One day in 2014, the Hobonichi Techo team received an e-mail from the U.S.

“As a fan group on Facebook, we are interested in doing a Traveling Hobonichi. Something that will spend a few days with each member over the course of the year. We’d love if you could send us a planner, which we would send back to you when it’s all done.”

And with that, a single Hobonichi Planner book left Tokyo, and from January to December 2015, the book traveled across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and passed through a total of 14 countries. At the end of the year, we were able to receive the book back as the final destination of its long journey.

The pages were filled with writings, drawings, and clippings of participants’ countries and towns, hobbies, work, favorite writing tools, and all kinds of interesting information.

We had lots of questions about the project, which seemed like a great undertaking. How would they connect participants from different countries who have never met? How would they make sure the little book traveled safely across the world in the course of a year without getting lost or stuck? We decided to get in touch with one of the project’s leaders, Michelle Amina Dean, who coordinated the book’s journey and assembled its participants.

Today’s article features an interview with Michelle and other members of the Traveling Hobonichi team.

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Please tell us how the Traveling Hobonichi project was launched.

Michelle

The idea started in a group thread on Facebook asking where everyone was from, and that’s when the idea to start a Traveling Hobonichi came up. One of the members, Karen, created the Traveling Hobonichi 2014-2015 group in September 2014. We asked group members whether they wanted to participate or just watch, and from there we built our list of participants.

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Why did you make this an international project?

Michelle

Doing an international Traveling Hobonichi would require more time and effort, but our love for the Hobonichi made everything worth it. Plus, the admins were from all over the world, including the Philippines, the USA, England, and Scotland. It was fun and challenging to find time to chat among ourselves together while being in different time zones.

Karen B

We had a lot of interest from all over the world from the very beginning. I don't think we ever considered limiting it to one geographical area. It meant a lot of work creating a route and ensuring that participants stuck to the schedule.

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How did you feel before the techo started its journey?

Shing

I felt elated and honored that I was a part of something so unique and fun. The journey was the best part.

Michelle

I was really excited, too. After the journey started, it was nerve-wracking anytime it was difficult to get a hold of participants, because I was worried that someone might not send it or it might be lost in transit. But most of the time, it was all fun.

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What gave you the idea to send the completed book back to Hobonichi instead of keeping it?

Michelle

It was our privilege to be able to do something remarkable for a company that has given us so much.

Karen F

It was only right that the Hobonichi office got the first, history-making Traveling Hobonichi. It’s also a sign of our gratitude to them for creating something wonderful like the Hobonichi Techo.

Karen B

That was where the story began, so it should end there after such a huge journey!

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What were the rules and regulations for participants?

Michelle

Participants were given 5 days to have the book in hand, and were asked to fill in 8 pages. We had them upload the photos of their pages to Facebook so everyone could see them, and also had them include a photo of the shipment receipt and tracking number so everyone could track the book.

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So you could check on Facebook who had the book at any point. It was amazing to see your efforts to keep it going. Tell us about that.

Michelle

Almost every day, we kept in touch with the participants who currently had the book or were next in line. The participant was informed of who was the person before them (sender) and the person after them (receiver), and they were directed to exchange addresses privately with one another. We hoped participants would make friends in the process, and encouraged random acts of kindness in the form of stationary or other small gifts to the next receiver.

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How did you feel reading other people’s pages?

Karen B

I loved reading everyone’s pages.

Michelle

I could tell everyone gave their best efforts in making their pages look great.

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How did you feel when the journey was complete?

Karen B

I had a lump in my throat when the Hobonichi got back to its home. Sadness that it was over but also a sense of relief that it had made it back safely without ever going missing in the post.

Amanda

I'm very pleased and relieved that it got home safely. It took a lot of communication and teamwork for this to happen. I’m very proud of our little admin group!

Michelle

36 participants to fill up a small techo is a feat in itself, and being able to get it back to Japan represents great success. It was one of my proudest moments. Being part of a successful international project is one for the books. It was like checking off a big box on my bucket list.