Marcella included stickers of tulips, windmills, wooden shoes, and flags, in addition to pasting a map. It’s great how cute and iconic the Netherlands’ national symbols are! Amersfoort is located right in the center, in the province of Utrecht. Piet Mondrian, known for his abstract paintings that used color and stark grids, hailed from Amersfoort. I actually love Mondrian’s work, and they have an art museum dedicated to his work―I’d love to go there someday.

Christina’s pages have a design that really evokes Denmark, with its red typography and illustration of the national flag. I found it very simple and attractive, and I feel really happy to know that this book came from Scandinavia, which I’ve always really admired.

I can’t imagine how exciting it would be to cheer along at a rugby match in Wales. How fun it must be to dress up with the Welsh symbols, the daffodil and the leek. The Hobonichi office is actually across the street from a rugby pitch that hosts international matches, and if Wales ever plays there I’d like to go cheer them on in a daffodil or leek hat!

Karen from Scotland drew out some wonderful maps for us in her pages. When I looked up Highland Perthshire online, all the pictures of gorgeous mountains, rivers, and castles made it look like the set of a movie. Just looking at those images made me feel like I’d left Tokyo and was traveling through Scotland.

It’s so strange to know there’s a London in Canada! Gorgeous natural features and a bustling city life made it seem like the best of both worlds. When I looked into it some more, all the food I saw looked so fresh! The maple syrup and maple candies looked especially yummy. If I were there I think I’d be too busy eating to see all the natural beauty!

In Japan, Chicago is known as the home of jazz, but I had no idea it was famous for its pizza as well. When I looked it up online, I was shocked at how much thicker the deep-dish was than I imagined―it looks like a quiche or a meat pie! How many people does it take to eat a single pie?

Santa Claus is in Indiana! I have to admit that when I saw the name of the city my first thought was of Santa dressed up as an American Indian. I learned so much from these pages; I didn’t know they had peonies in America, too.

Nicole used pictures to teach us all about Pittsburgh’s unique dialect! Each region of Japan also has its own special phrases and language, so it would probably be interesting to collect those dialects in a techo in the same way. The world’s first movie theater that Nicole pointed out must be one of the small “nickelodeon” theaters that was popular in the early 20th century. Apparently piano players would perform alongside those early silent movies.

Everyone must feel such a sense of community when the Seahawks win. There’s such a long stretch of shoreline, and the coffee tastes great―that’s all it takes for me to imagine what a great town Seattle must be. Everyone must drink so much coffee. . .

Elisa focused on the color red with the flag, stickers, and ink on her pages. Apparently Singapore is about the same size as Tokyo. I was surprised to learn that people speak four different languages in such a small country. And, just like Elisa wrote, it looks like they’ve got such delicious food there! Their roti prata reminds me of Japanese okonomiyaki, and their hokkien mee reminds me of yakisoba. I’d love to go there and try their foods.

Ni hao! The Hobonichi Techo is currently used in 84 different countries, but it all started with Taiwan. Back when it was only on sale in Japan, users in Taiwan discovered the techo and began to use it. Because of that connection I’ve actually been to Taiwan several times now. I’ve only seen Taipei, but after Yukia’s depiction of its natural beauty I’d like to see more of Taiwan next time I go.

Wow! Are there really that many islands in the Philippines? I wonder if there’s anyone out there trying to visit every single one. If people are already singing hymns in September, there must be so much anticipation when Christmas finally comes in December. The shopping sounds like a lot of fun, and Amina’s picture of people almost spilling out of a jeepney makes the Philippines look so exciting!