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Keymap settings that an HHKB beginner has arrived at for now

2026年8月3日 14:28

This is the keymap for the HHKB (US layout) as of August 2026.
It is a very modest customization, but after some trial and error, I have settled on these current key settings. By the way, I am a Mac/US layout user.

When you change the keymap, you end up making mistakes or searching for keys for about a week, but I like that learning period because it feels like growth. And the feeling of gradually nurturing it into a machine just for me, while repeatedly trying things like reverting settings or changing the keymap again, is supreme.

Standard Layer

The classic custom of changing the "Cmd" key to the left of the spacebar to "Fn". Many HHKB users mention this, but since the default "Fn" is hard to press, I have placed "Fn", one of the keys I use most often, in a starring role. It seems that those who are used to JIS keyboards often place "Eisu" here.
Changed the left "Ctrl" to the "Cmd" key. Shortcuts like "Cmd+C" become overwhelmingly easier to press. I also change "Ctrl" to "Cmd" on my Mac keyboard.
Along with the above, I placed "Ctrl" on the left "Alt" key. I hardly ever use "Ctrl", so it would probably be fine without it, but I borrowed the "Alt" spot on the bottom left just in case I need to keep it.
And I changed the "Cmd" key to the right of the spacebar to the "Kana" conversion key. The default is "Ctrl+Space", but with the default settings, it is hard to tell whether it is currently in "Kana" or "Eisu" mode, and I often end up pressing it twice or three times. So, by tapping this "Kana" key to the right of the spacebar when I want to type in Kana, I can start typing in "Kana" mode regardless of the current mode.

Fn Layer

Changed the "Cmd" key to the right of the spacebar to "Eisu". Now, regardless of the current mode, when I want to type in Japanese, I use the standard mode for "Kana", and when I want to type in English, I use "Fn+Eisu". I press "Kana" or "Fn+Eisu" as a sort of warm-up before I start typing.
Next is the arrow key layout. The default position is on the right, so the drawback was that the home position would break when pressing the arrows. To solve this, I placed "←" at the "J" position (the index finger of the right hand's home position). Based on this, I arranged the up, down, and right keys as shown in the diagram. Since the "Fn" key is placed to the left of the spacebar, the home position no longer breaks when I type arrows.
I placed "Home" and "End" to the left and right of the custom arrow "↑" key. I think this depends on the frequency of use, but since I use them occasionally, I set them in an easy-to-understand layout.

I will continue to go through trial and error, so when I arrive at a keymap that I can think of as "this is the best", I would like to write another note.
Even so, everyone in the keyboard community is truly amazing.

(Aside)
When you change the keymap, there is a discrepancy between the characters printed on the keyboard and the actual functions, but because of my personality, I cannot accept this gap, so I use blank keycaps for some parts. (Only the 21 keys with symbols printed on them have characters.)
Is this feeling also the entrance to the swamp?

(Aside 2)
I use it in the so-called 'Sonshi style' with the HHKB placed on top of the Mac keyboard, but reaching out to the Mac's trackpad to move the pointer is a very awkward distance (it's too far with too much height difference), so I just ordered the 'Nape Pro' that recently started pre-orders for general sale on Keychron.com. It is scheduled to ship in mid-August, so I will sit and wait.