Sorry for the long one! I just really wanted to talk about Hobonichi Techos!

I have to assume many people who come across this blog might not know what a Hobonichi Techo is, and that's alright! They're a Japanese planner with Tomoe River paper, super thin but still pretty bleed resistant (depending on what materials you use on the paper). They come in multiple different forms to fit your needs. Need something that just has a monthly spread then a weekly spread? The Hobonichi Weeks/Weeks MEGA would be your pick. Need a daily space to write? The A6 Original, A6 Planner, or A5 Cousin/HON may be your pick depending on what size you need. They also have a day free version where it just gives you the monthly pages then some blank pages, and a 5 year so you can have every single day for the next 5 years compacted into one book for easy recollection! I highly recommend checking them out here [Techo Type Guide] to learn more about each of the different types they offer! There are also accessories you can buy, such as covers, pencil boards, pouches, and more! They give out freebies with every techo you order directly from them or a partner store until they run out. You can also try to find them locally! Here is a store map for every country [Where to buy]. Just note, any location marked as "Store" may not have all the techos or accessories they release for the year, so I would plan accordingly if you're really wanting something.

I started using them back in 2024 after heavy consideration, with a A6 Original avec (the books are split into 2 halves, one ends in June and the next one starts in July until December!) and a Weeks MEGA (the MEGA has extra blank pages in the back compared to the regular Weeks). I came from attempted bullet journaling and attempted digital journaling. Bullet journaling was just not how my brain functions, when I have to do every single layout every month/week/day, ontop of burnout from seeing other people's layouts I wanted to incorporate and not being able to, so I kind of gave up pretty fast. Then I tried digital journaling using other people's premade pdfs. That was fine, and I was able to stick with it for a year! But then came switching to a new one the next year, and realizing that I can't promise using the same type of layout every year, which really bothered me and disrupted my flow. I now had to search for a free pdf that had a layout that worked with how my brain works. I couldn't keep up at all come the next year... So I contemplated if I wanted to try to keep journaling and planning or switch to the basic "rely on phone calendar."

Then came the planner scene. I had no idea there were so many different brands of planners or even types of planners. I thought those cheap tiny planners were all anyone sold, because who needs more space to write? But no, I stumbled upon Hobonichi Techos! The only thing that swayed me away was having to pay so much for them. At the time, before US Tariffs, buying locally was way more expensive than actually buying directly from the company. I didn't think it was really worth paying the price and then not liking it... I think once I found out how flexible they REALLY are, I decided to look more into them, and eventually bought my first Techo late December 2023, the A6 Original Avec. I started to realize quickly, with how small the planner is (think hand sized, and I have pretty small hands!), I would need to have something else where I could keep my "journal overflows." Settled on a Weeks MEGA because of how much space you get in the back. I was pretty happy with using the two together, was honestly encouraging to consistently use daily. Finally I found something that clicked with my brain!

To this day, I'm still using the brand's techos. In fact, two weeks ago my planner for next year came! My Hobonichi order from Jenni Bick. Came with a Thank You post card and a company bookmark. My actual order was TSUKI no IRO: Index Stickers, TSUKI no IRO: Translucent Sticky Notes, and the Hiroko Kubota: Waiting on the Chord HON / A5 Size / Daily / ENG edition / Jan start / Mon start I ordered from Jenni Bick this year, since I really wanted to help support local stores. Some stores were sharing they had to pay several thousands of dollars in tariffs to be able to get these to us, so I figured since ordering directly was out of the question now, why not help support local stores who are still wanting to sell these techos! I ordered the TSUKI no IRO: Index Stickers, TSUKI no IRO: Translucent Sticky Notes, and the Hiroko Kubota: Waiting on the Chord HON / A5 Size / Daily / ENG edition / Jan start / Mon start. I was really hoping they had a new Hiroko Kubota cover for their A5 techos, but I'm ok with trying the HON next year. Gives me a chance to try something different! I think I'll eventually get a clear cover for it, just to protect the cover as much as I can. For now though, it is staying in the plastic it came in. Same with the Index Stickers; I don't like jumping into the next planner so early. Kind of gets rid of the new feeling once the end of December comes along. I did try out the Translucent Sticky Notes though! Very interestingly, the only pen I have at my disposal that works with them perfectly is the freebie Uni Jetstream 3-in-1 pen. Everything else takes too long to dry and ends up staining the sticky notes if you smear the ink. Guess that leaves me with an excuse to buy myself a new Jetstream for the year! These sticky notes are so much smaller than I thought they'd be, but they're still incredibly useful to me.