Name: Hibino
Maker: Midori
Size: A6
Format: 2 pages per day
Paper: cream color Sanzen Tomoe River paper
Style: grid
Price: USD$65
Planner Nerd tested: yes
Details: There’s a lot that’s different about this chunky A6 planner—mainly that it’s a two page per day layout. It might appeal to folks who need as much space as an A5 planner but prefer being able to have the handheld size of an A6. The paper is fountain pen friendly but many have reported it has more bleed through than Hobonichi’s Tomoe River Paper.
The cream color paper and brown print appeals to lots of people, but isn’t for everyone. It also has a very tiny grid size. The design is relatively minimal.
First released for 2023, by the time people heard about the book it was sold out in most places. Pre-orders for 2024 opened in the summer of 2023, and have already shipped. Amazon Japan and stationery retailers that carry Japanese planners offer it.
The book is slightly thicker than a Hobonichi 5 year and fits into the same covers, though Midori doesn’t sell covers for it. The book itself comes in two colors, a minty blue and brown that have a worn in look, further enhancing the book’s appeal to people who enjoy a vintage aesthetic.
Review: The good: I really enjoy using this book as a daily planner because I’m able to manage to do’s on one page and take notes on the other. The small grid is pleasing (I don’t write within lines, I use them as a guide).
The meh: I’m a fountain pen user so I generally don’t enjoy cream and off-white paper—ink doesn’t show up true to color and some shades looks straight up ugly. The bleed through is annoying. I mostly only use a Sarasa Grand gel pen in vintage colors to match the overall look and feel of the book.
While I like how small and chunky the book is, it’s actually a pain to carry around because the dimensions don’t fit as well as an A5 when carried around in a bag with a laptop etc. So while it gives the illusion of portability, it’s not actually that portable (for me).
I like what other Hibino users do with it, particularly art journalers, but I’m not an art journaler!
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