One Notebook

Notebooks may seem like relics from an earlier time, but they still have significant utility. Whether you’re writing song lyrics, sketching a scene, drafting a poem, or making a grocery list, a notebook remains a versatile tool for capturing your thoughts.

Notebooks are highly portable. You can carry one to school, a café, or even a far-flung destination. They offer a tactile experience—there’s something satisfying about folding a page corner as a quick bookmark or seeing the stains and marks left by continual use.

Notebooks are tangible tools that help us create the future.

The one notebook we think you should own is the Midori MD Notebook.

The Midori MD Notebook is a Japan-made product. It is simple and minimalist but has many features that make it a pleasure to use. One notable characteristic is the MD Paper, used for both the cover and pages. The endpaper acts as the cover itself, making the notebook easy to open. Without the traditional cover, this notebook feels smooth and natural in hand, creating an inviting experience each time you pick it up.

It uses a threaded binding with 16-page sections bound together with thread. This allows the notebook to open flat to a full 180 degrees, making writing effortless from start to finish. The exposed cheesecloth spine, often hidden in other notebooks, is left visible here, giving the notebook an iconic, minimalist look while ensuring flexibility and durability.

The notebook comes wrapped in glassine paper instead of a cover, acting like a dust jacket to help keep it clean. Of course, you can remove it if you prefer a more worn look.

The MD Notebook is available in various sizes, designed to match typical book dimensions in Japan: A7, A6 (pocket size), B6 Slim (paperback size), A5 (hardback size), and A4 Variant (magazine size). We prefer the A5 size for its versatility.

You can choose from blank, lined, or grid formats. The blank version offers complete freedom for sketches or notes, and since the notebook lies flat, you can easily use a two-page spread as a single canvas. The lined version has a thick line in the center, allowing you to divide each page in half or split a two-page spread into quarters. It’s perfect for writing or diary entries, and you can add dates for scheduling purposes.

The grid format has 5mm squares, similar to traditional genko yoshi used in Japan. Every 5 and 10 squares are marked, making it easy to count characters. The lines are a pale blue, so they won’t interfere with your writing or sketches.

Each MD Notebook also has a string attached to the spine that you can use as a bookmark. The cotton notebooks have a white string, while the diary version uses an orange one. It also comes with index tabs that make organizing thoughts, ideas, or notes easy. Some tabs are pre-printed with labels like “IDEA” or “DIARY,” while others are blank, allowing you to customize them as needed.

Midori also offers a great range of stickers that can be used in their notebooks.

If you were to own only one notebook, the Midori MD Notebook would be an excellent choice. It’s perfect for anyone who values craftsmanship, simplicity, and the joy of uninterrupted writing.

Also Consider

If you like dot grid layouts, consider the Midori MD Notebook Journal, available in A5 format.

Other notebooks we can live with are Maruman and Leuchtturm1917. But we really do believe the Midori MD Notebook is a significantly better notebook.