I went to Waki Post Office on the same day I went to Asuka Post Office. It's about a 20-minute drive from Asuka Post Office, so if you have access to a car, it's a good idea to visit both, since there is no public transport connecting them. For my story on Asuka Post Office fukeiin, read here.
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和木 (Waki) is an area in Daiwa Town, Mihara. The area is well-known for Hakuryuko, a lake created by the multipurpose dam "Mukunashi Dam." The name came from a local legend about the Mukunashi River (I need to find out more about it). There are sports facilities utilizing the vast land upstream of Lake Hakuryu, as well as roadside stations and resort centers on the lakeside. You can reach it by taking the bus from Kochi Station (Sanyo Line) and getting off at Wakikyoku bus stop.
It was lunchtime, so we decided to have lunch before going to the post office. I checked Google Maps and saw a few places of interest. We decided to have lunch at a place called みちくさ (Michikusa) since I saw that they offer some unusual menus.
Inside, we were greeted by koi fish. Lots of them. From small ones to huge ones, all inside the restaurant. It seems the owners are koi enthusiasts. 😄 This restaurant offers ジビエ (gibier), or game meat, for consumption. In rural areas of Japan, locals are allowed to hunt animals such as deer and wild boar for consumption to control their populations. On that day, Michikusa had both deer meat and wild boar meat available. I ordered deer katsu, while my husband ordered deer yakiniku. The owner, Obaasan, also recommended deer sashimi, so we ordered some. Neither of us had had deer sashimi before, so why not give it a try? 😁
Food came, and it was *chef's kiss*. The deer meat was tender and not gamey at all. It paired well with both katsu and yakiniku sauce. There were plenty of side dishes, and everything was delicious. The egg was sourced from a local farm famous for its super delicious egg yolks. I love egg yolks, so I'm in heaven. I couldn't believe all this only cost 1300 yen. Perks of being in the countryside, I guess. And now, time to try the deer sashimi.
It was so good!! I didn't expect it to be this soft!! The grated ginger enhanced the flavor and removed all the gamey smell. For the sauce, they used Kyushu soy sauce, which is sweeter than regular soy sauce. We left Michikusa feeling full and grateful for the beautiful serendipity.
With our stomachs full, it's now time to go to the Waki Post Office. The post office is located along National Route 486, which connects Soja in Okayama with Higashihiroshima in Hiroshima. There are plenty of parking spaces, which is good news for people coming by car.
I took pictures in front of the mailbox (now only these 4 postcards were left, so there would be no mistake!). The postcards would be going to Germany, Portugal, and Indonesia. I hope they all reach their new homes safely.
I went inside the post office to post the 4 postcards and a regular one I had prepared for myself. At the counter, I saw Posukuma (Japan Post's official mascot character) stamps and a mailbox-shaped postcard with "Waki Post Office" written on it, so of course, I'm getting them.
Oh, by the way, I got this info from my friend in the Nonbiri Mail Club. If you frequently buy from Japan Post, it's a good idea to download the Japan Post app. You can earn points by buying post-related items there, and 1 point per day by checking in at any post office! When you have enough points, you can exchange them for various items, from Japan Post merchandise to local produce. Mission accomplished, and we headed back home.
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A few days later, my postcard with the fukeiin arrived. It has the image of Hakuryuko with fireworks above it.
From the Japan Post official website: "The fukeiin depicts Lake Hakuryu and fireworks." The fukeiin was launched on August 10th, 1985.
By the way, the Mihara City government holds the Hakuryuko fireworks competition each year in April at Hakuryuko Sports-mura Park. This year it will be held on April 4th! Usually, fireworks competitions in Japan are held in summer, so Hakuryuko's is a rare example. Learned something new today!
Recently, I started collecting 風景印 fukeiin, or pictorial postmarks. After finding out about fukeiin, I researched which designs are available, where I could get them, and how to get there. Many of the post offices that provide fukeiin are only open on weekdays, and I would need to go to the counter to request it. Of course, I could just send a fukeiin request to any post office that I want, have them stamp them for me, and then send the postcards to the addresses written there. In fact, that would make it much easier to complete the collection. However, I believe that the journey and the experience of getting each fukeiin are just as important and meaningful as the fukeiin themselves. That means I will have to go there by myself, and it raises the difficulty by a few levels. Many people outside Japan believe they can travel around the country without a car because of the country's vast train network. In urban areas such as Tokyo or Osaka, that may be the case, but in the count...
Still on the first day of our trip to Kurashiki (you can read about the beginning of the trip in my previous post ). After checking into our hotel (hotels in Japan usually only accept check-in after 3 or 4 pm) and having a quick rest, my husband and I headed to the bus stop at Kurashiki station around 4 pm to board the bus to Kojima station at the southern tip of the city. Kojima is known as the mecca of Okayama raw denim. I'm not particularly a fan of denim, but my friend told me she'd love to visit the Okayama denim place on her next visit to Japan, so I thought I'd go there first to see what it's like, and hopefully I'll be able to guide her well when she's here. Plus, I checked Google and confirmed that the Kojima Post Office offered fukeiin, and it was open until 7 pm. All the more reason for me to go. According to the info we got from the Tourist Information Center, the bus from Kurashiki to Kojima usually takes 45-50 minutes. However, that day the traffi...
It was the week of my wedding anniversary. My husband and I decided to go on a 2-day, 1-night trip to Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture. As a fan of old towns and old buildings, Kurashiki had been on my bucket list for a long time. Of course, it was also a perfect opportunity to get some more fukeiin. I've already gotten some postcards ready to be sent, and this time I double-checked before leaving the house ! (If you want to know what happened last time, check my previous post. ) *** My husband and I usually travel by car, but since it was the day after the big snowfall in the Chugoku Region, we decided it was better to ditch the car and take the regular train instead. It was a good thing, since my husband could read his favorite manga series instead of driving. From the train window, I could see the remnants of yesterday's snow here and there. On the train, I checked Google Maps for post offices with fukeiin within walking distance from the stations along the line for future re...
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