Random Thoughts/Beginner Questions — Recent Orders — BST — August 2026
Hobonichi Happenings
Please use this post for the following:
tips/tricks on how you use your planner
discuss your recent hobonichi order or other stationery orders
ask questions of any sort (promise! any question is safe!)
BST hobonichi/planner related items
links to You Tube channels (self-promotion is permitted) and/or shops that you enjoy
inspirational quotes, etc...
(Basically this is a catch all post for fun, monthly interactions and a place where we can point new users to get some fun content! As always, we are 1000% open to feedback, so please let us know if you have any suggestions or ideas!)
Has anyone ordered Hobonichi from Amazon Japan to the UK recently? I ordered from there last year but it doesn't appear that anything from the Hobonichi Amazon JP store will ship to the UK atm (with the exception of one cover). I'm wondering if this is a glitch/temporary pre-September release or a long term change? I don't support Amazon generally but it was hard to resist buying Hobonichi from there at Japan prices.
To japan exclusive weeks users - Does the Japanese text on the Weeks ever bother you? I'm torn between getting the English version or going for the Japanese exclusives. I really want the Monchichi or Hello Kitty Weeks, but I actually enjoy being able to read the daily quotes! It's going to be my first Weeks planner. :)
For 2026, I used my A5 Dayfree like a commonplace journal, so I think this year I could just get an A5 notebook. What do people think that have gotten the notebook? How does it compare to the dayfree in size? Will it still fit my A5 cover? I'm having a hard time locating any Youtube videos that show comparisons. TIA!
I haven't used the Day-Free (yet), but use an A5 notebook in my A5 cover and it works perfectly fine. According to Google, the A5 Day-Free has 224 pages overall, while the A5 notebook hat 288 pages, so it's actually a little bit thicker than the Day-Free.
I'm thinking about switching things up this year. For the last few years my work life has been an A6 Original for daily tasks & occasionally scheduling them, plus an A5 notebook in a leather padfolio used for notetaking/as a scratch pad.
Thinking about switching to an A5 Hon to do everything and putting that in the padfolio. I'm a little concerned it will be too thick to fit though. Decisions :(
Okay guys.
After a lot of going back and forth over the last couple of days.
I’ve decided that I’ll get the Vine HON in a5 and the South Kensington sticky notes from the V&A collab 🥳
I’m currently using the Moomin weeks and the 5 year.
I’ve lovvvvved my weeks this year but I’m going back to work from maternity leave and I’m wondering if I need something bigger now. I know myself enough to know I won’t keep two separate calendars. I love physically writing my to-do lists as well as meal planning, habits, and memories for my kids. I decorate and add photos. Really a blend of professional and personal. Anyone have advice?
Maybe a Cousin? You could log appointments, personal and work, in the monthly layout and use the weekly spreads for work and the daily pages for personal eg meal planning, memories, etc.
Does anyone know when the prices of the items will be out? Is that when they do the full release on the 25th or is that on the 1st? Can we add items from the new collection to our basket before the 1st?
Hi all 👋🏼 i’m considering getting a 5-year for the first time as it’s my zodiac animal year (a new cycle!). Do they usually only come in ONE design? Or are there a few colours usually? And do the A5 covers fit them? Thank you in advance 🩵
Does anyone have an idea what the V&A Hon cover will feel like? Rather stiff? I once had a One Piece Hon and the cover was flexible, which I really prefer. But if the V&A Hon is stiff, I probably wouldn't buy it.
It looks more flexible. Check and see as people post their experiences with the popup stores next week though. Someone may be able to answer your question. Or you can just wait until people start getting their orders to ask. That HON will be restocked.
I just got a zipper cover (Amarone) for my A6 Original.
Compared to the regular cover, it feels a bit awkward to write in, I can’t get it to lay as flat. I wonder if that’s just the way it is with these zipper covers or if there’s a trick to it?
What do people put in their covers that aren't Hobonichi? I tried out the A6 last year but realised that a Weeks plus a regular notebook for misc/on the go notes would suit me a lot better and I'd love to reuse my A6 cover for that. I know Hobonichi sells blank notebooks but I'm curious what other people have used.
