Hobochini Planner Unboxing/Initial Impressions

[tandaina]

It came!

I ordered a planner from the English Hobochini store on 4/8. It shipped on 4/10. The post office tried to deliver it on 4/12 but I was away for the weekend. So I picked it up at the post office today. I just want to repeat that. It left the store in Japan on 4/10 and *two days later* was at my door in Texas, the hold up was me.

So here is my "unboxing" photos and some initial impressions!

The box!


I haven't a clue what it says here, anyone want to translate?


The loot! (Stencils go to Plume, I'll post them tomorrow. They are TINY, even the gel pens I own would be too big for these stencils.)


The planner is packaged in a little slip plastic bag with this informational card. Very nice card stock, embossed silver logo. Nice!


And here it is! That is tamoe river paper. Beautiful to write on, nothing goes through. And feels so elegant and delicate in your hands. The journal is a mixture of compact and very solid feeling, and sort of airy and gauzy because of the paper. It lays open nicely though the binding needs to be opened properly and prepared for use like you would with a good book.


I wanted a leather cover, but all the ones I liked were either sold out or so expensive I couldn't afford them. So I went with the blue cloth cover. It is rather shiny. I also grabbed a plastic slip cover for it to protect the whole thing from drizzle or splashes, or just plain dirt. Note: If you buy a cover it comes with a FREE plastic slip cover without a design. The free plastic slip cover has a zip lock pocket that lets you access the outside rear pocket of the cloth cover. The fancy decorative plastic cover I bought does NOT have that zipper so if you use it you cannot access the outside pocket. If I find I really NEED that pocket I'll have to ditch the plastic deco cover, but I really think it is pretty and will likely just sacrifice function for a bit of aesthetics.


Finally, a picture with my Pelikan M200 Demo for size. This is a SMALL planner, but I think I'm going to like it. Initial paper tests are (unsurprisingly) great. I will report back when I've had a chance to use it for a few days!


All in all, great ordering experience. Insanely fast shipping, and beautiful product. I'm excited! Now to take it with me everywhere I go for the next few days and report back. Stay tuned...