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Aug 20, 2016

What's on your mailbox?

Silly question, I know. Some towns in Japan are famous for a certain product or attribute (a castle, a craft, a food) and in some of these towns, small statues of that famous thing wind up on top of the mailboxes around town. Does your town have a famous thing on its mailbox? Here's mine. I live in Shiogama, known for Maguro tuna. This is the mail box in front of city hall, home of the nicest (in best repair) of the fish statues.

JTsu

JTsu

A working mom/writer/teacher explores her surroundings in Miyagi-ken and Tohoku, enjoying the fun, quirky, and family friendly options the area has to offer.

12 Answers



Best Answer

  • DaveJpn

    on Sep 9

    @JTsuzuki, How about this one in Tokyo Station?

    1
  • Yuju

    on Aug 21

    Whaat... (?_?)

    -1
  • JTsu

    on Aug 21

    Do you live in Japan? Is your town famous for one special thing? Are there tiny metal replicas of that thing on mailboxes around your town? I do not think this happens in big urban centers, so if your only life in Japan is based in Tokyo, Osaka, or Kyoto, (even Nagoya) you probably have no idea what I am talking about and I recommend strongly that you go visit a small town that is famous for one weird thing or another. Go explore the rest of Japan! I've only lived in small towns or small cities my entire 8 years in Japan, so for me, this is not such a strange question. Here are some other examples from the internet: Hikone Castle in Hikone http://www.japanvisitor.com/images/content_images/post-box-hikone.jpg Here is someone else's blog post on the topic, with examples: https://www.turborotfl.com/en/news/13150/Mailboxes-in-Japan

    0
  • helloalissa

    on Aug 21

    I had no idea. I've never noticed any of these with the exception of the panda near Ueno Zoo. I have always lived in smaller cities and traveled to small towns too, so I guess I need to pay more attention?

    1
  • BigfamJapan

    on Aug 21

    I've lived in 5 different cities or towns in the Kanto area and I have only seen this once in any of the places I've lived. That was a kappa on top of a mailbox, but in an area that kappas aren't associated with the town. I can tell you what's on the manhole covers in each place I've lived, but not these statues. This is a first for me in my 15 years here, thank you for sharing!

    1
  • JTsu

    on Aug 22

    I am so sorry, everybody. I thought these were a lot more prevalent as I've seen them in 2 or 3 places. Maybe they are more popular up here in Tohoku or something.

    0
  • KamaT

    on Aug 22

    JTsuzuki - No apology needed! These look great. I shall be keeping an eye out for them from now on.

    2
  • JTsu

    on Sep 9

    Nice one DaveJpn!! I knew there were more out there somewhere!

    0
  • Kasajizo

    on Sep 11

    Too bad I haven´t seen any in the greater Osaka area.

    0
  • JTsu

    on Sep 11

    I am sorry to hear that, Kasajizo! Keep an eye out when you travel and you might run into some!

    0
  • helloalissa

    on Nov 9

    A bit late but I found this cute post box in Fukuoka (Hakata Station).

    2
  • JTsu

    on Nov 9

    helloalissa I love it! That one is awesome!

    0

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