size	A6 size H: 148 x W: 105 x T: 15 mm / H: 5.9"" x W: 4.1"" x T: 0.6"" *Actual book size may vary slightly
Weight	Approx. 195 g
Language	Japanese
Pages	464 pages
Paper Type / Binding	Thin, light Tomoe River paper resistant to bleeding and designed for planners / Stitch-binding
Graph Paper Size	3.7 mm *Monthly calendar pages are 3.45 mm
Start of Week	Monday-start week
Yearly Calendar	2024, 2025, 2026
Yearly Index	Dec. 2024 - Mar. 2026 (8 pages)
Monthly Calendar	Dec. 2024 - Mar. 2026 (32 pages)
Daily Pages	Jan. 1 - Dec. 31, 2025 (377 pages) A blank two-page spread is featured at the beginning to provide a free area when starting out the book. A page is included at the beginning of each month to help in planning ahead. All daily pages include daily quotes. All daily pages include character names of those who celebrate their birthday that day (as of Vol.107)
Daily Quotes	One per day (Japanese / One Piece edition)
Weekly Pages	Not included
Memo Pages	14 pages
Bonus Pages	One Piece Chronology / Phrases from One Piece to use when it counts / Ten great scenes chosen by readers to read over and over again / WANTED / Timetable / Favorites / My 100 / Solar Terms / Emergency Preparedness / Gifts / Age Table / Addresses (for 6 people) / Personal Notes
Listed Information	Day of the year / Week of the year (listed on monthly calendars) / Old lunar calendar / Rokuyo (traditional Japanese lunisolar calendar) (listed on monthly calendars) / Solar terms / Japanese holidays / Moon phase (daily pages include every phase, monthly calendars only include full and new moon)

Book (Day-Free A6 size / Japanese / Monthly)

Size	A6 size H: 148 x W: 105 x T: 8 mm / W: 4.1"" x H: 5.9"" x T: 0.3"" *Actual book size may vary slightly
Weight	Approx. 110 g
Language	Japanese
Pages	240 pages
Paper Type / Binding	Thin, light Tomoe River paper resistant to bleeding and designed for planners / Stitch-binding
Graph Paper Size	3.7 mm *Monthly calendar pages are 3.45 mm
Start of Week	Monday-start week
Yearly Calendar	2024, 2025, 2026
Yearly Index	Dec. 2024 - Mar. 2026 (8 pages)
Monthly Calendar	Dec. 2024 - Mar. 2026 (32 pages)
Daily Quotes	Included (Japanese)
Graph Paper	171 pages
Bonus Pages	Time Table / Graph Paper / Favorites / My 100 / Sample Symbols and Icons / How to Have Fun Keeping a Diary / Recommended Noodle List of 47 Prefectures / Solar Terms / Emergency Preparedness / Conversion Chart / Getting the most of Hobonichi / Gifts / Age Table / Addresses (for 6 people) / Personal Notes
Listed Information	Day of the year / Week of the year (listed on monthly calendars) / Old lunar calendar / Rokuyo (traditional Japanese lunisolar calendar) (listed on monthly calendars) / Solar terms / Japanese holidays / Moon phase (Full and new moon listed on monthly calendars)
Other	See the Exploring Each Type page for more details

Please Read Before You Buy

In order to provide you with the most satisfaction for your product, we've compiled a list of warnings, potential issues, and tips to keep in mind for this particular product. Please be sure to read this information carefully before placing your order.

Actual specifications may vary from listing: Each item is individually assembled and sewn by hand by a factory worker. Best efforts are made to ensure consistent sizes and specifications, but there may be slight differences.
Color and print may vary slightly: This material is first printed or dyed and then later sewn onto the cover. While colors are designed to be consistent, there may be uneven coloring or slight shade variances between covers. This may also happen across a single cover, such as a pocket compared to the rest of the cover. In addition, on rare occasions, there may be small black or white dots visible on the print. This is an unavoidable aspect of the manufacturing process.
Cover may contain variations in stitching or loose lining: Due to the structure of the cover that opens flat 180 degrees, exterior stitching areas may appear puckered and lining material may be loose.

Pen holders are rigid at first: The pen holders are rigid at first, making it difficult to insert pens. You can speed up the breaking-in process by rolling the pen holders in your hand.
Pen holder fits pens up to 13.5 mm wide: The pen holder is designed to perfectly fit the 12.2 mm (0.48”) diameter Jetstream pen offered as a free Hobonichi Store Exclusive. Pens with certain shapes and materials may be difficult to pull through the holder. The holder can fit pens up to 13.5 mm (0.53”) in diameter.
Avoid storing in hot and humid places: Please avoid storing your product in hot, humid places or placing it atop other objects for long periods of time as this may result in lower quality and color stains.

User recommendations

If you’ve used any of these products, we welcome your notes on what you like about them or what led you to buy them so we can share it with customers who are currently considering these products. We’d also love to welcome comments from customers who purchased their techo outside the Hobonichi Store or received their book as a gift.

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