A LIFE BOOK that chronicles
5 years of your life
It’s very easy to use the 5-Year Techo. All you need is a single sentence: what you ate, where you went, who you met, the weather, a flower you found blooming, or a casual chat you had with someone.
Even if you do very little on a daily basis, collecting these entries for one, three, five years creates a one of a kind book that is only yours—one that’s a joy to read back through.
When you reach a day in subsequent years, you can see the previous entry on the same page. This is a message from your past self. It’s interesting how it feels like having conversations with yourself that transcend time and space.
Scripted into these pages is a life story only you can tell. Spend a little bit each day enjoying time to write.
Enjoying the Hobonichi 5-Year Techo
Write a single sentence, or fill the whole entry.
Draw a picture or paste something onto the page.
Here’s a look at various usage examples.
Draw a picture or paste something onto the page.
Here’s a look at various usage examples.
Three usage examples
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Diary/notebook Ex: Grandma’s birthday
Writing Grandma’s age and topics talked about on the phone keeps it all on the same page. Making short notes of jobs and shopping done that day can also jog your memory later, which is even better. -
Parenting journal Ex: Everyday life from birth to four years old
You can keep all the special moments in your Techo when your child does or says something for the first time, or loves something at a certain age. All these little memories build into an album that will be wonderful to read back through together when your child grows up. -
5-Year growth record Ex: Records from the start of entry into the workforce
You can see how you’ve grown and changed over the first five years after joining the workforce for the first time as an adult. You can keep it simple by listing the weather, temperature, and a single sentence, and with five years’ of those records the book can provide a precious record of your life. By making a conscious decision to only aim for a single sentence a day, you can keep up with your techo without much effort.
- Diary
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Ex: Writing what happened each day on the timeline.
- Writing about a single theme
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Ex: recording each day's meals.
- Keeping a business logbook
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Ex: using among several team members at the office.
- Other
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(example) Records of pets
How people use their books
Main pages
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Daily page across five years
- The simple design lists the date for each page, followed by the day of the week for each of the five years. You can follow the grid design and really fill in the entry, or just write a brief sentence.
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Memo page
- The right page is a blank page for anything you’d like — continuing entries you couldn’t fit on the left, jotting notes you’d like to leave for other years, pasting items, and more.
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Monthly tabs
- Similar to a dictionary, each month is printed with a tab on the edge of the page for easy reference.
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Daily quotes
- Each spread features Japanese quotes specially selected for the Hobonichi 5-Year Techo from the Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun.
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4
Other pages
The book includes features of the standard Hobonichi by including extra pages, such as the yearly calendar and other pages that can be used across the span of 5 years.
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Yearly calendar(5 pages)
The yearly calendar is the first section in the book. It contains a year per page and spans 5 years.*Pages do not list Japanese holidays -
Yearly memo pages(5 pages)
This page provides space to write down plans for the year or write down a review of what happened. The Bookmark section is useful for writing down dates of interest. -
Gifts, Addresses(2 pages)
The Gifts page provides a place to list gifts received or given, and Addresses stores contact information for up to 6 people. -
My Favorite Things(Japanese)
This page lets you write down your currently favorite things. We also recommend using it as a template when asking friends and family about what they like. -
My Lists(2 pages)
This page allows you to create 8 lists of themes of your choice. Each theme fits 10 entries. -
Personal Notes(1 pages)
You can write your information in this page.
Bookbinding methods
Bookbinding that makes the book
comfortable to write in and sturdy for long
term and frequent use.
comfortable to write in and sturdy for long
term and frequent use.
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Textured PVC softcover
The book’s timelessly pleasant cover is a calming shade of brown, with the name “Hobonichi 5-Year Techo” and the years foil-pressed in gold. The soft, slightly textured cover rests nicely in your hands, and the material is reminiscent of some softcover dictionaries and bibles, so it does not need an additional cover. The book includes a dark brown attached bookmark you can use to mark your place. -
A6 / A5 size
The techo comes in a compact A6 size with smaller entry sizes that make it easy to keep up with, and a larger A5 size for plenty of room to write. -
Thin and light Tomoe River S paper
The thin, light paper, called Tomoe River S, is an ideal choice for a planner. It allows the book to stay compact despite having 752 pages, and the paper is pleasant to write on as ink can be dispensed quite smoothly across the surface. The paper is a cream color that’s easy on the eyes. -
180-degree lay-flat binding
Special stitch-binding allows the planner to lay completely flat without having to hold it down. -
3.7 millimeter graph paper
The graph paper layout makes it easy to write or draw in clean lines. It’s also handy for freely splitting an entry into sections. The 5-Year Techo has the same 3.7 millimeter graph paper as the Original. -
Daily quotes
From the heartfelt to the humorous to the whimsical, each day features a quote in Japanese, specially selected from our website, Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun. -
Includes a booklet and test paper
The Hobonichi 5-Year Techo includes an instructional booklet. It also comes with some test paper so you can get a feel for the paper and test pen or ink compatibility before using your techo. This is all contained in a turquoise blue box with the techo so it makes a great gift.
