Museums

November 25, 2016

The topic for today's Weekend Linky Party is Museums/University/Library but I'm going to concentrate mostly on the first part of it.

In Japan, there are many old buildings, many of which are preserved and open to view.  I hope you will allow me to count some of these buildings as Museums.  They may not be exactly the kind of places that many of you are used to calling Museums, but they do provide a window to the past.

The first card would have been a good entry to last week's topic of Authors, but I forgot that I had the card.  A friend sent it to me a few weeks ago and I hadn't had time to scan it before last week.  This card shows Aomori-born author Osamu Dazai in front of a museum dedicated to his life.  He lived in the town for some of his childhood, and the building was built by his father. This is the Osamu Dazai Memorial Museum.

Below you see a Gotochi Card for Ouchi-Juku in Fukushima.  I was actually there this week! The village is nestled near the top of a mountain and due to the remoteness was allowed to remain as it was for centuries.  All the buildings have thatched roofs and it is an interesting, if touristy place to visit.  There is an actual museum set up there, the Ouchi-Juku Pavilion. This is a rebuilt inn that shows what life was like for visitors and workers alike in olden days.  I'm not sure which building it would be on the card, but I'm sure it is in there somewhere!

I enjoyed visiting Ouchi-Juku, but was a little saddened that almost every building sold souvenirs.  It was also very cold while we were there, and even snowed a little that day.

Another view of the town is below, from a postcard that I sent today!

I hope that you have enjoyed looking at these "museums" as much as I have.  Please visit the other members of the Weekend Linky Party and see what great cards they feature.  

The Missing Cards

Special Entry...3 Years in the making

Sadly, many of my cards seem to go astray when I send them from my little corner of Japan. I am going to pick a few of my favourite cards that never it made to the places I sent them to and show them to you.  

Sometimes the person moved before they arrived, other times, I'm not sure. Perhaps they didn't please their recipient so they weren't registered. Perhaps, their intended recipient had a computer malfunction.  The cards may still be moving somewhere out there…through a black hole or perhaps purloined for their beauty or mangled too badly to read in a postal machine somewhere!

So, for any of you curious people, here are some of my non-delivered cards. Please enjoy them, and mourn their non-delivery with me...

This first card was going to another Postcrosser in Japan.  It shows a very famous place in Sakata, the next city up the train line.  This is the Sankyo Warehouse with zelkova trees.  The warehouse is still used for storing rice to this day, but also houses two museums, one for the area of Sakata, one for the history of rice production.  I was very disappointed that this one was never registered as I haven't seen this card on Postcrossing...it's done by a local photographer I think.

These warehouses have been featured in a few movies, I believe in Oishin and also in a (not very good) Keira Knightley movie called Silk.

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This card was sent to Belarus.  Although it has been a long time, I think the person wanted cards that have unusual housing on it!  The card is from Akita.

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I broke my own rule with this one and sent it in an envelope to Canada.  The person I sent it to wasn't on Postcrossing for several months and this card was never registered.  Sob!

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This card was lost on the way to Thailand.  The person asked for Hello Kitty cards, and my husband had just gifted me with a packet of them.  

Sadly, it never arrived.  I'm not a big Hello Kitty fan, but I do love the bold colours in this card.

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This card shows the bridges in Niigata City.  I had found a treasure trove of beautiful cards from that city and wanted to show them off.  It was lost somewhere on the way to Brazil.  It may yet arrive, but the year of travelling is just about up.

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 This card was on its way to Belgium when it went missing.  The person's profile was so interesting that I wanted to send a special card.  I picked this one, but it never arrived.  These poor lucky cats weren't very lucky.

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This one was on its way to France when it disappeared.  I was sending it to a Postal Worker and he didn't have this card at the time.  It doesn't seem to have made the journey.  Maybe it decided to have a look at the Eiffel Tower instead?  

Mailboxes in Japan
There are still a few of the ones in the center around my city!

Well, that's a few of my cards that never arrived.  I have more of course, but these were some of the nicest ones.  What about you?  Do you have any cards that you were greatly disappointed by their not arriving?  Do tell!

Outgoing Card-Japanese Culture

March 3, 2014

I sent this card to my niece a few days ago. I think it is probably still in the mail, but maybe she'll get it on time.  March 3rd is Girl's Day and many girls and women in Japan put up these displays in their homes.  Some of the Hina (Dolls) are gorgeous.  I often visit museums to see the displays in this season.

I hope she likes it whenever it arrives.  

Sent Card - Manekineko

August, 2013

I sent this card to a Japanese Postcrosser who likes Manekineko (beckoning cats).  I loved the simplicity of the card. It looks like an old ukiyo-e card too, but is very modern.

It's one of my recent favourites.

Gotochi Card - Sent

August 2013

I sent this Yamagata Gotochi card to a Japanese Postcrosser who was very happy to receive it.  Yamagata is famous for fruit, and cherries are one of the major fruits that we produce.  It was well received by the person who got it.

This is my third most popular sent card!

Sent Card

October 2012

I sent this card off to Finland to a Postcrosser who likes night views of cities.  This card was special to me because I bought it in Kobe where I was for a board meeting of AFWJ, a wonderful Woman's Group that I belong to.  I was recovering from a rare bout of bad health, and I wasn't sure that I would be able to make the trip.  I fell in love with the card, and very nearly didn't send it.

It's been a while, but I believe this view is taken in Kyoto.

Gotochi Card - Sent

November, 2012

In November last year, I sent this Yamagata Gotochi card to another Japanese Postcrosser.  Not surprisingly, it is my most popular sent card.

The card shows the Hanagasa Dancers, which are part of a traditional Yamagata dance festival. Most cities in Yamagata have their own version of the dance.

I am happy to report that the person I sent it to loves it! Yay.