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The Japan Postcards

Friday, July 19th, 2024

It’s been more than a month since I returned from Japan, and I think it’s time I did the partner post to this one from a few weeks back. I was hesitating because six of the 35 postcards I sent us from Japan have unfortunately yet to arrive. Since it’s been a few weeks since we got the last one, I’ve all but given up on them 🙁

Why so many cards? Three reasons: I like writing and sending cards, the variety in Japan is astonishing and I had lots of stamps! The cards I send from Japan tend to fall into two categories: the tourist ones such as the four shown above, and the pop-culture ones such as these:

From the left we have a Godzilla card, a Junji Ito card and an Ultraman card. All these are metallic and foiled, and look wonderful.

I suppose there’s a third category as well: ‘unusual’ which includes shaped and lenticular cards. I’m beginning to think the Japanese post office has it in for such cards, since a lenticular I sent us back in January never arrived and I believe two of the missing ones from this last trip were shaped and lenticular as well.

Postcards are almost always written in the hotel room of an evening while watching trashy TV, although sometimes I’ll write them at a restaurant or to pass the time while traveling (on a train or plane for instance). Notably I almost always write them in laundromats, and have done so in about seven countries now.

Writing so many cards would be a challenge be for many I suspect, but I have a simple system: one describes the day (what I did, what I saw, what I ate, what I bought etc) and the other is unrelated musings or crazy nonsense. The above is an example of the former. (Yes almost all the clothes I took with me were discarded to make suitcase space!)

And that is an example of the latter. Bernard had sent me a set of (honestly terrible) Star Wars rubber stamps and the Chewbacca caught my eye and traveled with me. One thing led to another and soon enough the stamp was writing his own postcards under an assumed name. Did you get a card from APELINQ?

As I said I had loads of Japanese stamps, both because Sue had given me some in Australia (leftovers from her trip) and because I went crazy in several post offices. The above are the staples that have been in print for years now, and you’ll see them on Japanese cards going back a decade or more. There’s also a dog, but I think he must be on one of the missing cards.

Every month Japan prints a special set of themed stamps, and whenever I visit I buy them and use them. I forget the actual themes of the sets I purchased while I was there, but I believe one was ‘summer’ and another ‘flowers’. The rabbit and moon were from the same themed sheet, but I don’t recall what it was.

I hardly sent any flower stamps to myself, and there was an entire sheet of food stamps I don’t have any photos of because the ones I sent myself were probably on the lost cards.

As with most trips I try to vary the stamps on the cards I send, and since each of these themed sheets has ten unique stamps on it you very likely received some not shown here. Why not check yours and see?

The top left one was from a themed sheet showing photographs of tourist locations. I liked these a lot and since this is the only example on the cards I have received I assume I used them on the missing cards. I hope they one day arrive!

I wonder what the other circular bird stamps were and who got them?

I purchased the above stamps (which came from the same commemorative sheet) in Kinugawa, from a post office that was extravagantly staffed and stocked for such an ‘abandoned’ town. As usual communication was via translator, and the young lady that served me went to extraordinary lengths in giving me printed guides on how to mail items in Japan and how to affix stamps. She also gave me dozens of airmail stickers that I promptly lost, although I notice some of the cards we received have them on which means someone in the postal service affixed them!

I hope writing this post triggers some sort of cosmic reward, and the other six cards arrive soon. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into the postcards of my trip, which for me are always the #1 souvenir 🙂

Posted in Blog, Japan, Postcards, Stamps | Comments Closed

Classic Doctor Who Trading Cards

Monday, July 8th, 2024

I bought thirteen packs of Doctor Who trading cards last year and I think they’ve aged enough. Time to open them!

As you can see there were four series, released from 1994 through 1996. Unusually these were printed by an American company, but even though I knew of them and looked for them at the time I never saw them sold here. They of course only cover classic Who, since the relaunch was several years away when these were printed.

The above shows the contents of a series 1 pack. Ten cards, each nicely designed (especially for the time) and with a great deal of text on the back. I would have loved these thirty years ago!