Lineup
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Hobonichi 5-Year Techo
- The Hobonichi 5-Year Techo is an A6 size book that contains daily entries for 5 years in a single book. Each daily entry contains 178 graph-paper squares, so you can fill in a surprising amount of content. But even a single sentence is enough to satisfy an entry for the day, so the size is perfect for people who want to keep up more easily with their book.
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Large Hobonichi 5-Year Techo
- The Large Hobonichi 5-Year Techo was created in response to user requests for a bigger book size. Each daily entry contains 352 graph-paper squares, providing plenty of space to fill each day with lots of information. The book is perfect for sharing as a family exchange diary or a mutual notebook among a team at work.
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Hobonichi 5-Year Techo
Gift Set – Bloom - The Large Hobonichi 5-Year Techo was created in response to user requests for a bigger book size. Each daily entry contains 352 graph-paper squares, providing plenty of space to fill each day with lots of information. The book is perfect for sharing as a family exchange diary or a mutual notebook among a team at work.
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Hobonichi 5-Year Techo Cover
Makes a great gift
Makes a fantastic gift for wedding or baby
showers, new jobs or big moves, and other major
life events.
showers, new jobs or big moves, and other major
life events.
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Birthday
present -
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Wedding or
baby shower gift -
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Gift for someone
entering school/starting
somewhere new -
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Gift for a
loved one -
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Keepsake for a
special milestone
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Hobonichi 5-Year Techo Gift Set: Bloom
- This gift set is designed by Mutsumi Kagoshima and includes an embroidered cover sized for a 5-Year Techo, a pencil board, and a small card, all delivered in a box.
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Hobonichi Techo Gift Bag
- When you want your order wrapped to give to someone as a gift, we recommend our reusable cotton “Hobonichi Techo Gift Bag.”
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Other fun things
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Hobonichi Store Exclusive No. 2
Hobonichi Everlasting “Paper” Bag (Mini)
- Every 5-Year Techo ordered from the Hobonichi Techo 2024 lineup comes with a “Hobonichi Everlasting“Paper” Bag (Mini).” The gusset is 60mm (2.4”) wide, making it fit nicely on the palm of a hand. The bag comes in four designs based on times and days, and for each techo book you order, you’ll randomly receive one of the following designs: “How Are You?,” “Onigiri (Rice Ball),” “Day,” or “Pretzel.” (Designs cannot be requested.)
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Hobonichi Store Exclusive No. 2
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Feel free to pair them with
recommended accessories. - We’ve gathered a collection of pens and stationery that go well with the Hobonichi 5-Year Techo so you can get maximum enjoyment out of your “techo time.”
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CONTENTS
2023-08-25-FRI
Recommended user comments
Asu’s Mama
My 2018-2022 book is coming to a close. The first year I used it I tended to forget to write, but once I used it the second year onward, I enjoyed seeing what my previous entry was each time. Now that I’m finishing up the fifth year, I’m really happy with how my book is filled with four years’ of memories as I go. I really recommend it!
2022.08.31
Kushimaki
It’s been five years since I wrote “It’s here!” on March 9, 2018. I had a pretty loose approach to my entries, but all in all I’ve got a pretty passionate collection of five years’ of entries, and every kind of entry does its part in that. I think it’s great that there are some days when I managed to leave it blank on every single day for all five years!
2022.09.01
Ai
The techo also serves as a journal for watching my children grow up. Writing down events and plans throughout the year that are otherwise easy to forget about makes it easy to remember things, so that’s really handy. I fill in empty pages with tickets, receipts, drawings from my children, and other memories. I look forward to using it every year.
2022.11.12
Yuzu-chan’s Mama
What a strange experience to be writing in an entry—having no memory of what I’d done a year ago that day—yet the smallest little note on a previous year’s entry brings back all my memories. I’m really thankful to have a book of five years’ of memories with my children!
2022.08.31