One of my favorite places to shop in Tokyo is the post office. Or, I should say, the many post offices. Of course, my favorite was our “local” PO but it was fun to get out to other locations to see the different offerings. The postcards and washi tape above are from the Tokyo Central Post Office located near Tokyo Station and inside the Kitte shopping and dining center. (Kitte is Japanese for postage stamp.) Jess took us there and smiled as we walked into the post office. She knew it would be a hit. (Thanks, Jess!) 
The Kitte had special washi tape made for its first anniversary. I couldn’t resist. 
I also picked out some Posta Collect mailbox letter paper and a pen. It reminded me of the glue stick from last year. Anything that has that classic red mailbox on it is pretty much a guaranteed purchase.
I loved the spring mailbox postcard and the big postal bear ready to deliver a big message. 
And this tiny tape runner is the perfect size for traveling and it’s shaped like a mail truck! 
I bought the fourth set of constellation stamps and my brother-in-law, Norio gave me the other set. It’s Tokyo Skytree and Tokyo Tower. 
Norio also gave me these post office stickers. The bike, the mail truck, the mailboxes, the mail bags…they were the best gift ever. I love that Japan has so many postal treats. 
I sent out so many postcards using the spring stamps (shown above). Japan really embraces unique shapes in their postage stamps, this time using round and sakura shaped stamps. 
This fancy mail van was delivering packages to our hotel and Lawson’s convenience store. 
Yay for good mail and good mail treasures!
kimberly ah
kimberly at home
Tag Archives: mail art
All Caught Up On Mail
As of today, I am all caught up with my mail. If there was an open entry in my Letter Ledger, it was filled. This never happens. I’ve totally blown my resolution to return mail within one week of receiving it. But now that my inbox is empty, I feel like I can reset and have another try at responding more quickly.
I also took some time last week to finally pack up and send off some Japanese treats (of the stationery, snack and hand towel varieties) for friends far and near. I had a great time decorating the packages with some stamps, stickers and washi tape I picked up during my trip. 
For the most part, I kept my mail art simple with washi tapes and random bits of paper and stickers. 
Of course, now that I’m all caught up on mail, I’m behind on laundry, sweeping the floors and reading for book club this weekend. One thing at a time, right?
April & May Paper Parcels
I fell off the wagon of sharing my Saturday Morning Vintage monthly paper parcels from my Christmas gift subscription. I’m determined to continue to catch up on sharing, because every month is a delight in my mailbox. So today, I’m sharing April & May and I will go back to February & March soon.
When I get my paper parcel and take it out of the mailing envelope, it always looks like a gift, so pretty and perfectly packaged. I leave it on my desk for a few days to savor it for a little longer, until I just can’t wait to see what’s inside. You can see April’s “gift wrapped” paper parcel above…the theme was Spring and it was one of my favorites so far. 
I don’t know how Xenia gets all the little bits to stay in place, but they always look so pleasing in the cellophane envelope. I especially love how the birds are peeking out from behind the label. 
I am planning to use most of this paper pack for yet-to-be-created garden journal to document our first year of gardening last year. I want to blend the pictures and notes I took of Plot #6 into a pretty mini-book. These larger pieces of old nature journals are going to be perfect background and filler pages. I love the old “Honey Do Pad” and the Yard Work order form. What unique finds! 
The old seed packets are so lovely and I love the vintage bird information card, but I have to say the vintage Dennison flower and bird labels (bottom right) are the big treasures here. They are die cut and embossed and their colors are so vibrant, it’s hard for them not to steal the show!
I would love to see Xenia’s entire playing card collection because all of the paper packs have a few enclosed and each one is fabulous. She really outdid herself with the floral playing cards though. Can’t you just imagine a 1950s ladies bridge club playing with those pretty round cards?
May’s paper parcel theme was Travel. It was gift wrapped in an old map and tied up with an air mail envelope. I’ve been using up a lot of my air mail envelopes lately. I can’t get enough of those red and blue stripes! 
Again, everything was wonderfully displayed in the cellophane…
In the bigger pieces, there were old maps, dictionary pages, postcards, travel cards and vintage air mail envelopes (one with 6 cents of postage printed on it!)