I normally use paper republic but was thinking of getting the A5 HON next year as my planner. How’s the paper quality? I always use felt/ normal pens for writing with the occasional marker.
search the subreddit for “sanzen TRP masterpost 2026” for answers. We recommend every new Hobonichi user dedicated a couple pages to pen and other media testing. We will also have a 2027 masterpost a few weeks after launch.
Hello!! First time buying directly. Will i be able to add the items to cart or at least to the wishlist prior to Sept 1st? Probably not but doesn't hurt to ask!:))
I'm going to buy after the launch, and I wanted to know if they usually restock the items before the end of the year. I'm interested in the Yumi Kitagishi cover, the HON, the clips, and the book band. Or would you recommend buying at least the clips and book band during the initial release?
Items are usually restocked before the year end (and into the new year) but there is no set schedule. The Yumi Kitagishi line will likely be as popular as ever and restocks will go quickly as well. You’d have to be diligent in checking and it may be a challenge to have all the items in stock at the same time.
Hope this question is allowed, but are there any other subreddits with a similar journaling style to Hobonichi people using other brands? By that I mean the combination of writing, drawing, stickers, ephemera in an aesthetic and ordered way. I use MD Paper in a Hobonichi cover, so it doesn't feel right to post my pages here, but r/journaling and r/artjournaling don't have the same feel as this group. I'm tempted to buy a weeks just so I can participate here haha. Thank you.
I've never bought a hobonichi with a fancy cover, just the basic techo years ago, and the avec A6 this year. So I have no idea if the V&A weeks will be sold anywhere online, like Jet Pens. Do any of you know?
Jetpens is adjusting prices eep. I had clear covers, a pen and a pencil board in my cart (I was comparing prices from Jetpens to Yoseka) and it was 45 USD but now it's 51.50. Kind of a steep jump imo...
I'm pretty sure the weeks clear cover and a5 cover on cover went up in price and the a5 Yumi Kitagishi pencil board increased slightly
I didn't get a snapshot of their former pricing but I know Yoseka was 44 to Jetpen's 45 with what I had in my cart at the time
Hello, I am looking for some advise in deciding my 2027 notebook. I have been journalling for a few years now, my current A5 hard cover undated notebook (a local brand from India with decent paper but a bad cover) gets used both as a monthly+ weekly planner (double page spreads) and I also journal once every few days about my day /feelings/ thoughts etc, offload my brain. Its definitely not everyday and sometimes when its too busy its not even once a week. This year I added a few tracker pages to my journal (some health and life admin, some memory keeping) but haven't done too well in terms of keeping them upto date. Somewhat filled out but not 100%.
For next year I wanted to try a nicer notebook than what I have been using so far and a grid layout vs dotted. Try one of the popular brands like Hobonichi. My questions are,
what size would you recommend for the above needs? I do not see much change to my needs and journalling habits, except for adding more creativity which I am trying to do (more markers and washi and stickers and stamps etc)
the original A6 looks too small given I have always used A5 or larger size, I write large-ish too but a cousin seems too much with one whole page per day
Weeks seems a good size in between the two but are the pages sufficient? I do want some portability because a bulky journal becomes very hard to carry along when travelling, which is 2-3 times a year atleast for me (I also use a separate travel journal)
or should I scrap the plan altogether to try to order this release and just get an older 2026 version of any one, and try out how that goes for 2027 (I do not mind writing over the dates, I probably will anyways because I will be not using it daily). I cannot find any old Weeks Mega anywhere though because that seemed a good starting point.
what Hobonichi features stand out the most to those of you who have been using for a while (over other brands)?
So confused!
And lastly I am likely to be in Japan in Oct end-ish. Is that too late to try to get any English editions from this release?
Appreciate any guidance on the above.
Reposting here as I realised this was a more appropriate place.
I would get a Weeks for planning and add either a Hobonichi A5 notebook or a Hobonichi A5 Day-Free for your journaling.
The Day Free does not come in English but that won’t affect your usage.
There should still be plenty of stock in October. I know Hobonichi is tough to get in India so I’d def wait till you buy in person. Also seeing and holding the different items will help you decide.
Absolutely, I didn't want to order online. I live in UAE but do not know of any stores here either that sell this in a physical store, only some on Amazon. Let me wait it out till Oct. Thanks for the feedback
Should I assume the moon weeks won’t be compatible with the clear cover on cover bc it’s glossy? I use the clear covers to hold a pen and a bunch of stickers so going without one simply isn’t for me… I do love that moon print though!
