Kanazawa!

There are so many post offices here with landscape postmarks but I was only able to visit a few. This was my first time in Kanazawa and we had a wonderful time. Kanazawa sits on the west coast of Japan, on the opposite side of the main island relative to Tokyo. It's not a large city and there are not as many tourists here. It is similar to Kyoto with its traditional neighborhoods and architecture.

The postmark above was from a post office in the train station. It shows images of the Kotoji Lantern in Kenrokuen Garden and the statue Yutaro that stands over the mailbox at the back of the station. The eki stamp on the card came from the information center in the Nagamachi Samuari district.

On the above card is a postmark showing the entrance to the Kanazawa train station. It also appears on the larget eki stamp I found in the station.

And the postmark above was acquired at a post office near Omicho market. It is a large covered food market housing stalls selling fresh fish, meats and produce. It's a good place to go to sample local foods. Lots of seafood. Lots of sushi. The eki stamp on this card came from Kanazawa castle.

I was rather random in matching postmarks, stamps and cards. The staff at the post offices here are absolutely amazing. Friendly,  professional and patient. The postmarks are applied with much care. I wish I had more time to visit more of them.

Kyoto's Fushi-Inari Shrine

I bought this art card at a small shop on the way down from the top of Mount Inari in Kyoto and I had it postmarked at a post office near the train station outside the shrine's main gate. The shrine is famous for its red tori gates that line the pathway leading up the mountain. Although calling it a mountain is kind of generous. It is a big hill though.

Like most of the tourist attractions in Kyoto, Fushimi-Inari is crawling with tourists. Doesn't matter what time of year it is. It is nearly impossible to take photos without someone stepping into your shot. But I found most of the crowd faded once we started our way up the mountain. I figure the tour bus crowds simply don't have the time to make the climb and several others had already taken their instagram photos and had no need to continue. After a bit of stair climbing, at times it felt like we had the place to ourselves.

Hiroshima's Itsukushima Island

Itsukushima island, also known as Miyajima meaning shrine island, is an island just a few minutes ferry ride from Hiroshima. On this island is the UNESCO world heritage Itsukushima Shrine with it's red tori gate that appears to float during high tide. Many deer and tourists roam the island. Lots of tourists.

The postmark which I obtained from the post office on the island, shows the tori gate as seen from the shrine which is built over the water. 

I rarely purchase postcards so it was a little surprising that there were not that many to be found. I expected the selection to be better considering it's Japan and a very popular tourist site. Maybe I just wasn't looking hard enough.

Tokyo Station

Made this while visiting Tokyo Station the other day. The postmark was applied at the central post office located near the station and it shows the old side of the station next to the post office building. The eki stamps on the card are from the station. The top stamp is the traditional Tokyo Station stamp and the bottom stamp features the E5 Hayabusa Shinkansen train.

Greetings from Shizuoka

First stamps from Japan Post for 2026 are these basic greeting stamps. It's an annual issue and this year the stamps feature a forest inspired design. 

TAAF RV Marion Dufresne OP-3 at Kerguelen

Returned from Port-aux-Français via the French research vessel Marion Dufresne during it's third rotation through the French southern territory. The stamp from 2025 depicts the activities of the French national mapping agency: the l'Institut Géographique National (IGN).

Christmas Greetings from Riga

It didn't look like a Christmas stamp until I looked a little closer. It's one stamp from a set of four 
designed by Māris Upenieks and the common design element is a winter glove. And there appears to be a string of Christmas lights running across the stamp. The set was designed to depict a single day of getting ready for Christmas. One stamp in the series is a charity stamp done in collaboration with Latvian Radio 5's Dod peci (give five) charity event where radio DJs take requests in exchange for a 5 euro donation to charitable causes.

The Bread Thief, Japan FDC

This first-day postmarked cover from the Japanese city of Shizuoka features stamps depicting scenes from the Japanese award-winning children's book series Pan Dorobō (The Bread Thief) written by Keiko Shibata. The set of 10 stamps is the ninth in the annual series "The World of Children's Picture Books".

Merry Christmas from Toronto, Canada

I believe this is the first time in over 13 years of cover circuit club memberships that I've ever received a circuit from a member in my own country. And I found it to be an interesting cover. It's a Christmas card that was sealed around the edges, addressed and stamped. What a smart idea. An interesting way to reuse a greeting card.

Christmas Scenes from Liechtenstein, FDC

A nice Christmas FDC from Liechtenstein with a set of 2025 Christmas stamps featuring scenes from historical greeting cards held at the the Liechtenstein National Archives. Thank You Mr. Jan Geiert.

Water Damaged at Scott Base?

I sometimes enjoy receiving covers from far away places that actually look like they've traveled from far away. Not always, but sometimes. Like this one that came back to me from New Zealand's Scott Base (via Christchurch) in the Ross Dependency. It was water damaged enough that my address had been partially washed out but still, it found it's way back to me. Someone at the sorting center wrote in my street address beneath the label. Maybe it was dropped in the snow outside the base, or fell onto the deck of the supply ship on it's way back to me. More likely though it was damaged somewhere closer to home. 

Christmas Island, Canada

That time of year again. This postmark from the Christmas Island post office gets a refresh every now and then and I think this is the first time I've received this particular iteration. The small community of Christmas Island sits on the shore Nova Scotia's Bras d'Or Lake, in the middle of Cape Breton Island. Bras d'Or Lake is actually an estuary that drains into the Atlantic, and is classified as a UNESCO biosphere reserve.