There were old train tickets and a lot of travel game pieces. I love those travel bingo cards (center bottom). My favorite piece from this month’s packet is the round “United States Lines” sticker. 
The little bits include taxi tickets, stamps, more Dennison labels and a fabulous American Airlines air mail label. 
And the playing cards!! American Airlines, England, Canada, Santa Fe…so many good ones.
Next month is the last month for my subscription, but Naoto already promised me a Paper Parcel anniversary gift so I’m looking forward to getting treats in my mailbox for the rest of the year!
For more information on the Saturday Morning Vintage Paper Parcels, go here.
Have a good weekend!
Postal Museum Japan
One of my favorite activities from our most recent trip to Tokyo was our visit to the Postal Museum Japan. The museum recently moved from its old location into a shiny new floor at the Tokyo Skytree, making it super convenient for visitors. It’s not a large museum, but we spent a couple of hours inside looking through Japan’s interesting postal past.
We looked at postal transportation (original cart & basket, and motorbike delivery)…
And old postal uniforms…
A fantastic letter sorter…
Old Japanese Post advertising…
Old letter bins and bags…
Detailed postmarks…
And there was an array of old mailboxes…
Aren’t they beautiful? I love all of the floral gold details on the last one.
As if the museum wasn’t wonderful enough, there was a mini post office in the gift shop and a modern mailbox at the exit. All mail sent from the museum gets stamped with a special Tokyo Skytree/Postal Museum postmark.
Of course that meant taking some time to write a few postcards at the museum. (Thankfully I had my tiny blue traveling address book with me!)
I think our entrance fees might have been the best ¥300 we spent all vacation! If you are in Tokyo and you love all things mail, you have to visit. Send me a postcard! 🙂
Bigfoot In My Mailbox
When April was in town we somehow got on the subject of Bigfoot. I admitted to her that I am fascinated by the creature, and while I don’t necessarily believe in its existence, I think it’s fun to wonder about. Also, one of my favorite movies from childhood is Harry and the Hendersons. And no, I am not ashamed.
A few weeks after April’s visit, the Bigfoot postcard (bottom center) arrived in my mailbox. April remembered! But she wasn’t done yet. Shortly after we returned from Japan, I opened my mailbox and found three cards from April–it was a Bigfoot party! Two of them are birthday cards. One says, “I hope your birthday is unbelievable.” And the other says, “Your age is a mystery” and it includes Loch Ness and UFOs! And the last one–my favorite–is a die-cut of Bigfoot that says, “Un-believe-able.”
April mentioned that she didn’t know Bigfoot was a trend in stationery. I didn’t either, but it’s a trend I can get behind. Goodbye chevron, hello Bigfoot!
Thanks, April!
(FYI, from the top center: Analog Supply Co, Greenwich Letterpress, Quill & Fox and Blackbird Letterpress.)
Spending the Yen 3: Sakura Stationery
It was hard to resist the pull of the sakura in Japan this time of year. I got swept up in sakura season mainly because I’m a sucker for that pretty pink flower, but also because things in Japan are merchandised so well…stores really get into their themes, especially when the spring flower emerges. Poor Naoto, every time he saw the pink displays, he knew we were going to linger in the store just a few minutes longer.
Other than the sakura postcards I sent from Japan, I came home with some extra postcards, stickers, tiny cards and envelopes and kaishi papers (the two folded stacks at the top of the picture). Kaishi papers are traditionally used as table decorations or mats for sweets served at tea ceremonies. I bought some Mt. Fuji kaishi papers during our last trip and have been using them as stationery. That’s my plan for the sakura ones too. 
The tiny cards and envelopes are my favorites, even though they aren’t very practical. And the Mt. Fuji sakura stickers have a lovely texture and gold foil accents. 
Sakura season might be over, but I’m having fun using my sakura stationery here at home. It is definitely early spring here (though it’s cold again, after our beautiful day Sunday) so sending flowery mail just feels right.
Oh hey…this is my 400th post!
Treats from the Mail Ladies
Of all the places I’ve visited in Japan–other than Mister Donut–I think I’ve visited various post offices the most. Each one carries the same stamps and postcards (for the most part), but some have better selections of gifty things than others. I have a stack of treats that I purchased from the yubinkyoku (post office) and I will share those next week. Today, I’m going to share the gifts I’ve gotten from the post office ladies. 
