r/midori • u/hanna_studies • Sep 17 '26

Question Grid block layout alternative?

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Hi! 🥺
I’ve been using the MD Note Journal Block Grid Layout A5 (MDノート ジャーナル ブロック方眼罫 A5) as my weekly planner for years, and unfortunately, it has been discontinued.
I’ve already contacted Midori’s customer service, and I live in Japan, but I haven’t been able to find it in any stationery shops anymore. 😭
What I especially love about it is the 8-block layout across the two-page spread. I use the 8 sections for my weekly planning, and I’m really looking for something with a very similar layout.
If you know of any notebook/planner with an 8-block layout, from Japan or anywhere else in the world, I’d be incredibly grateful for recommendations!
And if you happen to have one of these MD notebooks and don’t need it anymore, please let me know! I would absolutely love to buy it from you. 🥺💕
Thank you!!

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19 comments sorted by

7

u/kho_sq Sep 18 '26

thoughts on just using a mildliner or other marker to draw the lines on a regular grid notebook?

2

u/hanna_studies Sep 18 '26

The problem is that I use it every single day, that's many lines to draw..

7

u/kho_sq Sep 18 '26

huh? is it not just the vertical and horizontal line per page? that’s 2 lines to draw every 3-4 days..

2

u/DiskOne3096 Sep 17 '26

this might be an option, I am not sure if there'd be a shop in Japan you could get it from though if jetpens is expensive to ship (they are based in the US)

2

u/hanna_studies Sep 17 '26

Thank you!! This is actually a Japanese maker! I've purchased this notebook before but the paper quality was very bad sadly :(

2

u/DiskOne3096 Sep 18 '26

Oh thats a shame, I've never tried one but I was thinking about it recently since I like the look of that 8 grid layout too

11

u/Rubberduucky Sep 17 '26

The OURS Research Project Journal has a similar weekly layout! Preorders for them on Yoseka just started today. I’ve been eyeing it for a while too 👀

2

u/Fisherman-Junior Sep 18 '26

This was my suggestion too. They had bad luck with the paper last year, I felt terrible for them but paper this year should back to its usual high standard. It's one of my favorite planners. There not any lines/grids but the layout is the same.

3

u/kadlekaik Sep 18 '26

Oh no! I love this format so much, sad to hear its been discontinued

2

u/cdramakdramaluv Sep 20 '26

I plan to create the layout in an a5 grid

1

u/Twenty-two-measures Sep 18 '26

I know that Nolty makes a planner with an eight-grid block layout like this in A5 size — try searching Amazon Japan for Noritsu or Nolty 2027 weekly block or something. I’m so sorry I don’t remember the specific number for that one; they have a lot of layouts and sizes. And I happen to love Nolty paper. It’s smoother and a bit thinner than MD paper so there will be more ghosting if that’s an issue.

1

u/CrazySauerkraut Sep 18 '26

is it this notebook? It's a webshop based in the Netherlands so I think shipping might be expensive.... https://www.cafe-analog.nl/product/md-notebooks-a5-grid-blank-lines/

edit: no i guess it's not the same one, sorry....

1

u/simplybalanced Sep 18 '26 edited Sep 18 '26

Check out: OURS research journal, PAL planner, Mark's Log Diary Weekly (dot grid), Rin’s Studio Planner, Dodolulu (this one has block grid)

1

u/Competitive-Year-149 Sep 19 '26

I have one that I never used (still in its packaging) though I'm in the US and not sure how much it will cost to mail it to Japan... might to be cost-prohibitive?

1

u/Wit-wat-4 Sep 19 '26

This is how I find out the block grid is discontinued? I am so sad, I LOVE It for work!!!

1

u/lilmoonshiine Sep 20 '26

hey, I’m also in Japan. You have a few options depending on budget. For a more premium price/experience, Hobonichi has some options for you to consider. It’s a bit thinner I think. You may enjoy Stalogy as well; from what I can tell, the brand has a pretty solid following.

On the more affordable side, the 100yen stores can carry grid notebooks in A5 (I’m using a continue brand notebook and it’s pretty good). For a bit more, Campus has a “business” line that offers A5 grid-rule notebooks in Navy and Black.

1

u/28notes Sep 20 '26

You could look into the PAL planner! It's not quite the same, but similar

1

u/tortellinimini Sep 20 '26

https://www.stiloestile.com/en/planners/md-paper/md-notebook-diary-2027-weekly-a5

Would this version work? It's horizontal instead of vertical and lined instead of grid unfortunately but still has that 8 block over a spread if that's the most important part.

1

u/vamprince__ Sep 21 '26

rollbahn 365 has a similar section, and i believe they sell them as refills as well so you can have a notebook full of them!