This is not something you will see in Japanese planners. Instead, you’re given more free space to write in your own things, like daily habit trackers or daily schedules, rather than having those sections prepared for you in advance. You can also create a planner with individual workbooks, like the Jibun Techo First Kit, which is reminiscent of refillable Filofax-style systems but with a much nicer aesthetic.
As I got used to using Japanese planners, I found that I really liked their open-ended customization. If my goals change during the year, I won’t be tied to the concept I formulated in January – this gives me a true fresh start to spread out each month, week, and day.
Which one is worth buying?
I’ve tried a few different Japanese planners over the past year. Here are the ones I’ll continue to use in 2026.
Hobonichi
While Hobonichi’s beloved flagship is undoubtedly the OG takeo, I love its takeo cousin. It adds a weekly spread to the front of the planner, and the A5 size is ideal for me so that I have enough space to write down my daily needs. This includes my work-to-dos, my personal to-dos, my habit tracker, and my schedule for the day, and there’s still room for other miscellaneous lists or ideas without needing to crack out an extra notebook.
Regular Taco is cheaper because it skips the weekly spread section (which you don’t really need, because it’s in the front of the book, separate from the daily spread, and it’s easy to forget about it). It’s also a little smaller—A6 size instead of A5. I really like the A5 size, but if you want to see if Japanese planners are for you, the regular Techo is a great and affordable place to start.
Kokuyo Jibun
As someone who already has a favorite weekly planner, I was surprised to find that I fell in love with the Kokuyo Jibun Takeo. I received the 2026 First Kit, which covers the last two months of 2025, so I’ve already been able to start testing it in my daily life. It is a rarity among Japanese planners because it has three notebooks built in: Diary, Life, and Thoughts. The diary is the true planner portion with monthly and weekly spreads, plus other pages like book list, money tracker, and project tracker (which has become my habit tracker). The Life Booklet has more quick pages, like 100 wishes, and space to track information about your life, including a password manager and anniversary list, and space to log your life events between ages 0 and 99. Finally, the Idea Notebook on the back is just grid paper where you can write lists and ideas to your heart’s content.
All three books have quilted covers to keep them in place as a planner, but you can remove one and refill it at any time. This is really a useful system, especially for someone who will definitely need to refill the idea book before the year is out. I got the B6 slim size, and it’s a really nice size to fit on my desk.
midori
Midori notebooks are popular – specifically, MD paper ones. It’s described as versatile, and the paper seems versatile enough, but it feels a little thicker and more similar to a regular notebook than the super-thin paper found on Hobonichi or Kokuyo Jibun planners. It’s still a little smoother to the touch than my American planners, although the paper weight feels similar.
I’ve been testing both the MD Diary and the Stand+ notebook, and I really like how the Stand+ is designed to stand on its own; This has become a more fun way to view my to-do list. There’s a monthly calendar on the front followed by gridded paper pages for freeform notes and lists. The diary has the same feel and design, but instead of grid paper it has lines. The lines are wide, which is good if you have large handwriting, but considering how small the notebook is, it didn’t feel like it had enough room for me.
Are these planners only available in Japanese?
If you’re worried that you won’t be able to read Japanese characters in a Japanese planner, good news! Some of these planners also have English versions or use English phrases. There are English versions of Hobonichi on Amazon, and Jibun Takeo uses English titles on its pages. For jibun, I still have to look up some translations since the descriptions under those titles are in Japanese, but I can usually guess from the title and design how to use the page. JetPens has an entire page dedicated to translating Jibun Techo here.
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