Hobonichi Hon A6: First Impressions After One Month of Memory Keeping

Introduction

The Hobonichi Hon A6 is an all-in-one dated planner that has earned a devoted following, and after a full month of daily use it is easy to see why. This was a first experience with any Hobonichi product, used purely for memory keeping: journal entries, one line a day, daily doodles, monthly memories, and monthly favorites. Here is how it has held up so far.

First Impressions: Design and Cover

The Hon comes with its own cover included, which is a real convenience compared with other Hobonichi products that require a separate cover purchase. The cover is best described as a hard cover, though it is slightly flexible and not particularly thick. It offers reasonable protection as-is, but if you are concerned about the thinness, a separate cover can be bought for extra security.

Size-wise, the A6 format has proven to be a non-issue. It is small, portable, convenient to carry, and feels pleasant in the hand and pleasant to write on. The paper has a texture that makes writing feel lived in, with a satisfying feel of the pen on the previous page.

Using the Monthly Spreads for Doodles and Memories

The book opens with several included calendars: a large current-year calendar, plus previous-year and next-year calendars. From there, vertical monthly spreads appear, one per month, and these are where this particular setup shines.

The vertical monthly spreads were used for a one-line-a-day log: a highlight of the day or a few quick notes. There is not much room to write, so entries stay short and simple. Since the book includes a December spread from the prior year, logging can start in December before the new year officially begins.

The standard monthly spreads were dedicated to daily doodles: a tiny scene or snippet from each day, whether a highlight or a funny moment worth remembering. Being able to look back at doodles in calendar format is genuinely delightful, and it is arguably the strongest reason to choose a planner with this layout.

Journaling in the Daily Pages

The daily pages are the heart of the book, and they have been filled with a journal entry nearly every day. The approach here is deliberately minimal: no heavy decoration, just a clean and simple place to focus on writing down thoughts. For daily journaling, it has quickly become a favorite part of the routine.

The book includes two built-in bookmarks. One marks the one-line-a-day page for quick daily flipping, and the other marks the next daily page. A third-party index tab was added to mark the current month so doodles can be logged quickly. If a day gets missed, a simple workaround is to write both pages the next day, noting the actual time of writing; an entirely blank page is easy to avoid.

Making Use of the Blank Graph Pages

Each month’s daily pages are preceded by a blank page, which can be left empty or customized. In this setup, the blank pages hold a couple of small printed photos plus a short list of monthly favorites colored in with colored pencils, which neatly sums up each month.

At the back of the book, there are additional blank graph pages for extra notes. These work well as a year-in-review section: printing a single photo that sums up the month and journaling about what happened. It is a good way to use pages that would otherwise sit empty.

Things to Consider Before Buying

The A6 Hon is a small book, and the included cover is thin enough that some buyers may want an additional cover for peace of mind. It is also a fixed, dated layout, so it rewards people who actually write daily. If your goal is productivity planning rather than journaling or memory keeping, you may want to pair it with a separate planner, as many long-time users do.

Buying Advice

For memory keeping, the Hobonichi Hon A6 is a genuinely joyful tool. The combination of vertical monthly spreads, calendar grids for doodles, dedicated daily pages, and blank graph pages in the back covers nearly every memory-keeping format in one portable book. If you have been curious about Hobonichi but unsure where to start, the Hon is a low-friction entry point since the cover is included.

Conclusion

After one month, the Hobonichi Hon A6 has proven to be a small book that holds a remarkable amount: daily entries, doodles, printed memories, and a growing year in review. For anyone who loves looking back at their days, it is an easy recommendation.