2024 Techo Kaigi and My Favorite Stationery

I first learned about Techo Kaigi from the Yoseka Sationery YouTube channel. This term means planner meeting. It is when people talk about their planner/notebook/journals/diaries. And what they plan on using next year. I’m learning about different kinds of notebooks and Japanese stationery from the planner community. Knowing that I have the tools and the decorations that I want makes me happy to use my planner.

I’ll admit, I didn’t start using a planner until November of last year. This allowed me to experiment with the format that I wanted. So, I’ll only be explaining my journal plans for 2024.

Primary Planner

My primary planner is a dot grid journal that I purchased on Amazon for around $20. The appeal to me is that it had over 300 pages and was a B5 size. This was important as I knew that the traditional A5, or smaller, doesn’t give me a lot of room to write. I need more blank space.

I also knew that I wanted to track more things in what Bullet Journalists would call collections. This includes a reading log, a word list, and a watch list. I have a section where once a week I write a sentence about what I like about myself. This is part of my self-care routine. I chose the yellow color because it inspires me to illuminate my life.

I don’t consider this a Bullet Journal. I’ve hacked things together from other people’s spreads and there is no method.

For pens, I’ve used the Papermate Flair and Pentel Energel in black. I also use the Gray Zebra Mildliner for highlighting.

My favorite Japanese stationeryI is washi tapes. I use them as headers and borders. I also like to use them to cover up my mistakes. It makes things feel more loved. That is what you will see in my planner. I’ve tried a lot of different ones.

Here are a few of my favorites.

Yoseka

• SODA TRANSPARENT MASKING TAPE - 30MM - BALLOON
• KITTA PORTABLE WASHI TAPE - WIDE - GEOMETRY
• MT X SOU-SOU WASHI TAPE - SO-SU-U IROIRO

Jet Pens

• mt William Morris Washi Tape - Strawberry Thief - 50 mm x 10 m

Simply Gilded

You can get a good deal on items of the week for 50% off. Check every week or subscribe to the newsletter. All the ones listed below, except the Year of the Dragon washi tape, are items of the week.

• Black Holographic Bats & Skulls washi set of 2
• Blue Ramen Washi
• Year of the Dragon Jade Pattern washi
• 12 Days of Simply Gilded Fireworks washi

I also like to use stamps in my planner.

Iconic

These cute stamps from Korea are so pretty.

• Iconic Meow Diary Stamp - Check
• Iconic Haru Diary Stamp - Yeah
• Iconic Cafe Diary Stamp - Don’t Give Up

Midori

Japanese stationery lovers are probably familiar with this brand. I’ve been using the Midori Paintable Stamps. Unfortunately, these are hard to find now and are mostly sold out. Here are the ones that I was able to grab.

• Midori Pre-Inked Paintable Stamp - Books
• Paintable stamp half size -Time Schedule
• Midori Paintable Stamp - Pre-Inked - Habit Tracker
• Midori Paintable Stamp - Pre-Inked - Calendar

I already have new plans for 2025. I am either going to get a Hobonichi Weeks or a B5 notebook from Olive & Archer. It depends on if I need the extra space or not. The way things are now, I have a week at a glance. Then an area for To Dos and Notes. Even though the Weeks is smaller, it is the same setup.

Here are some of my Planner Spreads.

One Line a Day Diary

The easiest way to get into a journaling routine is to use a One Line a Day Diary. In these, you write a sentence about your day. It isn’t a huge commitment. It is a way to capture a year. In Japanese stationery, there are 3, 5, and 10-year diaries from Midori. Leuchtturm1917 has a 5 year one. Lastly, these journals are also popular for memory keeping. They ask a question each day that you may answer differently over the years.

I did something a little different with mine. I created a 6-year and 2-month One Line a Day Diary. I got this idea from Jashii Corrin. I started mine in November of 2023. I wanted to get started right away. That accounts for the 2 months. It is 6 years because I wanted to write about 2024. The presidential election is this year and it is going to be a thing. I want to look back on what I was going through. This diary will end in December 2029. So the next diary would start in 2030. I like having a round number like that.

