About the Hobonichi Techo

The History of the Hobonichi Techo

The 2021 edition marks the 20th year in the Hobonichi Techo legacy.
Let’s take a look at the techo over the years.

2002

Published copies: 
12,000
Covers in lineup: 
Release date : 
October 5, 2001
Hobonichi Store Exclusives: 
Memo pad sized to match the techo book

The Hobonichi Techo is Born!

An article entitled “The Success Story of the Hobonichi Techo” outlined details of the book’s creation and sales.
The cover interior contained yellow sewn tags.

2003

Published copies: 
18,000
Covers in lineup: 
4 (1 book type)
Release date: 
October 16, 2002
Hobonichi Store Exclusive: 
Ballpoint pen

Introducing the
“butterfly clasp” pen holders

The cover came in four colors: “Orange Orange,”
“Mystery Gray,” “Tomato Red,” and “Olive Green.”
The design of the daily pages in the 2003-edition book. Included beneath the date were illustrated checkboxes, with a line atop each page to give the day a title.

2004

Published copies: 
30,000
Covers in lineup: 
8 (1 book type)
Release date: 
September 29, 2003
Hobonichi Store Exclusives: 
Ballpoint pen, Hobonichi original sticky notes, memo pad

The addition of the
leather covers

The lineup contained subdued color schemes suitable for the workplace as well.
The secret line allows users to separate their schedule from the free writing space on the right. Look closely, and you’ll see the only difference is that the vertical line has a solid line, while the rest of the graph paper design is printed in dotted lines.

2005

Published copies: 
70,000
Covers in lineup: 
11 (1 book type)
Release date: 
September 7, 2004
Hobonichi Store Exclusives: 
Pencil board, ballpoint pen, memo pad, Cover on Cover

Sales begin at Loft stores

The popular Cover on Cover fits over the techo cover and can store photographs and other decorations, as well as protect the cover from marks and grime.
Our first in-person sales began at the newly renovated Funabashi Loft (now closed).

2006

Published copies: 
70,000
Covers in lineup: 
11 (1 book type)
Release date: 
September 7, 2005
Hobonichi Store Exclusives: 
Hobonichi memo pad, ballpoint pen, memo pad, Cover on Cover

Introduction of
the official guidebook

We called this year’s lineup the “Super Rainbow.”
The monthly calendar made it onto the daily pages for the first time this year.
The first guidebook was called “The Secret to the Hobonichi Techo.”

2007

Published copies: 
230,000
Covers in lineup: 
17 (1 book type)
Release date: 
September 7, 2006
Hobonichi Store Exclusives: 
Hobonichi memo pad, ballpoint pen, Cover on Cover (select covers only)

The possibilities
of Faux Fabric

This “wallet techo” featured a flap over a pocket for storing coins and other small items, but the feature was pulled from the design after just one year, as the pocket made it hard to write over the flap. The Hobonichi Techo cover has reached the design it has today through much trial and error.
This Faux Fabric cover, “Houndstooth Print,” was the long-in-coming result of the team’s desire to have a cover with a pattern.

2008

Published copies: 
250,000
Covers in lineup: 
20 (1 book type)
Release date: 
September 1, 2007
Hobonichi Store Exclusives: 
Memo pad, ballpoint pen, lunar calendar bookmark, Cover on Cover

Coloring things up
with two-tone covers

The accessories section made its way into the Hobonichi Store this year. The lineup included the previously offered memo pads, sticky notes, and address books alongside weekly booklets, a railway map, a vertical notepad, a photo album, and more.
This year marked the introduction of two-tone covers. These new nylon covers had a cheerful yet subdued look.
ere’s the new logo created by Tomoko Takamori to give each cover a handmade look. The colors were specially chosen to work with each cover color, and the design was a big hit.