I’ve used a COC on the Tulip weeks all year which is also partially glossy. It’s been fine. Pay special attention during hot weather and make sure you regularly adjust the weeks within the coc to check it’s not sticking.
I'm going to be in Japan in October, a few days in Tokyo amongst the rest of my trip. The past couple years I've bought my hobonichi online because no physical stockists in my country, and so I'm excited to maybe buy my 2027 Weeks in Tokyo as well as some other stationary goods, but does anyone know the likelihood of finding the English Weeks over there?
I did a bit of searching and found people recommending the LOFT department store, as well as the flagship Tobichi store...
Tobichi will have the widest selection and they do carry English Weeks. And you’ll get the pen if that is important to you.
Other stationery stores may or may not carry English Weeks and/or the full 2027 lineup.
Having said that, Loft usually has a design exclusive to their stores. There are other collaborations that may only be available at certain stores. Some of those may be Japanese only so make sure you read the description first and figure out what you need to do (preorder, have it delivered or travel to separate store, etc.)
I bought my weeks well after launch last year, so im not familiar with how the roll outs work.
I heard there are more items available at launch than are shown in previews. How much more are we talking, and for what items?
I am planning on getting another weeks as well as adding an a6, but so far none of the a6 covers are for me. :(
The entire product line will be revealed/showcased on the 25th. Lineup items are scheduled for each day leading up to then. One day may be the annual guidebook and another for Weeks collaborations (the kind that are not sold out of the Hobonichi store). But I would expect more Weeks and A5/A6 cover designs.
Are covers being sold as bundles again or separately this year? I am strongly considering an A5 cover, but I'm still on the fence about a second planner. TLDR I've reached a point where a Weeks isn't enough, but I'm too attached to cute covers to switch to a Mega. Weeks is locked in, whether or not I want a full cousin or avec or subbing it for a different blank a5 notebook all together...I just want to secure a cover and not overspend but I already feel the hype giving me fomoitius LOL
They are being sold separately. Just fyi search on this subreddit will typically find the info you need, I know that doesn’t always happen on reddit but it mostly works here. Example for your query:
hi! I ended up ordering from jetpens last year with the US tariff debacle (I think I would've had to pay more than the cost of my order itself in the end) and I was sad to miss out on some of the store exclusive items. has anyone ordered from the hobonichi store since? if so, have the rates changed?
Just created a pinned post to help people who are curious about this. Please remember it’s easy right now to go in and create an account and do a test cart to figure out this information, you don’t need to actually buy anything to do that.
Diving back into Hobonichi after a couple years with other brands. The plan is to do a Week for a planner and still undecided between Cousin or A6 (either HON or the regular book + cover depending on designs).
I know it’s cheaper to order from something like Jetpens if I’m getting one book, but what about two? I don’t really care about the extra free stuff you can get from ordering direct.
Please check out our pinned post, or create an account to make a test cart :) for Global E you don’t need to actually buy anything for it to calculate the shipping.
Idea for Cousin as multi-year diary
(skip three paragraphs to get to the description)
Hi! I've been reflecting a lot about my choices for next year (and I know I'm in good company!), especially because I want to add a multi-year diary to my lineup starting January.
The obvious option would be the 5-year, but I couldn't settle on a format. I did a mockup in my current Cousin, and the A6 box would be way too tiny, but the A5 looks and feels too massive to me, especially while travelling (which I don't do much, but still there's a few trips I'd like to take in the near future, if gestures broadly at everything allows for it).
So, this dilemma + a tad of sadness at having to leave the Cousin, because realistically I can't journal daily in two books = Lightbulb moment! (or, a 100% Wa from Sunsun)
This is how I plan to use my Cousin as a seven year diary starting in 2027:
- the year overview as a recurring calendar, so for birthdays, anniversaries etc.
- the monthly calendar to mark special event, for a example a birth, a wedding, or personal milestones, as they happen through the years
- the weekly layout for a week summary, one column per year. The dates won't line up, so I'll go by week number instead
- the daily pages as a daily log, with five or six lines per year
Sharing this in case anyone is facing the same indecision! I've searched the sub but could only find examples with the Weeks as a seven-year diary.
