Hobonichi 2027 HON A6: Hiroko Kubota – String Telephone Until the Moon is Full

This HON features original artwork by Hiroko Kubota, an illustrator who has painted a gentle, breezy meadow unfolding across the cover of String Telephone Until the Moon is Full.

Against a slowly shifting sunset, a cat is seen with its eyes closed, listening intently to a tin-can telephone. At the other end of the string, a wolf speaks with a warm, tender expression.

As if to represent the voices passing between them, a mouse rides a unicycle back and forth along the string. What might they be saying to each other? Beyond the evening scene, the horizon stretches endlessly into the distance. A Ferris wheel turns slowly in the far background, and a white crescent moon is suspended in the sky. It’s a moment captured as the moon grows fuller — one you wish would never end, with a voice at the other end of the line that feels somehow familiar.

The year 2027 and the HON logo on the front and spine are finished with a matte silver foil, catching the light with a gentle shimmer against the wide, open gradient of the sky.

Like the Hobonichi Techo, the HON features thread-stitched binding, so it opens flat at 180 degrees and stays that way — no need to hold the pages down.

The pages are made of thin and light yet durable Tomoe River paper that holds ink well, providing a smooth writing experience.

The back of the techo contains bonus pages.

The English edition features standard favorites like My 100, Favorites, and the 365 Days Check-Off Sheet, alongside new additions like Phrases to Break That Writer’s Block, Hard-to-Translate Japanese Words, and the Hobonichi’s Neighborhood: Kanda/Jinbo-cho Map.

The Japanese edition includes standard favorites like My 100, Favorites, and Solar Terms, as well as new additions like Phrases to Break That Writer’s Block, Useful Sign Language Phrases to Know, and the Hobonichi’s Neighborhood: Kanda/Jinbo-cho Map.

A pencil board with a 5 mm grid, designed exclusively for the HON, is also available. Note: starting with the 2027 edition, the pencil board is sold separately.

In addition to the techo, the Hiroko Kubota lineup also includes Deco Rush tape.

Together with a techo filled with the warmth of time’s gentle passing, we hope you enjoy a year in which every thoughtful moment spent writing and communicating is one that you can cherish.

Hiroko Kubota was born in 1971. An illustrator, she uses acrylic gouache and other media to draw landscapes, people and animals.

Beauty Meets Function