The first time Naoto and I went to Japan, we visited Okaasan (his mom) in Niigata. Much to my delight, she lived right across the street from the post office!! We stayed with her for three days, and every day I visited the post office for more postcards or stamps or something. By the end of our visit, the ladies in the post office recognized me and they appreciated my enthusiasm for Japanese stamps. On my last visit, they presented me with this tiny blue bunny–a toothpick holder–as a thank you for my patronage. 
I was so surprised. No one at a post office had given me a gift before…and the little blue bunny is so sweet with the little cherry blossoms on the side. He lives in my china cabinet and comes out every spring for Easter. 
This trip, in Tokyo, I visited several post offices, but mostly I went to the one near our hotel in Sangenjaya. They had a good selection of post cards and spring stamps and the ladies were patient with my browsing. (How many glue sticks do I need?) On one of our lasts days, I went in to buy another sheet of stamps and the woman behind the counter, who had helped me throughout the two weeks, presented me with a pink hand towel. It says “Thank you very much, [from your] postal host.”
Naoto compared the gifts to the free toaster you used to get in American banks when you opened an account. He said that the gifts are a way to thank frequent patrons. Either way, I’m thankful to the Japan Post ladies for the treats and I look forward to visiting them again next year.
Hasegawa Happy Hour Mail
A couple of weeks ago, I got this beautiful letter from Xenia of Saturday Morning Vintage. Even if it had just been a quick note, I would have been over the moon. What a creative envelope!
But when I opened the envelope, a few pieces fell out of the card. You can see them above. They are vintage liquor labels and slips from a bartender’s order pad. Aren’t they amazing? In her note, Xenia mentioned seeing my Hasegawa Happy Hour posts and pictures on Instagram, so she thought I might enjoy these vintage bits. They made me super happy and inspired me to get started on a mini-book of our happy hour adventures for 2014. I’m picturing a tiny something with paper bits, photographs and some recipes (both cocktails and snacks). Hmmm…maybe a complete one for us and a well-edited one can be made into a zine…
Thank you, Xenia, for the mail and the inspiration!
Stamp King
A couple of weeks ago, I met up with Donovan at the Stamp King of Chicago. Even though I read Donovan’s wonderfully crafted blog post about the Stamp King, I had no idea what to expect. I’ve never been to a stamp and coin dealer before…I’ve never been buzzed into a shop before.
But one look at the Stamp King (pictures on the aforementioned blog post), I knew we were in good hands. He was kind and funny and relaxed. There were two young coin collectors in the store perusing the coins and helping Donovan and I add up our stamp purchases. We ended up being there over the lunch hour and the Stamp King offered to order lunch and to share his bottle of wine. (Next time, I’m taking the bus so I can take him up on this offer.)
Even without wine, I had zero control over myself. There was a lot of vintage stamp goodness and Donovan and I made a huge dent in the Stamp King’s inventory. After the first ten dollars, I stopped counting, because, really, how quickly can tiny one cent and three cent stamps add up? Well, evidently they add up pretty quickly…plus I picked out several larger denominations, too. Anyway…next time I walk into the Stamp King, I’m just going to hand him all of my money. It was well spent as far as I am concerned.
The End of Another Letter Month
Yesterday marked the end of Letter Month. Last year, I felt a little bit burnt out at the end. This year, I feel re-energized about letter writing. I don’t really think it’s due to Letter Month though. I think it’s mostly due to meeting so many of my letter writing friends and feeling inspired by the mail people I met at Ex Postal Facto.
In total, I sent forty-three pieces of mail–two more than I sent last year. While I did write a letter every single day, there were some days that I didn’t make it to the mail box (which is sad because we have one in our building!) because of forgetfulness (or hibernation). But the act of writing happened every day and I hope to continue that to some extent beyond Letter Month. I did spend out some stationery I’ve kind of been hoarding, but I did not expand my mail art skills at all…mainly sticking with the usual washi tape and rubber stamps… There’s always room for improvement next year!
Thanks to everyone who filled my mailbox this month!
kimberly ah 