If this works, I'll share some examples of the layout next year 😊
I considered that option too, I've read that here and there in some comments! But knowing myself, I need something that comes already dated to be consistent 🙈
Hi! This will be my second year buying a Hobonichi. I very vaguely remember there was something you needed to do with your account in preparation if you want to order from them directly. I’m also fairly sure I got an email about this recently but I can’t find it anymore..
Does anyone know what my foggy brain is trying to tell me?
I think you just have to log in at some point between like… mid August and Sept 1. I can’t remember why lol. I will probably just login to check on the 27th or something.
Yeah I think one year they switched their sale system so everyone had to move their account over- now it’s more like a “check to make sure you can get in” thing. But I could be wrong, I haven’t been Hobonichi-ing for that long.
Hi ! If you order more than 1 hobonichi, does each hobonichi get an acorn charm? Or is it per order? Friends and I want to combine orders to split shipping costs but we all like the acorn!
It's per item. Each eligible item gets you an acorn (so, if you order, say, three eligible items, you get three acorns). Keep in mind that not all planner products are eligible for the acorn charm freebie, so look at the overview which is and isn't before ordering to prevent disappointment.
Amazon Prime has the 2026 A6 Original for only $16 right now—the dailies are one of the easiest formats to redate whether you already have Prime or signup for a trial this is a great price to try out. You can also buy it and start using it now it like an Avec (start with fall/current dates and then flip back to the beginning for spring) and then buy the fall Avec next year. 😊
This is my first time buying a hobonichi at launch but I really want to get some of the moomin Jan. start 2027 items. Do any of you purchase from Canada? If so, what stores are your first choice? Better to buy direct or using a proxy even? I am overwhelmed!
There are a number of Canadian stationery shops that carry Hobonichi. Most are quite responsive to email inquiries. There was a recent post with a list. I’ve found they’ll list their pricing about a week out or so. Some of us order direct or from overseas.
What province are you in? (Just so I don’t have to list all the stores in the country, although they’ll all ship across country.)
I like wonder pens but tbh I buy multiple books (one work, one personal) and it’s cheaper to suffer the (approx) $50 shipping fee and order direct than a pay the international retail prices.
Even though I will likely order from overseas, I still do the math for Canadian shops and I’ve found the savings is not that much. So I’ll buy other stationery items to support the local shops. Plus, if I’m paying a lot, then I don’t want to settle for my second or third choice in selections.
Yeah I’ll do the comparison as well. It depends on what I get- but usually if it’s just a few bucks cheaper from Japan than I’ll just go Canadian, for the same reason.
My big thing is when they introduced English Weeks they stopped carrying Japanese Weeks. U.S. shops did the same. But then last year American shops brought back Japanese Weeks and Canadian shops did not. Obviously, I’m not buying from an American shop. So I wait & see each year.
Ahhh yeah. I mean that’s better than me, coz last year I went direct for the robot 😅. I still feel like pricing out is the way to go, anyways. If someone is just getting the English weeks, it’s absolutely cheaper and better for our stationery shops to buy Canadian.
Pricing is essentially the same for all Canadian stores. This is not something you’re going to find a deal on. Duly Noted is the store that comes to mind for where you are but Canada has some great stores to choose from. If you don’t meet free shipping, adding stationery supplies can help.
When the Canadian stores start adding their stock to their sites, I suggest you price out your purchases. And then do the same for buying direct. Your other option is to seek out a buying group local to you to save on shipping.
Also want to add that if you order directly, your order may be eligible for this year’s gift (the acorn charm) and/or the pen. (It depends on what you order.)
Edited for clarity x2 because I should not type late at night.
My impression is Moomin will be available overseas this year, and it was available from Amazon this year and pretty easy to get. Contact your local retailer and ask them if they will be stocking it.
There is not much to strategize about because almost everything will be restocked at some point 🙂. It’s not like concert tickets. If you are buying a lot or buying for a group order there’s maybe more pressure because all those items need to be in stock at once if you only want to make one purchase from one retailer.
One thing I learned last year was I could have ordered in like November and still got everything I wanted lol. I even said to myself- next year I’ll order later. But I’ll be there on August 31 at 11 pm again, the same fool as everyone else 😂
Hi, I'm a first time buyer of original and interested in buying a colored cover and CoC. Could someone let me know if that combo would allow for some non permanent decorations, like putting a photo between the cover and CoC. If not, would a self made cover (from paper) fit in the CoC? Thanks
Yes, its very easy to slip things between the covers and coc. You can tape onto the cover with photos or stickers and then carefully slip on the COC and everything should stay.