I am using an Archer & Olive square notebook.

I decorate using stickers, washi tape, mildliners, and stamps. It has a “My Neighbor Totoro” theme. I wanted to use the Susuwatari (Soot Sprites). Here are the materials that I used.

• Beverly Maste Companion Stamp - Susuwatari & Brush
• Tsukineko StazOn Midi Size Ink Pad - Midnight Blue
• Movic Studio Ghibli Washi Tape - 18 mm x 10 m - My Neighbor Totoro - Totoro & Susuwatari - Pack of 2
• Full Color Konpeito Sweet Mini Journal Sticker Sheet | Sweet Stickers | Candy

I also faux-gilded my pages using Holographic Tape. I found inspiration from

this journal from Notebook Therapy.

Writing Routine and Journal

My writing routine has three steps.

1. Wake up at 5 am and do my daily writing at 750Words.com

• This is like a brain dump for me. It helps me brainstorm about what I want to write about.

2. Summarize or outline my writing in my writer’s journal.
3. Based on the previous steps write a draft in Google Docs

This works well for me.

I’m using a Hobonichi Daily Planner as my writing journal. It is perfect for this purpose. The year at a glance is for checking off my habits. The monthly view is for keeping track of writing and its status; draft, editing, or published. Daily pages are great for summarizing and outlining. This way, all my ideas are in one place waiting for me to act on them.

Typically, I use a pocket notebook to track ideas. Usually a Moleskine or Field Notes. That is good for jotting things down anywhere. It has a tradeoff though. I used to easily lose ideas. A short note, like a title, isn’t going to be enough to remember what you wanted to talk about in a month. This takes longer but I’m following through with projects.

I am using a Kaweco Perkeo as my fountain pen. It is my first! Hopefully, not my last. I know that a lot of people will start with a Kaweco Sport. I got the Perkeo because it was cheap and the brand has a good reputation. It will be a good starter fountain pen.

I chose it over the sport because it is a standard size. That makes it more compatible with International Standard Ink Cartridges. The Sport can only take short cartridges. With the Perkeo, you are also able to get a Kaweco Standard Converter to use with ink bottles. I am just starting with cartridges before moving into inks.

I am not doing much decorating in this thing.

Here are my supplies.

• Hobonichi English Daily Planner
• A6 Cover “Twinkle-shells” by Hiroko Kubota
• A6 Hobonichi Pencil Board by Hiroko Kubota
• KAWECO PERKEO FOUNTAIN PEN - BREEZY TEAL
• KAWECO INK CARTRIDGES - 6PCS in Caramel Brown
• KAWECO PERKEO CLIP in Chrome

You can buy your Hobonichi planner from any store that sells Japanese stationery. The Hobonichi Store will ship from Japan. If you want to buy locally in the US use Jet Pens or Yoseka. Other US stationery stores may have a better selection. Items are hard to find now because things have sold out.

I know that the Hobonichi store will restock in February. So you can grab things that you missed then. Make sure to check out stationery stores in September to get the 2025 Hobonichi Techo.

I haven’t done much decorating but here are a few of the pages.

11 YouTube Channels for Planners and Stationery

This is just a short list of channels that I’ve subscribed to.

1. Abbey Sy
2. AmandaRachLee
3. Doodlebud
4. Erin Smith
5. JashiiCorrin
6. JetPens
7. Job’s Journal
8. Mark Your Pages
9. Simie Iriarte
10. The Goulet Pen Company
11. Yoseka Stationery

I hope that this Tech Kaigi is helpful for you. It feels so bare compared to the many journals other people keep. I don’t need to be that organized for now. These three keep me busy enough. If you like this, I plan on making more posts about my writing routine and the stationery that I’m using.