A nice touch is that the first three series continue numbering and share design, and it’s almost impossible to tell which particular series a card comes from if you don’t look at the number. Here are cards from each of the first three sets:

Series 1 and 2 have a small (about 1 in 500) chance of autographs in the packs. Of particular interest to me was the Jon Pertwee autograph apparently possible in series 2, and there were traces of excitement in the house as I opened the packs. Alas I was not lucky, and in fact only got two chase cards between all 13 packs:

The leftmost is a glossy card that has a puzzle piece on the back, and the rightmost is a very nicely done foil card (both these came from series 3 packs). These are of average quality for chase cards of that era, and I think would have been satisfying enough to pull from packs.

The 4th series was a surprise. Not only is the design completely different and the numbering resets, but the cards are uglier, many of them are poorly aligned or even miscut and the text written on the back not as good. If I’d bought these in 1996 I would have expected consistency with the first 3 sets (based on the wrapper) and would have been disappointed with the changes.

Overall though, it was fun opening these 30 year old packs of cards, and I’m happy I only got a single double and now have about a third of the full set!

Now let’s go back even further… almost fifty years to be precise!

Back in 1976 Ty-Phoo tea (in the UK) had a promotion called The Amazing World Of Doctor Who. This comprised a booklet, wall chart and set of 12 trading cards randomly packed into boxes of tea. Here’s the full set:

I bought these (for only $5!) at the antique store we visited the other day. They’re in incredible condition for their age, and as a relic of now-ancient Who they’re fantastic. As a fourteen-year-old I would have treasured these!

The back of each card has the name of the character/monster shown, and information on how to buy the book. Based on the rates quoted, you’d have needed to drink a lot of tea to collect a full set of these, so I suppose I’m fairly lucky I own them!

They’ll happily live in a case in a box in a chest for ever 🙂

Posted in Blog, Collecting, History, Otaku, Retro, Trading Cards | Comments Closed

60 More Hours Of Ultraman!

Tuesday, July 2nd, 2024

As of my last update I had watched over 360 hours of Ultraman series. Only a fool would have stopped, so let’s catch up with what I’ve seen since then…

Ultraman Z (2020, 25 episodes, 12.5 hours)

This one has a fantastic cast with likable guys, lovable girls and the brilliant inclusion of ex-villian Jugglus Juggler as the captain of the defense force. It started very strong, but kept getting better and better until the very end. I loved the many cameos (Geed, Zero and Ace), the fact Z got the Beliarok sword, and that robot versions of famous kaiju were used as Earth defense vehicles. In addition to great characters and story, the special effects are great and the final ‘Zestium Beam’ in episode 25 may be the best ever in Ultra-history! The opening theme is great as well. This is one of my all-time favourite Ultra series.

Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Absolute Conspiracy (2020, 2 hours)

This is a short web series (on YouTube) that introduces ‘The Absolutians’ led by the incredible powerful ‘Absolute Tartarus’; a sort of evil version of Ultramen with incredible visual design. The story is about Ultras investigating the universal threat of the Absolutians. In truth, this series is just an excuse for lots of over-the-top and CGI-heavy fights, and the plot is bonkers madness. Tartarus is super cool, and it was cool to see Belial and Tregear before they turned evil, but the highlight for me was the splash screens introducing every Ultra when they appeared. It was lovely to see 80 again! Overall a fun watch.

Ultraman Trigger (2021, 25 episodes, 12.5 hours)

This was a heavily hyped series, since it’s the spiritual successor of Ultraman Tiga which remains one of the highest rated Ultra series of all time. Overall I enjoyed it, but not as much as Z. The plot is heavily based around the history of Trigger himself, who has a dark side (‘Trigger Dark’) and an evil ex-girlfriend! It was all a little weird but the cast is good and the chemistry between them – especially the flamboyant intergalactic thief character – was strong. The effects in this series evolved from ‘great’ to ‘extremely good’, and I think this was the first series where some of the CGI was essentially seamless to the live action. I liked the ending, but it was somewhat unsatisfying since there’s currently no translated way to watch the sequel film. Worth watching.