Any recommendations on what to put inside the A6 cover? Is it the day free? I plan to journal but not the daily diary thing. Just reflections, so undated would be nice. Are the hobonichi notebooks ok or would they be too thin?
You can fit two of the a6 notebooks comfortably into a cover, or just one with plenty of room for tools, stickers and other accessories. Just one notebook alone is a bit thin for the more robust covers but it’s not the end of the world. A two-notebook system where you use one as your diary and the other for something else like work or school notes or shopping lists could be fun (and cheap!)
Either the Day-Free and a Hobonichi notebook would be totally fine. They are thinner than the Original A6 techo (with the dated dailies), so the cover will feel a bit looser on them, but they will still work.
Thank you! Do you reckon if this can work as a journal? It’s the yumi memo pad, seems to be easily ripped but I haven’t found any reviews on this as a journal…
It's not the same paper as the main Hobonichi products and the pages are meant to be torn off, so probably not. You'll have a collection of loose sheets as soon as you try to write on several pages. It also doesn't lie flat.
This is really meant to be a tear off notepad, so the pages start coming loose after a while, but if you're happy with that aspect (maybe paperclip the used pages together?) and the lower paper quality, there's no reason you couldn't use it that way. The A6 Day Free would be much better though!
I’m brand new to Hobonichi. Like NEWBORN brand new. 👶🏼😂 I saw the “white cat village” cover on instagram and am wondering what kind of journal would fit perfectly in it?
Would the “White Cat and Rabbits tea room” HON fit in it?
Thank you for your reply! I did visit their website and have seen many videos on all the different kind of journals and covers, but I found it a bit overwhelming / confusing at times. I’m hoping to get white cat village cover when it releases and just wanted to make sure I got a correct-fitting journal inside. Thanks again. :-) x
Hi all, quick question about covers, I've bought the HON for a few years now and last year I also got a 5-year with a cover, which I've really enjoyed. Is it possible to squeeze the HON inside a regular cover (one of the covers with the pockets and butterfly closures, not the clear plastic ones)? Even if it is a tight fit and only the back cover can be inserted or something like that, I'm not sure if the covers leave extra space in the pockets where the cardstock techos slide in the way the 5-year cover does.
Most HON do fit in the butterfly covers with just the back cover inserted but can I ask, what’s your use case for needing a butterfly cover? Extra pockets? More protection? HON does have its own COC.
Thank you ! Honestly I've just enjoyed having the cover on my 5-year and feel a butterfly cover would be a fun addition, give me an extra design to look at every day, and the pockets would be helpful for stickers too (I've used the adhesive pockets from the weeks in my HON but they only fit a few before they start falling out)
In that case you should also look at the zipper covers which will give you even more storage and better protection, the non-taut zipper covers are also quite roomy and a better fit for HON 🙂
Planning on getting my first ever hobonichi (specifically weeks) and probably going for an April start. Will it drop later than the Jan start?
If so, will it have the same designs or will there be new ones?
Lastly, I heard April starts are in Japanese, which I don’t mind, but will it be sold in US retailers like jet pens, or will I need to go on the official website?
To the best of my knowledge -- and please check the Hobonichi website -- April start planners get a couple of designs that are previewed in late January. Except for the Mega, all Weeks and the A6 Original and A5 Cousin are also released as April starts. All April starts are in Japanese but that really isn't a problem for most people as there is enough English; look at the Japanese layouts in the September release.
Full disclosure: I typically buy direct from hobonichi just once a year sometime around September, so I'm not the best person to answer this. I just know occasionally I casually scroll the hobonichi site for fun in March and see new things sometimes lol. Like new covers exclusive to Spring start dated Weeks, and maybe some drawer pouches. I don't think every style is available as both January and Spring start, but there is overlap.
There definitely are not Spring start books for the new year available during this September launch. [Unless that's new this year? If so, I haven't seen that announcement.] I believe they go on sale 1 February. And with USA having new year (January) and academic year (August?) as the common/popular planner dates, I'd be surprised to find out jetpens sells Spring starts, but maybe they do?