2009

Published copies: 
280,000
Covers in lineup: 
30 (3 book types)
Release date: 
September 1, 2008
Hobonichi Store Exclusives: 
Memo pad, ballpoint pen, lunar calendar leaflet 2009, Cover on Cover

Major design change and
introduction of the Cousin

Designer Taku Satoh meticulously updated the design to something more intuitive and comfortable, changing the criss-crossing dotted lines to meet evenly at every intersection and cleaning up the timeline to make the numbers easier to read.
The inspiration for the Cousin actually came from frequent user comments that the Hobonichi Techo was heavy. The team figured they could make the Hobonichi Techo Original seem light by producing a book that was even bigger and heavier!

2010

Published copies: 
350,000
Covers in lineup: 
54 (3 book types)
Release date: 
September 1, 2009
Hobonichi Store Exclusives: 
Hobonichi Stencil, ballpoint pen, Kotobuki Shiriagari bookmark, Cover

Dramatic increase
in cover designs

After running surveys and holding round-table discussions with users, the meticulously crafted graph paper was locked in at 3.7 mm. The squares were 4 mm in 2008, 3.45 mm in 2009, and polished to the just-right 3.7 mm in 2010.
The World Folk Patterns series made its debut this year, with three covers themed after Mexico, Finland, and Africa.

2011

Published copies: 
400,000
Covers in lineup: 
56 (4 book types)
Release date: 
September 1, 2010
Hobonichi Store Exclusives: 
OHTO card thermometer, ballpoint pen, Kotobuki Shiriagari bookmark, Cover on Cover

Welcoming the 10th year
with the new Weeks techo

“Black Case” was created in collaboration with Porter, and greatly broadened the possibilities of the techo. The case was both a techo cover and a bag, and was a big hit among the male employees at Hobonichi.
The trademark White Line Weeks design was actually created by mistake! Taku Satoh made a rough sketch of an all-black Weeks, with a view of the spine on the left and a view of the cover on the right. Shigesato Itoi, thinking it was a single sketch of the front cover, praised the white line running down the side of the cover. Taku, surprised but convinced it was a good idea, finalized the cover design that’s still popular today.

2012

Published copies: 
460,000
Covers in lineup: 
71 (4 book types)
Release date: 
September 1, 2011
Hobonichi Store Exclusives: 
Smile mirror, ballpoint pen, Kotobuki Shiriagari bookmark, Cover on Cover

The theme was “Smile”

Shigesato Itoi penned the catchphrase “It’s okay to be this stylish” for the Weeks, now in its second year. It was originally created for use in professional settings, but all kinds of people made use of the book.

2013

Published copies: 
480,000
Covers in lineup: 
82 (5 book types)
Release date: 
September 1, 2012
Hobonichi Store Exclusives: 
Carrying bag, ballpoint pen, Kotobuki Shiriagari bookmark, Cover on Cover

The English version is complete.
Time to head overseas!

“& Child,” created with the children’s brand Kodomo Beams, was one of the most striking covers this year.
The English version, named “Planner,” featured a chic new design with charcoal gray and red print. In order to accommodate a variety of international languages, the graph paper was enlarged to 4 mm. The front of the cover is gold foil-pressed with the word “techo” in Japanese.

2014

Published copies: 
500,000
Covers in lineup: 
98 (5 book types)
Release date: 
September 1, 2013
Hobonichi Store Exclusives: 
“Potenbag”, ballpoint pen, Kotobuki Shiriagari bookmark, Cover on Cover

I’m having fun this year.

Gugi Akiyama’s Disney cover designs were also remarkable. Many users were struck by the cover featuring an oversized picture of the face of a Mickey plush doll, saying “I’ve never seen a cover like this before!”
Costume artist Kodue Hibino’s cover “Forest Bear” made a big splash this year. The bookmarks had bells on the ends.

Yugo Nakamura’s promotional video was a big hit around the world. Singer Miu Sakamoto and — interestingly — techo designer Taku Satoh provided the voices singing “Ho! Boniii! Chi! Te! Chooo!”

2015

Published copies: 
550,000
Covers in lineup: 
79 (7 book types)
Release date: 
September 1, 2014
Hobonichi Store Exclusives: 
Hobonichi Tissue Case, ballpoint pen, Cover on Cover, pencil board

Introducing the “avec”

This year was the first time the techo was available in two separate books, called the avec. The covers were moss green and sand beige. (Today they’re lime yellow and ice blue.)
This collaboration cover, “Onett,” features Shigesato Itoi’s video game “Mother 2.” The cover was highly acclaimed by game fans, including those outside of Japan.

