Hobonichi vs Bullet Journal – Head to Head Comparison
Planning! It’s an outstanding way for one’s to get organized in his life. It allows freedom in how you manage your daily life or your long-term goal. This will also helpful to you to reach your professional and personal goals.

The hobonichi and the bullet journal are here to keep you organized. But hobonichi vs bullet journal, which one will be your appropriate one?
The hobonichi journal is a planner notebook that is enough flexible to fit its user’s lifestyles and tastes. The Hobonichi journal is chiefly comprised of daily planners. It includes the A6 size planner or original, the A5 size cousin, and the weeks and Weeks mega.
The bullet journal is a system of planning created by designer Ryder Carroll. It’s sometimes called Bujo. Whatever you call this- a journal or planner – this method will support you to live a more meaningful and productive life.
Both can improve your productivity. Let’s know about them.
Features Of Hobonichi Journal
Hobonichi journal is created by the Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun website’s staff members. It is also known as Hobonichi Techo. Techo is a word in Japanese for planner notebooks. Let’s see some important features of this journal.
Its Paper Is Amazing
The inner pages of the hobonichi journal are printing with on Tomoe River Paper. This paper is bleed-resistant. Including fountain pens, this paper is a great paper for almost any pen. This amazing thin paper supports keeping the Techo compact. Special stitch-binding gives the journal to lay completely flat except being held down.
Calendar Pages
- Yearly calendar pages- Contain the complete yearly calendar (January-December).
- Yearly index page-Sixteen months contain eight pages. You can use it as your habit tracker to determine your month’s goals or commitments.
- Monthly calendar pages- This can be ideal for managing your schedules.
- Weekly calendar pages (Only A5 cousin book) – It is also useful for managing the detailed plans for the week.
Daily Pages
The main attraction of the Hobonichi Journal remains in the daily pages. Teachers, busy students, and parents all admire its versatile format. The page contains the date and week of that year and the moon phase and day of that year.
Features of A Bullet Journal
It consists of some key elements: an index, per month’s log, everyday collections, spread, and future log.
Your daily works, monthly notes, calendar, long-term wants, and other things to log with sections, your bullet journal is customized for your life. For seeing their categories entries are tagged with dashes, bullet points, and other graphics.
The 5 must-have pages in your bullet journal are:
- A calendar page- to track important dates.
- Monthly goals pages- for tracking your growth.
- Brain dumps- for clearing your head.
- Expense trackers- for managing your finances.
- Habit trackers- for forming your ideal routine.
Pros of The Hobonichi Journal
As A Daily Planner
Hobonichi designed the daily page in a special format. That’s why it inspires you to document your little moments of day-to-day life. You can use the hobonichi journal as a daily planner and organize your daily life. The timeline and the grid layout are particularly helpful for blocking out special times for appointments. Thus you can improve your time management.
As A Diary
Journalers and writers can use the hobonichi journal as a diary. At first, you may feel that one page is for per day’s layout is limited space for you. But over time this will appreciate you how it encourages to write concisely and thoughtfully. By this, you also learn to add things that you care about.
As An Art journal
Artists can use the hobonichi journal as an art journal. You can use it anyway as your like. The daily page format may motivate you to make paintings, drawings, or doodles every day. Over time, watch the improvement of your creative skills. With some creativity, you may develop a rewarding planner which will help you to track your progress and goals.
As A Scrapbook
Do you love crafting? Then record your everyday moments by taping photos, tour tickets, and receipts into your journal. At the year’s end, you’ll love when you look back on all your memories.
Pros of Starting A Bullet Journal
Writing Things Down Is Helpful for Your Work
Writing things down may often make it more manageable for you. The process of expressing your thinking on paper will able to prepare your goals more concrete and doable. This act (writing things down) has some psychological benefits, too. For example, decreasing distractibility, improving memory, boosting learning, etc.
This Is A Quick Organization Tool
This system helps you to combine multiple various organizational tools into an easy-to-use resource. Here you don’t need to cover your desk with colored sticky notes or set a reminder on your mobile. All of these things combined here into one organized tour. You can evolve your layout and system to make them suit your needs, at any time.