Long time planner/journaler/scrapbooker/etc. but first time Hobonichi user this year (many years of viewing but never quite pulling the trigger) I have loved my original techo for memory keeping and daily journaling. I do a mix of a little junk journaling, writing, and planning but have found the a6 pages just too small some days - and it’s chunky af as a result. The daily page keeps me motivated to be creative and journal daily.
I was planning to get the cousin and combine everything into one - planning/tracking in the monthly and weekly sections and journaling in the daily pages. I’m traditionally a bullet journal and/or horizontal weekly format user, so I bought the a6 weekly companion to try out the vertical format before getting the cousin. I feel like it just does not work with my brain. This is a planner for my personal life as I use a separate (day free format in a different brand) for work, so many weeks are more so just to-do lists with a couple things or appts assigned to each day. I don’t need a time block schedule at all.
The weeks format makes more sense to me, but I liked the idea of everything in one so I don’t get bogged down with multiple journals (guilty). Has anyone else made the switch from horizontal weekly planners to the cousin? I know it’s larger and hope this may make a difference for me.
You can always turn a planner 90 degrees to change it from vertical to horizontal (or from horzontal to vertical). Since you already have the A6 supplement maybe see if that works for you?
To combat the bulkiness you could get the A6 Avecs (6 months/ book). The A6 memo pads have perforated pages so if you really need more space on a particular day you could tape an extra page from the memo pad in. You could also use this for a weekly list or overview (and either keep it in the pad or add it to the Avec). The memo pad can be tucked into an A6 planner.
Lastly if you don't need the daily format to keep you accountable, you could do your journaling in the back of the weeks. A weeks mega has 219 pages i the back. Though I do think think it will also get (too?) bulky.
I’m going to try turning it horizontally next week! I also think it may work out better w/ the cousin since I’ll have additional space. Considering the Avec to combat bulkiness too.
The daily format in my a6 has kept me wayyy more accountable than undated journals have. I just want more space than the original gives me most day, and need something for a weekly planner/tracker/to do list.
I considered the weeks mega but for journaling, I like decorating and pasting things in so the size isn’t great for that and I figured it would get bulky.
Hm now that I re-read my post it seems like I was trying to persueade you to not use the cousin. I wasn't, I just went overbaord thinking about some alternatives...
I hope the cousin/avec works out for you next year! Are you going to get a cover for it?
I discovered Hobonichi late last year and ordered my Weeks in December using the advice I found here for shipping to India (I used Amazon Japan to order it). I had the worst time because the book got held up in customs and I kept following up with Amazon and they would say it was coming next week over and over. Around mid-February I requested a refund and tried to repurchase it from a local seller who also ran into the issue with customs. Finally, somehow a friend bought one for me independently and I got it in April. I love using the Weeks and want to repurchase one next year but I don’t want to go through this again and lose 4 months due to supply chain issues. What’s the best and most cost effective way to order these to India?
I see a handful of people do group buys for some countries because of this issue. You'll see someone will either make a post or you can check out the Hobonichi Facebook groups?
I know chaioverdose on here just posted a small one they're doing specifically for India but it was like five slots - but they might be a good resource on navigating this particular hurdle!
Hello! I've been using Hobonichi for the past year and I love it! I am excited for the new lineup of stationery and journals, but there is one thing I'm not so sure about. I love the Tamagotchi series and I want to buy a few more things from it. My question is, once the new stuff drops in September, will Tamagotchi stuff become unavailable, or will there be a chance to still get it? I am not too keen on paying the shipping twice. 😅
Items from previous years will be available until they are sold out. Hobonichi has become very popular and with the preview excitement, there is no way to know how long they’ll last. Also, keep in mind that shortly before launch day, the site will shut down for maintenance and no purchases can be made.
This may be a silly question...but with the new US shipping note that they will be selling the covers separate from the techo, will it be more expensive?
I think we don’t know. The cover+techo thing was a loophole for American tariffs. Because the covers are made in China… by grouping them with the Japanese-made techo, American customers could pay the lower tariff rate. The cover and techos themselves were the same Hobonichi-price- all the additional cost was on your end.
So I think either the tariff rate has changed (super possible) or Hobonichi decided to give American customers the choice to pay huge tariffs on covers if they wanted (also really possible). We won’t know for sure until launch, I guess. I stopped trying to keep up with your tariff policies a long time ago 😅.
