We Heart Hobonichi Techo

For someone who loves planners to the point of having three separate planners for 2013 alone (no, I don’t use all of them, they just gravitate toward me naturally), I’m embarrassed to say I’d never heard of the Hobonichi Techo before it was announced that it would be getting an English version this year. I say this is embarrassing because the Hobonichi Techo has been somewhat of a phenomenon in its home country of Japan ever since it was first released in 2001. It also holds a special place in the hearts of gamers, as Hobonichi is the company founded by Mother creator Shigesato Itoi!

While I have my own personal yearly Rilakkuma planner tradition, there’s something very appealing about the community that has sprung up around the Hobonichi Techo due to its accessibility and quirkiness. The largest version of the planner has a page dedicated to each day, so people have started customizing their books in a wide variety of ways and posting their daily entries all over the place. It really is a joy to see what everyone is doing with theirs!

Still amazed at how popular Ted is in Japan… (source)
(source)

And now with the release of the English version, we’re not only seeing coverage of the planner on sites like Tiny Cartridge, but Tumblrs have sprung up to celebrate its greatness. I have to say, I just love the sense of creativity the community has and would love to be a part of it myself next year! If you’re interested in checking out more Hobonichi Techo pictures, I definitely suggest browsing the #ほぼ日手帳 tag on Instagram.

About Anne

Also known as apricotsushi. Anne can be written with the kanji for apricot (杏), and sushi was the most quintessentially Japanese thing I could think of when I was 13, resulting in my goofy, albeit memorable, nickname.

9 thoughts on “We Heart Hobonichi Techo”

  1. Sigh. I’ve been thinking of the ol’ Techo ever since Tiny Cartridge started publishing posts about it. And now they’re giving one away. Ahhh! If I don’t win it, I think I may have to buy one for myself–although I don’t know if I’d do that this year or wait until next. I can’t believe how creative some folks have been with them, BTW. It’s a little intimidating, to be honest, although it’s not like we’re forced to share photos of our own creations, right? 🙂

  2. I’ve been using mine for the past few days and I’m using December through most of February for Japanese practice. I was originally going to wait until Oct ’13 to get one but I decided to bite the bullet. If you’re going to get one for 2013, I’d get it now :p

  4. It is a little intimidating how great some people’s look… but of course you don’t have to share yours if you don’t want to! I know for a fact that you do some really cute doodles, though 😉

    I think I’ll get one next year if I can tear myself away from my adorable Rilakkuma planners!

  5. Thanks, Anne 🙂 I don’t think I have anything on these folks, though. Which is OK, I know.

    BTW, I’m surprised you didn’t share a few photos of your Rilakkuma planners. I’d certainly love to see them. That little guy is soooooo cute 🙂

  6. Funny you mention that! I was totally considering sharing my planners (past and present) in this post, but by the time I remembered the post was all written and it was too dark to take any proper photos. Actually, my Rilakkuma planner collection is beefy enough to be worthy of its own post, so maybe I’ll do that instead! And you’re right, he’s totally adorable!

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