If you're "into" planners and pens odds are you've heard about the Japanese Hobonichi planners. They have become vastly popular over the years and here in the US they sell out through pre-orders before they are even released. Last I read there are over 30,000,000 users of their various models. One of their more popular models is their Techo planner. It's a small (A6 size) planner with fountain pen friendly paper and a one-per-day-page structure. The Techo is also the only planner that now also comes fully translated to English (black cover). The Techo also supports a broken year so there is one model that starts in April and goes to March of the subsequent year. The Techos are not inexpensive - one can expect to pay about $50 for one. Having said that...KawaiiTokyo on Etsy is a very good source for these planners and can, if you ask her, now sell the 2016 (Japanese language version w/ January start) for $17. This because three months of the year are now gone. I wanted a less expensive way to try out one of these highly regarded planners...so...I asked and she sold me one - took about a week from Japan - and it arrived today. The thing looks and feels great and can't wait to start using it Try googling Hobonichi Techo planner and look at some examples of what people much more creative than me use these planners for. Some are truly inspirational. Below, my new Techo with a Parker 25 for scale:
Very nice looking planner! Worth more than you paid, for sure. (Can you read standardized Japanese? I can't, I've tried to learn. Wow.)
Not a word (sign) but it's a calendar so the layout is very familiar and lucky it uses numbers I can recognize
I love my hobonichi. It is do useful, and the paper is magnificent, I also have some of their notebooks too. They are great to write on and the books are very compact as the paper is so thin. Sent from my LG-V480 using Tapatalk
It was so weird when I first saw my hobonichi planner. The book seems relatively thin when you consider that there is a page for each day of the year and a few months of the following year too. The hobonichi is very useful too. It has become an essential part of my everyday life. My wife asked me how I heard of Hobonichi. I had no idea. I realised now its because of you, so thank you very much. Sent from my LG-V480 using Tapatalk
I'm hoping at some point to get their notepad. Its the same paper and the exact same size as the planner so it fits in the same covers. I have to wait a while and do a bulk order as every time I order from Japan we have to pay a huge amount in taxes, but it is worth it. Sent from my LG-V480 using Tapatalk
I might have to see if my in-laws can send me one of these from Japan when they send their next box. I could really use a good day-day planner! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Mine should be coming any day. Once I paid the stupid tax bill . Technically it and the cover and a few other accessories I ordered, are a Christmas present from my lovely wife. So I won't get to see it until December 24th. Not that I need it before then anyway.
True, it wouldn't be too much good to you anyway in 2016 It will be really fun to read them in 2017 as my Japanese is lacking to say the least