The Hobonichi Techo, explained: which size is actually yours

Every September, a peculiar thing happens on the English-speaking planner internet: people who have never touched a Hobonichi start asking which one to buy, and the answers are a wall of conflicting opinions. I live about twenty minutes from the Hobonichi flagship counter at Itoya, and I have watched this happen for six years. So here is the guide I wish existed — written from the shelf where the planners actually live, not from a press release.

The three sizes, honestly

Hobonichi’s lineup looks like a maze, but it is really three decisions: Original, Cousin, or Weeks. Everything else is a variation on one of those three.

• Original (A6): the classic. Fits a coat pocket, light enough to carry daily, and the Tomoe River paper is the whole point.
• Cousin (A5): the same daily page plus a full weekly spread and more note pages. It is big, and heavy enough that you will feel it.
• Weeks: a slim vertical weekly planner. The one working Japanese adults actually use, because it disappears into a bag.

The trap is choosing by what looks nice in photographs. The Original photographs beautifully. The Weeks is the one that survives contact with real life.

The paper is not a gimmick

Tomoe River paper is why Hobonichi has a cult instead of just a customer base. It is absurdly thin — dozens of pages fit in a pocket — yet handles fountain pen ink without bleed-through. That thinness is the product. Buy the planner, and you are really buying the paper.

People ask me why a notebook costs what it does. The answer is always the paper.

The English edition is not the same book

The English edition is lovely and has the famous quotes. It also has fewer note pages, a different grid, and a cover that the Tokyo stores stock less of. If you write in English, the Japanese edition is still perfectly usable — the daily page is mostly empty space and dates. Many of us simply use it. Do not assume the English version is an upgrade; it is a different product for a different buyer.

Which one should you buy?

Be honest about your habits before you spend:

• You want to carry it every single day, in a jacket or small bag → Original.
• You keep a serious work schedule and want weekly + daily in one book → Cousin.
• You want a planner, not a journal — appointments and a bit of note space → Weeks.

And if this is your first Hobonichi, buy the plain cover. The fancy one will be there next year; the habit is what has to survive.

Planners & Journals

Hobonichi Techo Original (A6), 2027

¥3,300 · from the Hobonichi store

Buy on Amazon

Planners & Journals

Hobonichi Techo Cousin (A5), 2027

¥4,950 · from the Hobonichi store

Buy on Amazon