2016

Published copies: 
610,000
Covers in lineup: 
88 (7 book types)
Release date: 
September 1, 2015
Hobonichi Store Exclusives: 
Hobonichi Tissue Case, ballpoint pen, Cover on Cover

This is my LIFE.

Kotori Kawashima recorded this home-movie style video and Shigesato Itoi added the stylized English title, “This is my LIFE.”

This year, we held a meet up with 60 Hobonichi Techo users. We split into 7 groups and talked about all kinds of things. We also held surveys and played games together with all the participants, making it a very fun day for everyone.

2017

Published copies: 
680,000
Covers in lineup: 
84 (7 book types)
Release date: 
September 1, 2016
Hobonichi Store Exclusives: 
Mini Butter Toast Plate, ballpoint pen, Cover on Cover

The Hobonichi Techo travels
across the ocean

The “Traveling Hobonichi” is a book that was sent around the world among fellow Hobonichi Techo fans, with each person filling out pages and sending it to the next person. The result was a one-of-a-kind collaborative of love. The book even contained a hand-drawn comic, with each person adding a scene at a time.
Our meet-up event, called “Meeting Caravan,” is always an exciting opportunity for the Hobonichi Techo team to meet users and hear all about how they’re using their techos. The caravan has met up in many places, and has plans to visit many more.

2018

Published copies: 
780,000
Covers in lineup: 
90 (9 book types)
Release date: 
September 1, 2017
Hobonichi Store Exclusives: 
Meal Decider Dice, ballpoint pen, Cover on Cover

Introducing the
Hobonichi 5-Year Techo

The Drawer Pouch also joined the lineup as a companion to the Hobonichi Techo. The pouch acts as a “portable drawer” that can store all your favorite items.
The newest Hobonichi Techo book, the Hobonichi 5-Year Techo, features a soft cover reminiscent of traditional dictionaries. The book contains all the best features of the standard Hobonichi Techo, with graph paper pages, Tomoe River paper, lay-flat binding, and more.

2019

Published copies: 
850,000
Covers in lineup: 
103 (11 book types)
Release date: 
September 1, 2018
Hobonichi Store Exclusives: 

Not-Scary Bear Paperweight, ballpoint pen

Hello to all our users in China

Every year, a portion of the sales of certain covers are donated to an animal welfare organization. In the 2019 lineup, these covers include the Bouillon series and Ryoji Arai’s A6 cover.
The Simplified Chinese version is the same design as the Japanese A6 Original Hobonichi Techo, and contains all Chinese holidays. The product was created after opening sales in China for the first time last year.

2020

Published copies: 
750,000
Covers in lineup: 
90 (13 book types)
Release date: 
September 1, 2019
Hobonichi Store Exclusives: 

Small Hobonichi Hyakunin-isshu, ballpoint pen

Introducing the Day-Free!

The Day-Free is Hobonichi’s all-new monthly notebook. It comes in A6 and A5 sizes and has a new layout of blank memo pages with daily quotes on the bottom. The corner of the notebook has a flip book animation.
The Small Hobonichi Hyakunin-isshu is a deck of 100 karuta cards illustrated by Radio Wada that contain traditional Japanese poems. These cards are a special take on a unique Japanese tradition.

2021

Published copies: 
???
Covers in lineup: 
101 (14 book types)
Release date: 
September 1, 2020
Hobonichi Store Exclusives: 

Hobonichi Brush Pen (with mini hanshi papers), ballpoint pen

Thank you for 20 Years.

We've collaborated with classic mangas loved my many: Astro Boy, Doraemon, Ranma 1/2 and Chibi Maruko-chan, to create the Japan Manga Classics series covers. We've prepared lots of pencil boards that you can use alongside it.
After it first appeared as the 2002 edition, the Hobonichi Techo turned 20 with the 2021 edition. To express our gratitude, the monkey that appears on the back of the book says "Thank you for 20th!"