In 1998 popular Japanese Essayist and Copywriter (and sometimes game designer) Shigesato Itoi started a website Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun – The Almost Daily Itoi Newspaper. He posted blog posts, articles, essays and interviews almost everyday, and the website soon grew in popularity, and is currently the most visited personal website in Japan. In 2001 Itoi and his staff decided to create a planner that they would want to use. The first run only had 12,000 copies which has grown considerably in the past 20 years, with nearly 750,000 copies printed last year.