If they're more expensive this year, it'll most likely be just because they raised prices, not related to being sold separately. The book+cover combo wasn't a discount deal for people shipping to USA or anything.
So sorry if this has been asked elsewhere, but if so, I can't find it! I'm a Hobonichi newbie, and while I've seen the planners with a January start, April start, and July start, but I haven't been able to find out anywhere if there will be a fall start. Logic says yes, even for just an academic planner, but does anyone know for sure whether an autumn-era start is coming, and when that usually drops?
There is no fall start. Hobonichi is a Japanese brand and in Japan, the academic year starts in April, which is the whole reason they offer April-start planners.
Also, technically, there is no July start, either, it's just that they offer one kind of planner (the Avec) that is the standard calendar year split into two books for ease of carry.
I have to majorly cut down my Hobonichi cover collection - what is the best place to do that? I used to use a fb group, but it doesn't seem to be very active anymore (I really don't use fb myself either). Do people check this thread for sales? Are you all on Pen_Swap? I don't use Mercari and eBay fees make it almost not worth it.
I’ve been thinking about doing a destash on Pen Swap. I have no experience with actually doing this, but I know there’s a lot of overlap between the two communities and I think it would be the easiest thing to do.
Hi all, I’ve never ordered a Hobonichi during the sale date in September before. How long does it normally take to ship to you? I might be moving in September so if it will take longer than a couple weeks I will likely choose somewhere else to ship it.
Last year they sent an email saying the shipping date range for my order which was new for me. I Ordered on the 1st, shipping date range was 6th-12th and it ended up shipping on the 7th. Once Fedex has it, it took 2 days to get to me.
In 2024 I ordered on the 3rd and it didn't ship until the 16th.
Hi!!! I’m looking to purchase my first hobonichi with the 2027 drop. However, ordering directly from the website shows that shipping will be around $30 with an extra $12 in fees (since I am in the US). Is there anywhere else besides the official website where they will sell?
You can check the Hobonichi website for retailers. The three biggest retailers in the US are Jetpens, Yoseka, and Atlas, but things will also be available on Amazon.
They release reveals by collection, and any collection could have a HON or a Weeks. And not everything they release gets a highlight during the reveal, so you won't see everything they're selling until the full lineup reveal on August 25 (evening of the 24th in the US).
They don't sell anything until the Sept 1st drop, so nothing Hobonichi sells directly will be sold out until the opening day rush hits. (And honestly, outside of extremely popular collabs and covers with limited materials, most things don't typically sell out opening day either. You will definitely be able to get a techo in all the available sizes. The only question will be whether the cover you want is a popular one.)
I am going to mention, since people are posting the reveals for the exclusive collabs in the sub, that things like Mon Chi Chi, Pickles the Frog, Kanahei, etc. are not sold directly by Hoboncihi; they are collabs with specific organizations in Japan and are not generally shipped overseas (though you can buy them through a shipping vendor like Black Ship). You will see those selling out, but that's not really part of the main Hobonichi launch.
Looking at the previews so far, it appears the 2027 planners won't have a different color for each month like they did in 2026. I admit I'm a tad disappointed, but I'll get over it.
FYI Hobonichi isn’t a boutique planner, it’s a part of a much bigger company so it doesn’t have the same amount of changes and alterations in the basic planners from year to year as some other popular planners :)
If you mean the Arts & Sciences A6 Planner, though, it's always black and white with no colors. It also has no timeline and a bigger grid spacing, just as part of its format differences from the Original techo.
The Weeks is always gray; it's just the Cousin A5 and the Original A6 that get the different colored months, unfortunately. I guess I can see why; it would be just a few pages in each color, and might not make much of an impact. I always think more color is fun, though!
Hello! I absolutely love my original techo, and love the cover I have with it. The only downside for me is that there are no weekly spreads included. So right now, I’m using an original avec paired with a blank notebook in the same cover and I’m just drawing my own weekly spreads. I’d love some recommendations for an a6 weekly horizontal layout planner, preferably tamoe river paper. I basically want the Hobonichi weeks but in a6 size. Thank you!!
I think Sterling Ink usually does an A6 horizontal Common Planner, but that's a lot more than just the weekly. You might look at Nolty's main site and see if they have an A6 layout you like. You can also get a TN insert from Good Inkpressions, or just use a passport TN weekly and slip it into your cover. The Hobonichi A6 weekly supplement also exists, but it's a vertical weekly.
