Send a letter from Japan to friends and family in your home country!

While you’re in Japan, how about sending something back home to your friends and family by international mail? 

Try sending them a postcard showing some scenery from Japan, or a letter written on special Japanese paper!

This is the symbol for Japan’s post office. 

As of December 2014, there were approximately 24,000 post offices across the country, so it should be easy enough to find one no matter where you are. 

Apart from the big post offices, most of them only offer postal services on weekdays.

Japanese mailboxes are almost always red, although there are some grey ones, and blue ones that are for special delivery. 

As long as you attach the required amount of stamps, you can send international mail straight from a mailbox, too. 

When there are two slots, like in the photo, the right-hand one is for international mail. 

Oh, and don’t forget to write “AIR MAIL” on your letter or postcard!

If you’re sending mail from Japan, I’d definitely recommend using some commemorative stamps. Japan’s post office issues a huge range of them: there are ones featuring different Japanese castles, famous places in Tokyo, ukiyoe designs, and much more. 

When you’re sending something, ask the clerk for “kinen-kitte.” 

When sending to an Asia country from Japan by air mail, it costs 70 yen for a postcard or 90 yen for a sealed letter.

Your friends and family are sure to be really pleased if you send them a postcard with a Japanese design, or a letter written on special Japanese paper. 

You could even send one to your own address as a memento, too!