Twentythree

It’s not too late to get organised with One Piece, Tomie, Mother, and Tamagotchi at your fingertips.

If you’re looking for a diary at the beginning of the year, or the beginning of the school and fiscal year in April, then Hobonichi is a fantastic choice. Launched in Japan 25 years ago, the Hobonichi Diary, or “Hobonichi Techo” (pronounced “tetcho”) to use its Japanese name, has grown to include a wide range of styles, with daily planners in the “Original” A5 size and larger A6 “Cousin” size, as well as weekly “Slim” size planners, day-free and five-year diaries, and a choice of covers and stationery accessories to boot.

▼ The Hobonichi Diary range

The diaries are so carefully thought out, with handy grid layouts and inspirational quotes on every page, that they’ve become highly sought after both in Japan and overseas. Making them even more popular are the designs that adorn the diaries and the covers made specially for them, and we’ve picked out the best varieties that are brand new for this year.

▼ Frog and Toad

This three-piece range captures the beauty and charm of the Frog and Toad series of children’s books, written and illustrated by American author Arnold Lobel. The weekly “Slim” diary (top, right) retails for 3,190 yen (US$20.57), while the Cousin and Original covers (sold without the diaries) retail for 5,720 yen and 4,620 yen respectively.

▼ The covers come with leather or ribbon bookmarks attached to their spines.

▼ The Frog and Toad range is exclusive to retail chain Loft, both at its physical stores and online.

▼ One Piece

There are many One Piece items to choose from, with covers produced in collaboration with One Piece magazine, a popular publication.

▼ Original and Cousin covers in Mint Green and Sand Beige (4,290 yen and 5,390 yen respectively)

▼ Straw Hat Luffy Black cover (4,400 yen for the Original and 5,610 yen for the Cousin)

It’s recommended that the covers be used with the Hobonichi Techo Original – One Piece Edition (3,410 yen) diary, which contains a collection of quotes from the One Piece series.

▼ If you prefer not to use a cover at all, then the hardcover Straw Hat Luffy Red Weeks (3,190 yen) will be right up your alley.

Other items in the range include Hiriluk’s Cherry Blossoms Diary (3,190 yen for the Weeks and 3,960 yen for the A6 size) and stationery items like Rotating Stamp for the Techo – One Piece (5,940 yen).

▼ Hobonichi diaries are available in either Japanese or English versions, the latter of which costs 110 yen more.

▼ Pirate Flag Index Stickers (660 yen) and Vivre Card & Treasure Tab Letterpress Printed Card (950 yen)

▼ Chopper’s Techo First Aid Kit Stickers (660 yen)

▼ Next up is a range dedicated to Tomie, an iconic horror manga series by Junji Ito.

The covers feature original illustrations by 62-year-old Ito, which prove that Tomie is still as powerful as she was when Ito first introduced her to the world in 1987, almost 40 years ago.

▼ Tomie, an immortal seductress who drives men to madness and has the power to regenerate from her own severed body parts.

▼ Sticky Notes of Terror (660 yen)

▼ Memory Cover Cousin (centre, 5,390 yen), Haunting Beauty Weeks Diary (right, 3,190 yen for the Japanese version, 3,300 yen for English)

▼ Knowing Smile Cover (4,290 yen)

▼ Now it’s time to step out of the darkness with a sweet range in honour of Mother.

The covers here have been produced in collaboration with the Super Famicom game “MOTHER 2: Gyiyg Strikes Back!” (known as EarthBound in North America), which was released by Nintendo in 1994.

The Mr. Saturn (It’s Great) cover (5,390 yen) adopts a fascinating lenticular print that changes the image depending on which angle you view it from, so Mr. Saturn looks like he’s facing left (as in the image above) or right (below).

▼ There’s also a green Mr. Saturn (Doing Fine) cover for 6,490 yen…

▼ …and Clay Figurines diaries, in Original (5,500 yen) and Cousin (6,050 yen) sizes, available in English or Japanese.

Moomin also has a cute range, with the highlights being the Moomin Hobonichi Graph Notebook (1,210-1,540 yen), created in response to requests for a standard notebook that feels just like the Hobonichi Techo…

▼ …and the Rotating Stamp for the Techo – Moomin (5,940 yen), which will have you stamping all year long.

