An Ultimate guide on the benefits of a compact 5-year journal and how to use it
The Hobonichi 5-Year Techo is a notebook unlike any other — a space to record daily life, long-term projects, and quiet thoughts over the course of five years. Each left-hand page shows five neatly ruled rows for the same date across five consecutive years, with a blank page opposite for extended notes, sketches, or pasted mementos. The book uses Hobonichi’s signature Tomoe River paper, which is thin, light, and ink-friendly. The 3.7 mm graph paper in charcoal grey print sits on a gentle cream background, designed for clarity and comfort. Thanks to thread-stitch binding, the book opens completely flat without needing to be held down, allowing for effortless daily use. Designed with a tactile brown hardcover foil-stamped with the years in gold, and completed with a dark brown ribbon bookmark, the 5-Year Techo has the solid, satisfying feel of a dictionary — a proper companion for life’s unfolding narrative. Whether you are recording the early years of a child’s life, charting a home renovation from blueprint to brick, or monitoring a long-term business project, the 5-Year Techo transforms time into something tangible. It becomes not just a planner, but a living archive – a Life Book.
Timeless Classics
5-Year (A6 Size)
Compact and portable, the A6 5-Year Techo fits easily on a bedside table or into a bag. Its size makes it perfect for language learning/abroad, mood tracking, or logging health progress or symptons and off-site away from home goals It’s also a lovely choice for anyone new to Hobonichi or looking to begin a new five-year habit with something that feels manageable.
5-Year (A5 Size)
The A5 5-Year Techo offers a generous canvas for those whose days demand more space. With room to include diagrams, floorplans, detailed notes. .It also lends itself beautifully to shared journalling — whether recording the early years of a child’s life, tracking home renovations, or gathering reflections from multiple family members. The A5 size welcomes unlimited journalling.
5-Year Covers
The 5-Year Techo covers range from rugged denim to refined leather, with spines made wider to accommodate years of writing. Whether you lean toward natural textures or playful prints, these covers are crafted to last as long as your entries. Best of all, they’re not limited to the 5-Year Techo — many can be reused on other notebooks, allowing you to repurpose them across your journalling life.
The possibilities and usage potential are endless. Use it to track birthdays and annual events, noting how each year brings subtle shifts. Monitor a degree or professional project from start to finish, or document the experience of building a home.
Couples or families can share entries — a collaborative journal of ideas, recipes, or dreams. Using the blank pages for sketching floor plans, taping in photos, or jotting down quotes that resonate. Many use it for language practice, especially Japanese as the weekdays are listed in Japanese and the layout is easy to integrate into language learning. But also can be used to test any long-term language study by comparing entries from previous years and seeing how handwriting, confidence and linguistics improve. The 5-year journal becomes a nostalgic overview of an important skill, project or chapter of your life.
With long-term use in mind, you’ll never lose those important addresses, passwords, or notes simply because another year has started. Everything stays in one place, clearly dated, beautifully laid out.
5-Year Limited Editon Gift Set
New this year is the Gift Edition — a limited-run A6 boxed set that is truly something special. Designed in collaboration with embroidery artist Iyo Okumi, this set features a linen cover embroidered with a delicate garden scene — a miniature world of animals, flowers, and a character quietly reading at the centre. The accompanying pencil board features a matching illustration in coloured pencil, complete with a leopard and whimsical greenery.
Housed in a turquoise box with gold foil details reading Your Story, the entire package evokes a fairy-tale feeling. Even the inside of the box is a miniature garden, or haconiwa, the Japanese word for “box garden.” It's perfect as a gift — for a loved one, or yourself — and invites you to tend to your thoughts like one would tend a garden.
The Hobonichi 5-Year Techo is more than a planner — it is a vessel for your life’s unfolding story. Whether you choose the A5 for its breadth or the A6 Gift Edition for its charm, the journey it offers is profound: five years, page by page, in your own handwriting. We hope it becomes a cherished part of your days — and that it grows with you.