Hiroko Kubota: Another night of falling star sparklers 2024 edition / Weeks Hardcover Book / Weekly Horizontal / JPN edition / Apr start / Mon start - Hobonichi Techo 2023 Edition

Hiroko KubotaAnother night of falling star sparklers2024 edition / Weeks Hardcover Book / Weekly Horizontal / JPN edition / Apr start / Mon start

2024 ver.

A dark night scene enveloped in the silence of the air. Listen closely and you can almost hear the soft crackling of the sparklers the cat is holding. Perhaps the various colored stars in the sky came from these sparks.

This scenery by illustrator Hiroko Kubota never gets old, no matter how many times you look at it. She tried out a variety of different patterns when designing this for the Weeks book.

The sparks from the sparklers are depicted in an eye-catching, rainbow-colored foil print that sparkles in different colors depending on the angle it hits the light.

At the end of the lines connecting the stars, on the back of the cover, is a fox making an excellent expression with his eyebrows.

The illustration in the sky is the first to capture your gaze, but the townscape of the people living there is also charming. The nighttime seaside scene feels both lonely and warm.

The year 2024 is foil-pressed with black ink.

Spend your next year with this nighttime scenery you’ll never tire of.

When you order this Hobonichi Techo Weeks, you’ll receive a clear, adhesive corner pocket you can stick anywhere you like.

From the 2024 April-start version for the Weeks, the book uses thin and light yet durable Tomoe River 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.

The Weeks book has space for writing in plans or journal entries, and it also has 73 pages of grid paper memo pages in the back. The back of the book contains informational pages, including An Interview with Myself and Seasonal Sweets to Make at Home.

If you’d like storage space or a way to change up the look of your Weeks book, you can customize your book by pairing it with a Weeks cover.

See Weeks cover lineup

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

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 KubotaAnother night of falling star sparklers2024 edition / Weeks Hardcover Book / Weekly Horizontal / JPN edition / Apr start / Mon start

¥2,970(incl. tax)

Normal

Available

Compatible Techo Covers

Weeks Cover

Specifications

Size	H: 188 x W: 94 x T: 10 mm / H: 7.4" x W: 3.7" x T: 0.4" *Specifications may vary slightly
Weight	Approx. 135 g
Main material	Glossy paper (PP coated) / Paper

Weeks Book (Japanese / April Start)

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	3.55 mm
Start of Week	Monday-start week
Yearly Calendar	2023, 2024, 2025
Yearly Index	Apr. 2024 - Mar. 2025 (2 pages)
Monthly Calendar	Mar. 2024 - Apr. 2025 (28 pages)
Daily Quotes	One per week (Japanese)
Weekly Pages	Feb. 26, 2024 - Apr. 6, 2025 (116 pages) *All weekly pages include quotes.
Graph Paper	73 pages
Bonus Pages	Shorthand Note-Taking / Using Common Items to Measure Size / My 100 / An Interview with Myself / Seasonal Sweets to Make at Home / Solar Terms / Emergency Preparedness / Age Table / Conversion Chart / Getting the most of Hobonichi / Contact List / Personal Notes
Listed Information	Week of the year / Rokuyo (traditional Japanese calendar) / Solar terms / Japanese holidays / Moon phase (weekly pages include every phase, monthly calendars only include full and new moon)
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.

Test fountain pens before regular use: The Hobonichi Techo's Tomoe River paper is designed to prevent bleed-through, but some fountain pens and water-based ink pens are not compatible with this paper. When switching to a new pen, we recommend testing the pen somewhere in the book, such as the back memo pages, to see if the ink bleeds through or takes an especially long time to dry.
Cover corners are slightly bumpy and shiny: The corners of the cover contain light traces of press marks, shines, and lumps. This is an unavoidable part of the manufacturing process.
Imprinted year numbers may peel: The numbers of the year are stamped onto the cover in metallic or other colored leaf, so strong rubbing or everyday use may cause the numbers to peel off.

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.
Avoid using with Clear Cover: This cover uses thicker materials than usual, so it may not fit. Forcing it into a Clear Cover may damage the product.

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.

Send a comment