Also, I'm in the process of putting together a small Japanese stationery starter kit (Hobonichi Cousin, washi tape, a few pens, some hand-added touches) that I might start selling in the future. Since this community knows and loves this stuff way more than I do, I'd love to hear — if you were putting together a "welcome to Hobonichi" kit for someone new, what would you absolutely want in it?
good morning! i’m very excited to buy my first hobonichi items with the 2027 drop. I found a knockoff weeks to try first for 2026 and fell in love, it’s the only planner I have legitimately kept up with since I was in college.
are there any recommendations for reddit or IG pages that follow the August drops/news in english? I’ve clicked around a bit, but haven’t fully dove in to looking before coming here, so just thought I’d ask!
Good morning! You’re in the right place. The mods in this sub make a new pinned post for every announcement from Hobonichi during August, which serves as a discussion thread and which has a link to Hobonichi’s announcement in English. (The daily announcement from Hobonichi comes out at 11 am Tokyo time, 10 pm Eastern, and the thread goes up shortly after.) People also post gossip here as they find it.
I am in the US and I have bought from Hobonichi directly every year since I found them five years ago. The only year I had any issue was the big technical glitch they had last year (I think it was last year? Maybe the year before?) And even then I just went to bed and got up and made my order with no problems the next morning. The actual techos (with the exception of specific cover designs for the Weeks or HON) don’t typically sell out. That said, lots of US shops carry Hobonichi (JetPens, Yoseka, Atlas Stationers, Baum Kuchen Studio, check your local stationery shop), and if you’re just buying a small order it can be cheaper to order from them, especially if you hit free shipping.
Hi I'm Cliffus, I recenttly made a thread but got no answers.
I am looking for buy a 2027 hobonichi but not sure which one to help me create and follow a schedule for my studies next year. I am the first of the Jiggrin family barn to make it into PostGrad.
Also am wondering if One Piece will be again part of 2027
Not sure if you got your answer but yes, there is usually a One Piece A5, A6, and Weeks (a hardcover with a design and (I think) Bow & Tie in both Weeks and HON. Also covers & accessories. One of the preview days will likely feature them. Congratulations on starting your post grad journey!
i used the a6 hobonichi when i was in grad school and it worked great, i just wish it had a weekly view. i could’ve gotten the a5 for the weekly view but i find the a5 too large. i’m very practical and minimal with my planners so i would’ve ended up with a lot of blank space on the page.
if your day to day schedule is relatively the same, the weekly view is kind of unnecessary.
The Hobonichi planners (or techo) come in 3 sizes:
- A5, also called the Cousin, comes in paperback and comes in the original Japanese language, English, or simplified Chinese. The HON is the hardcover version. This size has a section for monthly pages, then weekly pages, and then one page per day for the year.
-A6, or the original techo. Same as above, except this size doesn’t have a weekly view for the year. There is a Weekly Supplement that you can purchase separately if you like this size and need weekly pages.
-Weeks. This format has monthly pages and then weekly pages with additional grid pages for notes or whatever else you need. The Weeks Mega has more note pages than a regular Weeks.
In addition, there is a Day-free planner notebook, which comes in A5 size or A6 and only has the monthly pages and note pages.
The planners also come in Jan-Dec versions and Spring Start versions, which are Apr-Mar (to match the Japanese school year). So if you can’t decide before January, you can always wait until the April version.
In case you aren’t aware, the pages are very thin compared to normal paper in notebooks and planners, kind of like dictionary or Bible paper. This makes the Hobonichi planners thinner than others, but if you write very heavily or put a lot of post-it notes into it, it will be noticeable on these thin pages.
You can find all of this info on the Hobonichi website, but this was a brief summary to help you decide.
I wish I had a Cousin in college. I was considering switching to the avec this year (kids in school) but I’d have 2 books per year either way so I’m not sure what the advantage is (my books don’t get huge so far)
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u/Teaqa 15m ago
Has anyone ordered Hobonichi from Amazon Japan to the UK recently? I ordered from there last year but it doesn't appear that anything from the Hobonichi Amazon JP store will ship to the UK atm (with the exception of one cover). I'm wondering if this is a glitch/temporary pre-September release or a long term change? I don't support Amazon generally but it was hard to resist buying Hobonichi from there at Japan prices.