Here comes the foreigner who loves stamps

I have a friend in New York who is particularly appreciative of good design. When he visited Tokyo recently, he was blown away by the imaginative typography of public advertising and the fine printing  of throw-away pamphlets--so when I write him I include a few printed ephemera and I like to put a nice-looking stamp on the envelope.

The staff at our local post office have gotten used to this little eccentricity of mine and now every time I go there to buy stamps and mail a letter I am greeted with a smile and without my saying anything given a choice of the most recent commemorative yen stamps issued by Japan Mail.

     Airmail postage to the States is 130 yen for an ordinary letter. If airmail is somehow too abrupt, you can ask Japan Mail to send your letter by boat. It will cost only 90 yen but it may take a month. 
   - Rick Kennedy