The books, incidentally. So many pretty things...

Okay on to the actual book. I bought the Cousin (A5 size) and I was surprised at how hefty all the styles are - and that's even without the covers, though the covers do add a little extra bulk and weight. I don't have an exact weight, but notice how the store bag is on its way to splitting open :/

Loft was a paradise, by the way. They had a huge array of Hobonichi stuff - like almost all the planners from the website *_*

Contents! So Loft had the book separately, but I saw this polka dot cover online and I had my heart set on it, but the Hobonichi store was out of stock. So when I saw it in Loft... I guess it was meant to be! So I have the book (inside the cover), the cover, the "cover on cover" which is a plastic sleeve to go OVER the outside cover, and a couple of thin Tomoe River notebooks.
I haven't written in the journal yet, but I HAVE used Tomoe River paper before and it is amazing. Amazing.

Cute innards of the cover!


A different colour for every month.

My journal starts in December, with half a page for each day, then goes into a page a day once you hit January.


There are plenty of calendars!

Plenty :D

My not-so-little journal all dressed up in its covers!

It has a serial number which is kind of cool!
I have to admit, although the journals are so pretty, I DO have my reservations. I really want to challenge myself and try to keep one for a year but you guys all know how I ramble, so having to keep myself to one page might be a challenge. Extra sheets may be added for rambling space. But surprisingly, although this was my worry going into but it, I was also surprised at the weight*. I DID consider getting one of the smaller "Original" books, which are just as cute, but I'm gonna have a hard time confining myself to a sheet of A5 - never mind A6!!!
*Edit! It's nearly 700 grams :o
That said, I'm hoping to start this journal in December, on the two-days-to-a-page pages, so I will have to discipline myself a bit. I will also be able to see how it is to carry this journal around for a month. Hopefully I'll adjust quickly. If not, this might turn out to be a rather expensive experiment ._.
I was wondering if anyone would be interested in a little peek into the Hobonichi Guidebooks. I managed to get the 2014 and the 2015 guides pretty cheaply - my Japanese reading isn't fantastic but there are so many pretty pictures of how different people use their Techo and I think they might inspire you guys, too. Let me know if you'd like me to pull a post together :)
Comments
I am so totally interested to see the guidebooks, yes yes yes!
*forces self to calm enthusiasm* I mean... Yes, I would like to see them, thank you.
But it's great that it's inspiring people, and that polka dot thing is cute. I just don't get it. :-)
Incidentally, Hobonichi is (somewhat laxly!) what embodiment was aiming for when it was first set up. ほぼ means "just about" and 日 means day or daily, so it's a "just-about-daily" journal, where you encapsulate what you can about that day in text, collage, paintings, whatever you like. Like ashleigh says, you can hobonichi in just about any journal and it doesn't have to be a branded or big name journal. And it certainly doesn't have to be gridded! The reason that it is is purely Japanese - a fair amount of the stationery, especially school and official stuff, has boxes for Japanese writing - there's a specific school paper that actually has vertical boxes that they use for Japanese class, but I digress... basically the gridding harks back to that. It's meant for one character per box.
I used to prefer blank paper myself but now I tend to use dot-grid when I can find it. The hobonichi lines are quite light, though. To be honest what sold me was the paper itself - lined, blank, gridded, even polka-dotted, it's Tomoe fricking River XD one of my favourite papers in the world.
Now that I have ranted at you...! On an unrelated note I have to mention that I love your icon!
Ah, thanks for explaining the origin of the grids - that makes sense! Finally I can let the existence of the (IMHO annoying) gridding go lol. (Did I say I was picky?)
Hehe, thanks. Horrible Histories <3 (check it out if you haven't, it's flipping amazing)
And yes, I'm interested that yoou share about the guide :D