Ultra Galaxy Fight: The Destined Crossroad (2022, 2 hours)

This is the sequel to the previous year’s Ultra Galaxy Fight series (and is also on YouTube) and the story continues on directly with the Absolutian threat. One notable element is the addition of a brand new ultra – named Regulos – who is held capture by the Absolutians and is a bit of a mystery. I wonder if we’ll find out who he is…? Plot aside, this is another endless series of high-powered fights between Ultras and all sorts of foes and since it includes dozens and dozens of Ultras it’s obviously red meat for a fan like me 🙂

Ultraman Decker (2022, 25 episodes, 12.5 hours)

Tsuburaya have been knocking them out of the park for a few years now, and this series from 2022 continued the high production values of Trigger and Z with a – once again – great cast with wonderful chemistry. The leader seems stilted at first but isn’t at all, the robot (Hane2) is fun but the girl (Kirino) is mesmerizingly cute and – for me – stole every scene she was in! There were a lot of nostalgic episodes in this one that gave me the feels, and more than once this story resonated with my past experiences visiting Japan. The future storyline segments involving the ‘original’ decker were especially good science fiction, and I’d love to see a series based around the human Decker from the future. I loved that I’ve got a bunch of the cards Decker uses to transform since they’re the same ones used by the Ultraman arcade game at that time (that I got addicted to in a couple of Japan trips). This is another wonderful Ultra series.

Ultraman Regulos (2019, 6 episodes, 1.5 hours)

This is a YouTube series about a mysterious Ultra who trains to become the grandmaster of ‘Cosmo Beast Style’ martial arts. It’s an unusual introduction to a new Ultra, and making him a martial artist is cool but it’s also a bit weird. This of course explains the character that was introduced in The Destined Crossroads, and it was clever that it’s also a backstory for Absolut Diavolo. Oh, and it’s bonkers as well.

Ultraman Blazar (2023, 25 episodes, 12.5 hours)

This was the first post-Shin Ultraman series and it shows. For starters Blazar’s host is an adult with a wife and child, and the series is divorced from previous lore, with all-new kaiju and no crossovers at all. The team is much more believable and human than in any previous show, and they question events in the same way the characters of Shin did. The story is full of mystery, and slow-burning under the monster-of-the-week episodes is an unfolding conspiracy unlike anything in previous Ultra-series. Blazar himself is a very unusual Ultra, and if I have any criticism of the show it’s that we don’t learn enough about him. The special effects are extremely good, especially some of Blazar’s attacks. One of my all-time favourite Ultra series, and this will be my recommendation for a starting point for older viewers.

Ultraman Regulos: First Mission (2022, 20 minutes)

A short YouTube special where Regulos (and Ultraman Ribut) team up to defeat a threat. Basically an excuse for Regulos to show us his ‘Cosmo Beast’ powers, it’s silly fun and as with the others in this series heavy on lore and Ultra history.

Ultraman Rising (2024, 2 hours)

This Netflix Ultraman animated film just came out, and it tells a story of a young baseball hero who unwillingly inherited the mantle of Ultraman. The kid-friendly story involves a baby kaiju and occasionally gets a bit too cute, but the show is loaded with references to Ultra-history and is a labor of love by those who made it. The visuals are beautiful, and special mention must be given to ILM for the special attack effects which are breathtaking. I enjoyed this one much more than I thought I would, and very much hope we get the teased sequel.

While I was watching the above main series, I also made the Bandai model kit for each Ultra! These were inexpensive, easy and fun to assemble, and all of them look great. I hope Bandai makes similar kits for older Ultramen.