Hiroko Kubota is a Japanese illustrator who’s been producing designs for Hobonichi annually since 2022, and one of her most impressive designs this year features on the Waiting on the Chord diaries (3,520 and 4,070 yen), available in English or Japanese.

Kubota’s artwork also graces “The Sea’s Dream at Dawn” covers, in A6 (5,500 yen) and A5 (6,600 yen) sizes.

▼ The works of Japanese calligrapher Yuichi Inoue (1916-1985) appear on the A6 Hana (4,290 yen) and A5 Jo (5,390 yen) covers.

Finally, we have the hugely popular Tamagotchi range, which includes clear covers in Growth Chart! (A6, 720 yen), Colourful Tamagotchi (A5, 880 yen), and Carefree Tamagotchi (Weeks, 720 yen).

There’s also Tamagotchi Techo Discovered! covers in A6 (3,410 yen) and A5 (4,180 yen), as well as the hardcover Our Tamagotchi Weeks diary (3,190 yen).

▼ Other must-buys include the Push Button Stamp (1,320 yen)…

▼ …and the Deco Rush Decorative Tape (420 yen), both of which can be used to jazz up the days in your diary.

▼ Hobonichi also sells plenty of handy Techo-related stationery like stickers and sticky notes, priced from 440-660 yen.

As an added bonus, customers who purchase a Hobonichi Techo through the official Hobonichi website will receive a Tiny Robot Paperweight.

The robot is 3.5 centimetres (1.4 inches) tall, weighs 35 grams (one ounce) and was designed by game designer Kouichi Ooyama. The words “You Love You” are engraved on the body, and in case you were wondering, the robot was given a name when he was first developed – G.O.R-01, which stands for “Good Old Robot”.

With so many products to choose from, Hobonichi has all your diary needs covered. Whether you’re into stamping, scheduling, or anime, manga and video games, there’s plenty to keep you smiling throughout the year, so now’s the perfect time to join the global craze for Hobonichi.

Related: Hobonichi (international shipping available), Hobonichi Loft
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Not many people know about it, but there’s a way to get ramen for just 64 cents in Japan.

With wages stagnating and prices rising in Japan, households are tightening the purse strings and limiting outdoor meals, ultimately reshaping dining habits and the local food industry.

In order to entice people back through their doors, some companies are stepping up with so-called “Household Support” items which serve to support household budget needs by being extremely affordable. One such place with a “Household Support” deal is conveyor belt sushi restaurant chain Uobei, where you can pick up a bowl of noodles for the super-low price of 90 yen (US$0.58), or 99 yen including tax.

▼ Kake udon, Tanuki Udon, and “Lunch Soy Sauce Ramen”, all 99 yen each.

After seeing the sign for cheap noodles outside a branch of Uobei, we couldn’t help but wonder if the tiny price would equate to a tiny serving. Perhaps the noodles would be served up in tiny bowls resembling sake cups? Or be presented as miniature, sample size servings?

▼ Stepping inside for the ramen, we were pleasantly surprised to find that although the serving was small, it was far bigger than we were expecting for 99 yen.

▼ To get a true understanding of the size, we lined it up next to a pack of pocket tissues.

The bowl itself is a standard size for conveyor belt sushi meals, and although the broth was further from the rim than what we’re used to, it was tasty, with a pronounced soy sauce flavour. Though it wasn’t on par with what you’d get at a bona fide ramen restaurant, it was on par with food court ramen, but much, much cheaper.

Despite being only 99 yen, the ramen was topped with spring onions and kamaboko fish paste, and the noodles had a deliciously chewy texture.

The broth became more and more delicious with every slurp, and by the end of it all, we felt tempted to order another bowl. At about half the size of a regular ramen, two bowls would give us a regular serving for less than 200 yen, which is a fantastic deal, and by our judgement, the best value for money out of all the ramen currently available in Japan.

In case you were wondering how ramen at other conveyor belt sushi restaurants compare, we stopped by rival chain Sushiro to check out their cheap noodles, which are almost five times more expensive.

The two options for soy sauce ramen at Sushiro are the Rich and Delicious Tuna Soy Sauce Ramen, for 490 yen, and the Asahikawa Soy Sauce Ramen, for 520 yen.