A Space to Reveal Your Creativity
In two ways this system will offer you to reveal your creativity. The ways are:
Firstly, a bullet journal, will capable you to get creative. It allows you to design layouts that will be appropriate to your needs and wants.
Secondly, you can think to use this journal as an art journal and include lettering, stickers, or doodles in your layout.
Cons of The Hobonichi Journal
Limited Free Space
Hobonichis are designed with certain pages of notes to write down your ideas and info. It may also be that you have limited pages to take your notes on or store a long list. In contrast, it may have more pages than I need- there are many pages that I will perhaps never use.
It’s Paper
Tomoe River Paper is so thin. In some instances, you may see the stickers through the current page that you have kept on the previous page.
Cons of Starting A Bullet Journal
Trial-Error Approach
In creating the perfect system you will require to apply a trial-error approach. Therefore, probably you need to change things more than one time before you get the result that you want.
So, you can’t hope to get an accurate planning system at once. For instance, you may try various things and you may learn from your errors.
Time Spent to Layout Your Planning Pages
The downside of having a bullet journal system is, you craft it yourself. That means you have to spend time in your bullet journal. Even before you start to use this to get organized. As more fancy, you want to make your bullet journal be, as more time you will require to spend to layout it.
Difference Between Hobonichi And Bullet Journal
There are some notable differences between the hobonichi and the bullet journal. Both are renowned by their users. But for taking a quick decision about both journals you should be informed few certain factors about them. Let’s check.
Structural
Hobonichis are simple to use. Here everything is ready. So you need to grab your pen to start to write for getting organized. Because hobonichis are thoughtfully designed for their users to guide their planning process. Therefore they are ready to use.
On the other hand, Bullet journals are different in their design. You have to do quite a bit of extra work. You need to design it on your own according to the interest that you required. Although it’s not ready to use, if you could make a perfect bullet journal it will be great for you.
In Terms of Time
Hobonichis are designed thus that they are ready to use. Consequently, you need no extra time here to design it. But when you start your bullet journal, to adjust to the system you will have to spend some extra time. Therefore, you will be able to get the perfect bullet journal as your expected. For instance, consistency and persistence are the key factors for creating your needed bullet journal.
In Terms of Limitations Within Certain Dates or Year
In a hobonichi journal, you are restricted to a certain date or year. Hence a specific hobonichi for a specific year. In contrast to hobonichi, the bullet journal offers you no restriction about a specific year or date. In bullet journaling, you can skip days and also even skip months. For instance, you do not feel guilty for having left dated blank pages.
FAQ
#1. What Things Do You Need To Start A Bullet Journal?
To start a bullet journal you need some simple things. You need a blank journal or notebook and a pen. Any blank notepad, sketchbook, or journal will work.
You can also use high-quality pens, washi tape, decorative stamps, stickers, and markers to decorate or categorize your journal pages.
#2. Which Is Better Hobonichi Or Bullet Journal?
You can use either of the two. Because both have advantages. Hobonichis are already made, ready to use, and save time. On the other hand, you have to design your own bullet journal to use them and need to draw your own spreads. But a bullet journal is an ideal journal for having all things in one place. Bullet journals are also cheaper than the hobonichi journal.
#3. Why You Should Start A Hobonichi Or Bullet Journal?
Our life is full of personal, professional, social, and domestic obligations. All are pulling us in different ways all the time. Therefore using a perfect planning system through hobonichi or bullet journal may we manage our personal or professional goals nicely.
Conclusion
You already knew about the hobonichi and the bullet journal. Both are great options for you to plan or manage your life in an organized way. Hobonichi journals are the perfect playground for your daily stories. It is also a wonderful thing to hold your memory.
Bullet journaling helps you to turn into a streamlined system in your life from the chaos of coordinating. By updating it, you can learn how you can get rid of some distracting things. This system will help you to be more productive.
So choose the suitable one from hobonichi vs bullet journal. Let’s enjoy your planning!