That’s 420 hours of Ultraman so far! Am I done? Of course not! I’m currently watching Ultraman Max, have three other old series on DVD to watch, and the brand new series Ultraman Arc begins (on YouTube) this weekend! Guess who’ll be watching it on day one? 🙂

Posted in Blog, Otaku, TV | Comments Closed

The Australia Postcards

Friday, June 28th, 2024

I sent myself forty postcards from Australia, which isn’t bad considering I was only there eighteen days! I wrote and sent them every day, and even wrote one on the plane on the way and one the morning I left for Japan.

Displaying them all here is excessive, so I’m showing four special ones above. The top left beautiful Newcastle postcard I sent Kristin (in a package) way back in 1992. I rediscovered it – with a few others – in a box about a year ago and decided to take them all to Oz and finally mail them. The Thylacine card (top right) is surely one of the very few ever printed of this now-extinct Australian mammal? Amazingly I bought it from the postcard shop about an hours drive from our house. The description on the back of the card makes no mention of Thylacines being extinct! The Kosciusko card was purchased from the same shop, and coincidentally is from the very same series as other cards depicting Kosciusko that we bought as a family when we visited in the 1980s!

And the koala one? It’s a Japanese ‘Toppan’ lenticular card depicting toy koalas that was likely printed in the 1960s. It’s worth a bit on the secondary market these days (I bought it on eBay) and when I put it in the mailbox I thought there was a better-than-even chance I’d never see it again! (As an aside Toppan still exists and is one of Japans leading printers of trading cards!)

You’re wondering what I write on the cards, and how I can write two or more a day? The above message is typical: the cards are little diaries of my trips. For many years now on postcards I sent myself I have daily records of almost everything notable that I saw or did on my travels. Sometimes the cards describe an entire day in broad strokes, but more usually they chronicle moments that occurred during that day.

I had some markers with me, and also did a lot of art on the cards I sent. Did you get one with anything drawn on it?

Forty cards cost A$132 to mail to the USA, which is about US$90. I always try to put different stamps on every card, and there were many visits to post offices this past trip. As a result I ended up with a lot of different stamps! Here they all are:

The above show many of the low-denomination stamps available in Australia. I bought this at the main CBD post office in Sydney and the lady at the philatelic counter told me they’ve stopped printing all of these, and once the supply is gone, that’s it!

It cost $3 to send a postcard from Australia to the USA, or $3.30 if you’re using domestic stamps (see next pic). The basic stamp denomination is $1.20, which means it’s not possible to make $3 or $3.30 using such stamps alone. As a result I usually put slightly more than required postage on each card.

The photographic scenery stamps are pretty aren’t they? Note they are marked ‘International’ which differentiates them from domestic stamps. The reason is tax-related and (in my opinion) a bit silly, and I suspect the day Australia gets rid of dedicated international stamps is soon.

I don’t buy every set of stamps available, and usually ignore ugly ones or those intended for birthday greetings or weddings. These canned fruit ones were probably my least favourites of the ones I sent this past trip!

Australia prints stamps labeled as from some of their territories, such as the two Norfolk Island stamps above. This is mostly for philatelic purposes, and all these stamps are legal for use in Australia.

I’ve always loved Australian animal stamps, and there always seems to be some in print, such as the seven birds above.

The annual lunar new year stamps are all issued with Christmas Island labels. Traditionally Australia labels their Christmas stamps as from Christmas Island as well, although you’ll note that wasn’t the case on either of them shown above.

Australia prints a lot of commemorative stamps, most of which depict licensed characters. These come in special sleeves and are intended for collectors, but the stamps are all legal for use and every year I usually buy a set and use them! There were more than the eight Star Wars villian stamps shown above: did I send you one of the others?

It’s visible on a few stamps shown here, but did you notice the ‘Secure your dog for safe delivery‘ postmark? I wonder how many people read or even notice postmarks on their mail? If you don’t, why not have a look next time you receive something! (Also note the $4.50 fish stamp I put in one card!)

The above all went on one card – I overpaid by more than 50% – since I didn’t want to break up the lovely art.