▼ We opted for the Rich and Delicious Tuna Soy Sauce Ramen.

▼ The size of the bowl didn’t appear to be any different to the cheaper one at Uobei.

One obvious difference, though, was the ingredients, with a much richer selection of toppings, including not one but two tuna cutlet pieces.

The overall volume was pretty much the same, but the impact of the ingredients at Sushiro was far, far greater. The broth was noticeably thicker than the one at Uobei, due in part to the oiliness of the cutlets, but that’s didn’t mean it was any better – in fact it felt greasier, and the noodles weren’t as chewy or tasty either.

▼ If you prefer a light ramen, especially when eating it as a side with sushi, then in our opinion, Uobei is the better choice.

The only drawback to the 99-yen Uobei ramen is it’s limited to weekdays until 5 p.m. The Household Support campaign is also a limited-time offer, with the website stating that “the campaign may end without notice”, so you’ll want to get in quick to try it.

On the upside, the 99-yen udon is available at Uobei and Genki Sushi restaurants across the country. Plus, if you find yourself at Uobei after 5 p.m. you can still enjoy a bowl of ramen with a seasoned egg for 165 yen on weekdays until closing time, although that too is a limited time offer. If you’re looking for more permanent ways to eat out on a dime, or less than 500 yen, then this guide has what you’re looking for.

Related: Uobei Household Support Campaign
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Soul food from a tropical island, made fresh in the capital. 

Whenever we find ourselves in the vicinity of Tokyo Station, there’s one place we always visit, and its name is Potama. A cute amalgamation of the words “Pork” and “Tamago” (“Egg”), this specialty rice ball store has 11 branches throughout Japan, and only one in the entire Kansai region in and around Tokyo, located in Tokyo Midtown Yaesu.

This branch of the hugely popular Okinawa-born chain opened in 2022, bringing its unusual brand of rice balls to curious Tokyoites hungry for a taste of something new.

▼ The store is located in the underground mall area directly connected to JR East Tokyo Station, making it a convenient stop for travellers.

While everything in the underground mall might look new and shiny to overseas visitors, it takes a lot to turn the heads of a local traveller. Potama, however, does exactly that, as the pork tamago onigiri is a hard-to-get local specialty of Okinawa, an island so far from the mainland it can only be accessed by plane.

▼ While pork and egg is at the heart of the rice balls sold here, they come with extra toppings, like shrimp and tartar sauce, which we ordered.

Once you try an onigiri from Potama you’ll be hooked on the delicious taste of fluffy egg…and thick pork luncheon meat. Okinawa is famous for its love of Spam, and this rice ball embraces that love wholeheartedly, serving it up in a way that’ll remind you how good luncheon meat truly is.

▼ We’ve tried a lot of the items on the menu, but the one we keep going back to time and time again is the Shrimp Tartar, which costs 680 yen (US$4.36).

The crunch of the fried shrimp provides a gorgeous contrast to the smoothness of the pork and egg , while the tartar sauce adds a fantastic tang that leaves you with a delightfully refreshing aftertaste. According to the official website, this tartar sauce is a Potama original that contains the juice of shikwasa, a citrus fruit representative of Okinawa.

Wrapping your mouth around the delicious onigiri is like biting into an extravagant feast of flavours, leaving you  perfectly satisfied afterwards and making it great value for money. Although the store has an eat-in space, you can also order it to take home with you, and surprisingly, it tastes just as good cold as it does hot, which is a testament to its greatness.

The only thing you have to be careful about when stopping by Potama is the time, as orders are made fresh so you might have to wait around 15 minutes. The wait is worth it, though, as you’ll be able to get a taste of Okinawa’s famous soul food without having to fly to the island…although if you do make it there, you’ll find many other things to tempt you aside from the rice balls.

Shop information
Potama (Tokyo Midtown Yaesu branch) / ポーたま（東京ミッドタウン八重洲店）
Address: Tokyo-to, Chuo-ku, Yaesu 2-2-1, Tokyo Midtown Yaesu basement level 1
住所　東京都中央区八重洲2丁目2番1号 東京ミッドタウン八重洲 地下1階
Open 10 a.m.-9 p.m.
Website

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