2015.03.15 postal 11

If you haven’t been in a Japanese post office lately, you might not have heard of the annual Regional Form Cards postcard series. Since 2009, there has been a new set every year that depicts every one of Japan’s 47 prefectures through postcards shaped like a local food, landmark or well-known citizen.

The seventh edition of the series is going to launch this week, so you might want to get yourself a pen pal or two from Japan to send you some of the cool postcards that show what makes every prefecture famous!

The Regional Form Cards have become pretty popular in Japan and many people like to collect them as souvenirs or send them to friends and family living in other parts of the country. The newest series will go on sale March 20 and seem like they will be another hit among postcard enthusiasts. Every Japanese prefecture will have its own special postcard depicting something the area is known for, like Okinawa Prefecture’s Shuri Castle or flounder from Oita Prefecture.

▼ All 47 of the upcoming postcards arranged in map form

2015.03.15 postal 11Image: Posta Collect

Now that we’ve got you excited about the postcards, here is the catch: the postcards are only available at local post offices. This means if you want the postcard with Fukushima Prefecture’s famous waterfall cherry blossom tree, you’ve either got to visit the prefecture or befriend a local to send you one in the mail. Because it wouldn’t be as fun to collect if you could just buy them online, right?

▼ If you want this postcard featuring Kochi Prefecture’s famous yuzu citrus fruit, start planning that trip to Shikoku

2015.03.15 yuzuImage: Posta Collect

Each card costs 185 yen (US$1.52), making it a cheap and fun souvenir to collect if you’re traveling around Japan. Plus, you’ll get to learn about what makes every prefecture unique, like how we learned that every year a city in Nara Prefecture holds the National Championship of Goldfish Scooping to celebrate how goldfish farming began there in 1724.

▼ Unlike “hamster fishing,” Nara is proud to claim the goldfish scooping game

2015.03.15 narar goImage: Posta Collect

Just a note to readers wanting to send the cards through the Japanese post office, make sure you buy the proper postage since they are considered an “irregularly sized card” and will cost extra. But the extra cost will be worth it to get one of these fun cards in the mail! Which prefecture’s card would you like to be sent or to collect for yourself?

Source: Posta Collect
Top image: Posta Collect
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