Drop Me a Line via Japan Post
It’s not a bad thing to use snail mail every now and again as everyone loves to get a postcard in the mail. If you want to send one from Japan to tell all your friends and family what a great time that you are having then you will need to locate a post office. It’s not that difficult, just look for the building bearing the logo that you see on the left.
Japan Post charges Y70 (USD $.70) to send a post card from Japan to the United States. Regular letters start at about Y100 (USD $1)and the cost is based on the size and weight of your envelope.
The selection of stamps that are offered by Japan Post is quite broad and some of them are beautiful. If you know any stamp collectors consider picking some up as they would make a great gift.
Also, did you know that envelopes in Japan are not pre-glued? You won’t be able to to lick the envelope to seal it, you will need to use tape or buy yourself a glue stick to seal a Japanese envelope. I believe that this is due to the high humidity in the summer. I have gone to use pre-glued envelopes from home only to find them stuck shut!
Photo Credit: Personal Collection
Tags: Japan, Japan Post, Mail, souvenirs, Stamps, The Tokyo Traveler, Tokyo, TravelRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Shopping, Travel Tips - General Information
2 opinions for Drop Me a Line via Japan Post
Nick Ramsay
Aug 5, 2008 at 2:19 am
One reason for the lack of glue on envelopes is that Japanese people think it’s unhygienic to lick them. That’s why you’ll never see anyone lick a stamp, either. Instead, post offices have these little damp sponges for you to wet your stamps on. However, if you take you letter directly to the post office counter to buy a stamp, the clerk will stick on the stamp and post your letter for you!
Another interesting fact is that there’s a post office on the summit of Mount Fuji where you can buy and send postcards, but, like everywhere in Japan, you’ll have to line up behind everybody else before you can make your purchase.
Shane
Aug 5, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Wow, Nick. The sanitation issue makes a lots of sense and I alway thought it was the humidity.
If I ever climb Fuji-san I’ll be sure to send off a few postcards. My stamp loving friends won’t likely to have a canceled stamp from there in their collections.
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