ほぼ日手帳 Hobonichi Techo

What is Hobonichi Techo?

It is a life book, a memory keeper, a journal, a diary, a calendar, etc. You define it by how you use it.

ほぼ日 means Almost Everyday.

www.hobonichiplanner.com

Joining the Bandwagon

I bought my Hobonichi about a year ago. Let me tell you, I was not a huge fan of the price – quite an investment. As with anything in life though, I did a pros & cons test.

Cons:
It’s expensive.
Do you really need it?

Pros:
It’s very pretty & has lots of covers to choose from!
I use a planner every year, else I would feel very disorganized.
The pages look wonderful – monthly, daily, extra grid-type pages, etc. Very easy to customize!
The paper is Tomoe River Paper. It can hold a good deal of water for watercolors (or so they say).

Obviously, the pros outweighed the cons, but what really pushed me to buy the planner was this video…

The ultimate push was me seeing how other people used it. Before long, I was browsing http://www.1101.com/store/techo/pc/en/2017/ with my credit card resting near me. I ended up picking the Eastern European Needlework cover with the original planner & added a few other accessories in my cart, cause why not?

Shipping

For days I kept thinking (dreaming) about my package. More than a week passed with no updates & I was getting a little worried. I checked my email, tracked my package, & found out that it’s been in the Philippines for 4 days already & was being held at customs. Coincidentally, another package was delivered to me on that same day & I got a notice that my Hobonichi is, indeed, being held in customs against its will in customs & that I’m required to go there to pay a certain fee.

I had to travel all the way to CMEC Post Office just to get my package. 🙁 It was honestly frustrating. Not only did it waste my time, it also cost me money & gas. Thankfully, processing & checking didn’t take a long time! Phew! As a safety precaution (since Philippines customs is notorious & known to exploit people to pay more money than they’re supposed to) I printed out a copy of the tax reform law, which was passed by the president a few months back. If I reckon correctly, it states that items aren’t subjected to tax if they’re less than 10,000 pesos! I made sure that it was near me & visible to the officer in charge whenever I was asked to sign anything.

Unboxing

Quite happy with my package, albeit the hassle of customs. When I finally got to open the box, I couldn’t help but have this huge grin on my face!

Look at this pretty thing! I couldn’t help but admire it!

The Paper

Opening the book, I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed with how thin the paper was. I mean, how on earth could it hold water? It was almost as thin as parchment paper! I remember a speck of dread started forming inside my chest. It kept repeating, “You were duped & you fell for it!” But, of course, a good code to live by is to not judge something before trying it out and so I did.

Well, color me impressed! Not only can it hold watercolor quite well, it can take in markers (with minimal to no ghosting at the back) acrylic, & gouache! Here, have a look!

The flowers & leaves are gouache and there was no ghosting whatsoever at the back!

I customized my planner a bit. This was my final setup: A cardboard insert for quick tasks & reminders at the front; goals & quotes with a wonderful postcard from Ella Llama; keys at the back for easy access in case I forget them! I also added in an extra flap for my book challenge – 30 books in 1 year!

Is it worth it?

The short answer is YES. The paper was the main winner for me. It could hold different medias well – quite a surprise considering how thin it is! There are many pages you can use aside from the monthly & dailies, as well as storage for cards, receipts, etc. A bonus: There’s an array of different Hobonichi groups on Facebook! Be sure to check them out! 😀

Another question you should definitely ask yourself though is “Do you need it?” Price tag aside, will you continue using it even after 1 or 6 months have passed? If the answer is no, then don’t buy it unless you’re rich or you really want to try it out. 🙂

There are various ways to use the Hobonichi. I’ve chosen to mainly use it as an art journal & a planner. I’ve seen others use it just as a planner with little to no design & that’s just fine, too! 😀

 

Well, there you have it! Extremely satisfied with my Hobonichi! I love all the pockets, the pages, the paper… everything! Hoping to post more of my pages here!

How have YOU been using your Hobonichi? 🙂

 

Cheers,