The seahorse stamp is $1.50 and was the first stamp printed after prices recently rose (Australia doesn’t have forever stamps). Strangely they only printed one design to get a new priced stamp out quickly, but the lady in Sydney told me there would be more in the set (marine animals) printed later.

I put this entire ‘minisheet’ on a card, and since it’s massive very little space remained for the address and almost none for a message. Happily the card arrived safe and sound 🙂

Incidentally I put quite a bit of thought into the stamps of every card I send, and when possible try to put thematic ones on the cards. When you get a card from me, pay attention to the stamps which were likely chosen just for you!

Of course Australia was only half my trip! I haven’t yet received all the postcards I sent us from Japan, but once I do you can expect a similar post.

Posted in Blog, Postcards, Stamps | Comments Closed

Antiques & Fireworks

Monday, June 24th, 2024

The predominant goal of our recent weekend trip was to buy fireworks. In addition to the Frazetta museum, we also visited a few interesting stores along the way.

The first was a ‘country store’ which is a rural ‘corner shop’ that sells more or less anything. Such stores are uncommon these days, and we love discovering ones that are cluttered and dilapidated and feel a bit like retail time capsules. But at the one we stopped at Saturday I wasn’t at all prepared to find shelves full of vintage Star Wars!

I learned from the shopkeeper that these items were on consignment from a man with an enormous collection. There was such a large selection you could have assembled a close-to-complete collection of vintage figures and playsets/vehicles. Even rare items as the Ewok Village, Droid Factory or Star Destroyer playset! There were two Millennium Falcons and two Sandcrawlers. It was truly an incredible assortment.

It was surreal seeing such a selection in a small shop in the middle of nowhere, but then we explored the rest of the shop and amidst the Christmas decorations, books and typical miscellaneous ‘gifts’ they also had loads of plastic model kits, wrestling figures, train sets and even dozens of Smurfs:

I should have bought one for Bernard 🙂

I’m happy to say I bought a vintage R2! The middle leg is 3D printed and the decal is a retro but the metallic dome is original and I’m more than happy with a bit of repro when the cost is a quarter of what it otherwise would have been.

As I wrote when I was in Oz, antique shops can be wonderful places to find treasures, and we don’t hesitate to stop at them when we see one these days. Does it mean I’m old when items from my childhood are now sold as ‘antiques’?

Yesterday we stopped at a large antique mall on the way to the fireworks shops. It was an old factory that now contains over 110 dealers and moments after we walked through the door we knew we’d found something special.

The building contained aisles and aisles of independent dealer booths like the above, and the variety of items was extraordinary. We didn’t have a lot of time but could easily have spent many hours just browsing since most of the stores were packed with stuff and the feeling treasures were waiting to be found was strong!

The above was $29, but had it been $10 or less I would have bought it in a heartbeat!

This Burger King glass was only $20 and since it was in extraordinary condition I was a fool for not buying it!

The place was an antique heaven, and every few booths had unexpected items like boxed Colecovision games just chilling on a shelf! We bought some magazines, (exactly) 86 postcards, a model kit, a flexidisc, a small dish and this:

A 27-year-old box of trading cards! At $0.15 a pack when released, this was $5.40 worth of packs in 1977, but I think I got a deal at $65. These cards had been on my ‘list’ for years and I could barely believe I’d stumbled upon a full box for such a comparatively low price. The dealer even had two of these and I nearly bought both! I’ll open it on the blog one day 🙂

I think these won’t be the last antique shops we visit this summer…

It was time to go and (finally!) buy some fireworks. Once again we’re going to have a fun July 4th in Rochester with the oldies, and as usual we were determined to deliver to them some high quality explosive entertainment.

The Australians will be looking at the above photo and wishing they could buy the entire thing! And they wouldn’t hesitate to spend a mere $1.49 for this guy:

Alas those little guys are noisy as hell and Kristins mum had requested we only get quiet fireworks. I’d say there’s at least a 50% chance we’ve succeeded 🙂

Posted in Blog, Miscellaneous | Comments Closed

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