Christmas Cards in Japan

Christmas Cards in

Japan Brooke Dalgleish

Do you enjoy some old fashioned snail mail? Well I sure do, and it’s a great way to connect with family and friends from afar. This year, like many of us, I wasn’t able to go home and celebrate the holidays. I decided I would send some holiday cheer through cute cards that I found throughout Akita.

Even though Japanese people focus their attention more on New Year’s, Japan has other endearing and creative holiday designs! From Santa-san enjoying sushi or relaxing at an onsen, to the majestic views of Mt. Fuji, cards from Japan often delight and surprise people. There is plenty of variety, such as cards with 3D designs or intricate cutouts. I will say that they can be fairly expensive and the bigger they are, the bigger the stamp price.

However, I was able to find some fun cards within the ¥200-¥500 price range. I can only speak for sending cards to the US, but it seems like stamps were only about ¥100-200 per card depending on the size. I found most of these cards either at the post office or in local bookstores like Books Moa. Most of my friends and family members that received a card got it within 10-14 days and loved them. Many still have their cards displayed because of the beautiful and aesthetic designs. All in all, it brought me joy to pick and choose what card to send to who and then wait to see their response. Basically, a win-win situation thanks to the adorable Sanrio and Hallmark cards of Japan.

If you’re looking for a nice keepsake for people back home, maybe send them a card or two. I bet they will appreciate the effort and be grateful for the long journey that the card has taken to reach their hands. As an FYI, the cards for spring are now on sale and are just as fun!