At the end of 2015 I finished my one-line-a-day* five year journal. I remember really enjoying being able to look back on what I was doing on that day one, two, or five years ago, and I often think how valuable it is to be able to have five years of memories all in the one journal. At the same time, though, I knew I wanted to try something new for 2016.

I was tossing up between the Midori Traveler’s Notebook* and a Hobonichi Techo* (both links will take you to more information on each journalilng system.) I loved the idea of being able to really customise the inside of a MTN and swap out inserts whenever I needed to, but I worried that I would spend too long getting it set up how I liked and fiddling with it, and not a lot of time using it! It needed to be something already set up and ready to go.

Enter the Hobonichi Techo! There are four different versions, but the one I got was the Techo Cousin Avec. I bought mine online from the Hobonichi store*, which meant that if I wanted the A5 size option I needed to get the Japanese version. It’s not a big drawback – it just means that I can’t read the inspirational quotes down the bottom of each page, and there are a few pages in the back that I can’t comprehend (but they’re great for testing new pens out!)

There’s a couple of things I love about my Hobonichi Techo:

• It opens flat, which makes journalling a LOT easier!
• There are so many cute covers if you want to customise (I also got the plastic cover-on-cover as well so that I could change out little bits of ephemera as I felt like it)
• The pages are made out of a thin but sturdy paper called Tomoe River, which takes ink really well and also stands up admirably to watercolour
• It’s A5 size so I can stick a lot of things in there AND have room to write
• You can get them as either one year-long planner, or two 6-month planners – that way your journal doesn’t get too bulging as the months go on (an important factor for someone like me who loves collecting tickets, and feathers ,and business cards, and receipts!)

(January – June vs July – December. So satisfyingly chubby!)

After using my Hobonichi all year, I can safely say I really only have one complaint: because it’s essentially a dated planner, I feel pressured to journal each day. Which I love! But being so time poor, I’ve gotten quite behind (you can see all the sticky notes to remind me to go back and fill in those pages.) When I finally DID get some free time, sometimes I felt that I should be spending it catching up on my Hobonichi whether I was in the mood to or not. Which, you know, kind of defeats one of its primary purposes: to be a relaxing creative outlet.

So will I go Hobonichi again next year? I’m not sure, but probably not. I loved SO much about this year, and I definitely won’t regret having a year full of sketches, journalling, and all those bits of paper memories I like to collect. I’m definitely loving spending time sketching and painting to go with my memory recording, but next year I think I will find an un-dated journal so that I can record when I want. Before I do start looking for a new system, I’ll be back to explain how I use my Hobonichi, and share some more pages.

In the meantime, here are some of my favourite art-journalists!

• Cecicat
• Samantha Dion Baker
• Marlene.Makes
• Koosjekoene
• Christina Mulder
• Get Messy
• Essie Ruth Smith

I hope you get time to create this weekend! (

(* these are not affiliate links, nor have I been sponsored for reviews.)