As regular readers know, I am a big fan of the Nolty Diary. Also known as the “Efficiency Notebook,” this Japanese planner has deservedly become a cult favorite, with Instagram posts galore showing off how people use their Nolty diaries. After very happily using a Nolty diary all through 2018, I decided to spring for an upgrade for 2019: the leather covered Nolty Gold. I also bought a couple other 2019 diaries that I’ll show you below.

The Nolty Gold is a bit of a splurge, at about $56, but it feels special from the minute you see the box. The packaging is very elegant, with the notebook tucked in neatly under tissue paper. Underneath the notebook are various bits of Nolty literature, which I am unable to translate as I don’t speak Japanese. There are also 2 supplemental notebooks in the box– more on those a bit later.

The diary itself gives an impression of luxury– you can smell the real leather, and immediately see the difference in texture from the regular vinyl-covered Nolty. But I did get a surprise when I first touched it– I expected it to feel very smooth and supple, and it sort of is– but the leather felt like it had little stubbly hairs sticking out of it! It felt a little rough and catchy against my skin, the way it feels if you handle silk fabric when your hands are dry and chapped. I thought maybe my hands WERE dry and chapped and that that was what I was feeling, but I could actually see the tiny bristles (or whatever they are) on the notebook. Luckily, these started to wear away as I handled the notebook and are now almost gone, leaving the leather feeling much smoother. It is soft but the texture seems more forgiving of scratches than some leathers. The year is gold stamped on the front and blind stamped on the spine, and there is a decorative line pressed along the edges. The folded-over leather gives a nice weight to the corners when you compare them to the vinyl Nolty.

The overall size is just slightly smaller than the vinyl Nolty, due to less cover overhang, though it is still a bit more than I’d like. I’m hoping that with use the corners and edges will curl inwards a little, which hasn’t really happened with my vinyl 2018 diary. I was also surprised to see that the overhang was not symmetrical all around on the Nolty Gold I bought. Every other Nolty diary I’ve seen is so impeccably crafted with perfectionist attention to detail, and this notebook has no other flaw that I could detect. That said, the variance I noticed is not extreme and probably wouldn’t bother most people.

The overhang is slightly bigger on the back cover and the bottom edge. At least on the back cover, I thought this might be to allow room for the supplemental booklets that can be tucked in the back. Every Nolty comes with a removable address book that slips under a strap and behind the back pocket. In addition, the Gold model comes with two booklets containing just lined paper for additional notes. They are made slightly narrower than the address book so they fit perfectly  without distorting the notebook cover, and their gilded edges match the main diary. I wish Nolty put a strap and pocket inside the front cover so you could add the 2nd supplemental notebook there. I’m not sure yet what I’ll use mine for, but I like the way they fatten the notebook up a little, and they should be handy for lists and other notes.

Inside the Nolty Gold, the only real difference is that the endpapers have a sort of mottled tone to them. It goes nicely with the gilded page edges. Otherwise, the page layouts are the same, and you still get the 2 ribbon markers. The back pocket and strap are made of black leather to match the exterior, vs the clear plastic on the basic Nolty.

You can see my 2018 Nolty review for other details on the paper performance, etc. I really love my 2018 Nolty, and I love the leather 2019 Nolty Gold even more. I bought mine on Rakuten and paid ¥6160 ($56.41) including shipping from Japan, so this diary is quite an investment, but I think it will be hard to go back to the regular version!

I also bought two other 2019 Nolty diaries.  Model 1218 is a red version of the standard Efficiency Notebook. The cover and page edges are a nice bright red, but otherwise it is exactly the same as model 1211. The red is fun, but I prefer black so I’m giving this to someone as a gift. (I paid $16.99 for it at Kinokuniya’s website, with free shipping since I had it sent to their NYC store for pickup.)

Model 1121 is the smaller version of the Efficiency Notebook, with extra train maps. Did I have any need for Japanese train maps that I can’t make head nor tail of? No, but they sure are fun to look at anyway! And I LOVE this little diary! The size is adorable. It fits nicely into a passport size Midori Travelers Notebook. The cover is a different texture from my 2018 model 1211. I like the 1121’s more pebbly texture.

The interior layouts have been shrunk down proportionally, even the lined pages which are spaced at 4mm instead of 5mm. If you don’t have small handwriting, this notebook may not be for you!

I’ve gotten so accustomed to using 3.5 x 5.5″ notebooks that I rarely even consider any other size for daily use, but for some reason, I just adore this little Nolty and will be using it for something– maybe some tiny daily doodling. (I paid $21.99 for this via Kinokuniya. Next time I won’t bother getting the extra train maps, as the version without them was only $17.99. I don’t know why it’s more expensive than the larger version.)

I haven’t done any pen tests on these but I am sure they have the same paper found in my 2018 diary– it is wonderfully smooth and fountain pen friendly. Everything about the Nolty diary is just so pleasing to all the senses– tactile, visual, and olfactory, anyway! I am really looking forward to another year of using a Nolty as my planner/diary/life log/to-do list keeper and can’t recommend this brand enough! These are hard to find in stores, so if you want to buy a Nolty diary and can’t make it to Japan, I suggest you try Rakuten or Kinokuniya.