We reflect on the history of the Hobonichi Techo
and see how it has grown into the LIFE BOOK as we know it today.

The Hobonichi Techo, first offered in a 2002 edition, turns 16 today.

The Hobonichi Techo is a planner that was first created by Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shimbun 16 years ago. It all started from a spring meeting in 2001 when someone said, “I’d like a planner.” We polled our readers on our website and asked, “If we had a planner, would you want one?” Out of our 700 responses, 90% said yes, so the decision was made. After many brainstorming sessions, the 2002 Hobonichi Techo was released October of that same year.

Due to popular demand, the Hobonichi Techo became an annual product, and in 2005 it was offered in Loft department stores for the first time. The new A5 Cousin size was introduced to the lineup in 2009, and the Weeks in 2011. The English-version Planner joined the family in 2013. The number of users increases every year, starting from 10,000 users in the first year to 600,000 users in 2016. The Hobonichi Techo has also been the #1 selling planner in Loft department stores for 12 years in a row.

Now, the number of users is growing not only in Japan, but all over the world. We continue to make improvements and changes to the layout and design every year to make the books easier for everyone to use.

The first-edition 2002 Hobonichi Techo

The Hobonichi comes in four types, as well as a 2-book set called Avec.

The Hobonichi Planner currently comes in four types:
Hobonichi Techo Original
Hobonichi Techo Cousin
Hobonichi Techo Planner
Hobonichi Techo Weeks

The Original is the standard Hobonichi Techo that led the series in 2002. It’s the compact A6 size, the standard size of Japanese mass paperback books, and has a page per day. Twice the size of the Original is the A5 size Cousin, which offers plenty of room on its daily pages and specially includes a weekly calendar. The Weeks is a slim, wallet-sized book that offers a week on each page spread and plenty of free space for customization. The Planner is the localized version of the Original, with its daily pages translated into English and the Japanese characters for “techo” imprinted on the cover.

Original and Cousin

The Original, Cousin, and Planner are all designed to be matched with a cover of choice.
The decorative cover of the Weeks, however, is part of the book itself, so you only need pick out which design you like best. (Available are optional carrying cases designed to hold a Weeks book.)

In response to user requests for a lighter version, we introduced the Avec version in 2015 for the Japanese versions, which splits the book into two (January-June and July-December) while keeping the design the same.

Original Avec

Cousin Avec

Filled with features that make it easy to use

The Hobonichi Techo is specially designed with the following features to give the book its characteristic user-friendly layout:

A planner with graph paper

The Hobonichi Techo’s layout revolves around its graph paper base. The graph paper makes it easy to write in straight lines or sketch out plans, and acts as a solid yet subtle support for all kinds of entries. The Japanese-language Original and Cousin began as 4 mm size squares, changed to 3.45 mm squares in 2009, and after after a lot of testing and investigation of customer input, finally settled on the ideal size of 3.7 mm. The Weeks graph paper is sized at 3.55 mm to allow users to write more in the slim book, and the English-version Planner is sized at 4 mm to allow for comfortable writing space in any language.

180-degree lay-flat binding

The Hobonichi Techo’s stitch binding means it naturally, effortlessly opens flat without having to hold the pages down. Subtle, convenient touches like this are what give the book such a comfortable writing experience.

Thin yet sturdy Tomoe River paper

From the very first edition, the Hobonichi Techo has always been made using the lightweight Tomoe River paper that allows the book to stay slim and compact despite the high page count of a year’s worth of daily pages. The paper’s thin and light construction doesn’t detract from its sturdy build, and its smooth surface feels great to write on. The Original and Planner books contain white paper, while the Weeks paper is cream-colored.

Design by Taku Satoh

Open up to any page in the Hobonichi Techo, and you’ll see subtle labels, a carefully-placed line, and open spaces. This handsome, versatile design was meticulously created by designer Taku Satoh, right down to the low-key dotted lines of the graph paper measured to line up perfectly at every intersection.

Taku Satoh has led the design and improvements since the 2009 Hobonichi Techo.

Daily quotes and fun, informational pages in the back

Each Hobonichi Techo contains quotes specially selected from the Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shimbun online articles. The Original and Cousin contain one quote per day, the Planner one per two-page spread, and the Weeks one per week. These light-hearted quotes will brighten up your day. The informational and convenient pages in the back of the books are also designed to provide both convenient sections and interesting reading material.

Daily quotes

2017 Hobonichi Techo informational pages

Lots of covers to choose from

One of the features of the Hobonichi Techo is the wide variety of covers to choose from. The classic “butteryfly stopper”-type cover with pen holders has given the Hobonichi Techo its trademark look since 2003. A variety of styles have joined the lineup since then, such as the popular Zippers type filled with storage space and lots of pockets. Every year, Hobonichi teams up with all kinds of artists and brands to offer a diverse range of styles. The 2017-edition lineup includes a total of 79 designs across all types.

Everyone’s LIFE BOOK: a book with limitless uses

The most important characteristic of the Hobonichi Techo may be the way it invites every user to customize the book to meet their particular needs.

While many people use it as a journal or a date book, the open, flexible pages of the Hobonichi Techo encourage all kinds of different uses. Some users ignore the dates at the top entirely, using it as a notebook or jotting down a sentence here and there when the mood strikes, while others keep a detailed, organized record of all their ongoing work projects.

Some techos are unadorned and to-the-point, while others are sketchbooks, scrapbooks, or art projects themselves, decorated in washi tape and housed in handmade covers. The Techo has been a school notebook, a family photo album, a repository for notes passed among friends. On social media you'll find photos of individual pages that show off exciting new uses and photos of closed books at the end of the year bursting at the binding with mementos and projects.

That customization is a tell-tale sign of the freedom fostered by the Hobonichi Techo's carefully stripped-down design—the freedom to fill it with all kinds of colors or materials or simply use it with nothing but a black pen. We invite you to try a techo yourself, and fill in the pages in whatever way makes sense to you. Even blank pages have their own important place in the book—if you don't feel like writing at all, that's fine. Since 2002, the Hobonichi Techo has been refined into a book that asks nothing particular of its user, and molds perfectly into each user’s unique needs.

Shigesato Itoi has called the Hobonichi Techo a book that is incomplete on its own. Only until it becomes a part of its user’s life is it complete. We hope you’ll join us in turning your own 2017 Hobonichi Techo into a LIFE BOOK.