I’ve been low-key watching the Hobonicihi subreddit this month since it’s that time of year were the next year’s lineup is revealed. Personally I don’t actually use real Hobonichi planners, I use the Kinbor dupes since they’re cheaper and I actually like them more. They have less ‘clutter’ and more room to write in. Actually I lied the only real Hobonichi I own is a 2024 A6 Techo that I got on clearance which I use as a brain dump journal. I would only buy another one if it was on clearance but once I finish my A6 I plan on getting either a Midori or Stalogy A6 journal to replace it.
I’ve already bought my Kinbors for next years since they’re on sale on AliExpress and it cost me like $40 for both my Weeks and A5 planner. I think I spent a bit less for this year’s planners but that was pre-tariffs. Meanwhile this year the tariffs are kicking in for Japanese imports and holy shit I thought the Hobonichis were expensive before, now they’re absolutely ridiculous. For example my set up would cost at least $92 dollars if I bought it domestically (which I theoretically could save on shipping if I wanted to drive up to Chicago and buy in person) and add at least $70 in shipping costs if I wanted to buy it direct from Hobonichi for the freebies.
So needless to say the price hike this year has been a BIG topic in the subreddit. I’ve been watching the reactions on the subreddit and it’s fascinating. I've come to the conclusion that I need people to get more comfortable with buying dupes, especially since Hobonichi primarily got popular in the west because of influencers online. You do not need a (real) Hobonichi. This is not a slight against Hobonichi planners since I do think it’s a great system and the planners are very well made. It’s just that the Kinbor planners are right there. The paper in both planners are comparable, they both take fountain pen inks like a champ. If you just want a Hobo for the layout I’d suggest taking a look at the Kinbor planners because they're called a dupe for a reason lol. I think the only difference is the lack of the weekly spread in the A6 and A5s but to be fair most people seem to buy both a A5/6 and a weeks anyways or even multiples of each.
There’s also a lot to be said about influencers and the needless consumption generated by them especially in the journaling hobby but I feel like the topic has been talked about by people more eloquent than I am. You do Not need another planner and/or journal. It will not fix you. Also I'm seeing more people talk about the Sterling Ink planners as a Hobonichi alternative when they're just as expensive? I would say Kokuyo, Stalogy, and Muji planners are more comparable if you aren't keen on getting a dupe for whatever reason. Though AliExpress is not scary and Kinbor also has cute covers and nothing is stopping you from slapping stickers on that thing either. You can even use Hobonichi covers on them, both my A5 and A6 journals are in real Hobonichi covers because I like them. Though this year it seems like you have to get a planner too when you buy the covers which sucks since I wanted the Junji Ito A5 cover and the aqua lime A6 cover but I think I'll just see if I can't snag one second hand.
I’m just trying to ‘de-influence’ myself to save money and stop being tempted into buy stuff I don’t actually need. I do need my planners and journals since they have helped me greatly with my mental health but I don’t need to wipe my savings out buying a Hobonichi with a cute cover when my Kinbor has served me well this year. I will however buy another bottle of fountain pen ink because I have rewired my brain by starting to write with fountain pens this year1. I will also have to make a post about that too at some point.
- To be fair I've only bought three bottles of ink so far. I've been only using Sailor's Tokiwa Matsu ever since I bought it in March so I got another Sailor ink (Manyo Nadeshiko). The first one was a bottle of Pilot Iroshizuku Rikka. ↩︎
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