I started cycling around Japan since 2020, whenever I have longer holidays…
Soon, I started collecting various things on the way.
They cost nothing, weight next to nothing, but have been given me much surprises, happiness, and things to remember…
Many of these are unique things that you can only find in Japan. I hope that you enjoy. Perhaps you can find something else special too!
- Manhole Cover photos
If you walk or cycle, you may notice many towns/cities/regions/prefectures etc. have their own manhole cover design. Many of them are beautiful, detailed, even colourful. They often reflect famous symbols/places/foods etc. of this place. It is really interesting to take & collect pictures of them. This has been by far my biggest collection.
- Vending Machine photos
There are many vending machines in Japan. You can often find vending machines with regional designs, cartoon characters, prefecture characters…
Moreover, the vending machine business is still booming that you can find vending machines selling not only drinks or snacks, but all kinds of things, such as ramen, raw meat, cookies… You’ll be surprised!
Because using vending machines really save labor costs, and it can provide service 24 hours, many shops has switched to using machines. Such as, many ramen shops and public facilities require you to buy tickets from machines. Recently, I even saw temples selling their lucky charms by vending machines!
- Fence & Bus photos
Other than above, I also often find very pretty or cute design fences or buses, that I can’t help but snapping pictures of them!
- Brochures & Maps
Unlike many countries that you have to buy or download the maps online, in Japan if you visit the service areas on highways or visitor centres in the towns, you can always get beautifully-printed brochures & maps of that area.
In fact, if you are just visiting the town (not hiking in mountains), that alone can already provide enough sightseeing or transport information. I often bring them home as my free souvenirs!
- Stamps
Stamps (Hanko or Inkan) were invented by China, but widely adopted by Japan. To this day, most of the public documents and banks still require personal/company stamps (seals) as part of the identification.
Likewise, most of the train stations, service areas and sightseeing spots have free stamps sitting the counter, that you can feel free to use! All you need is just a notebook or even paper!
If you travel by train or ferry. Almost every train station or ferry port must have their own stamp sitting at the entrance/main hall. If you don’t see them, you can ask the worker there. Sometimes they may hide the stamps behind the counter, because the stamps are occasionally stolen…
My stamp books has been my 2nd biggest collection! I started collecting stamps since I used Seishun 18 ticket to travel around Kyushu by trains one summer. This collection has grown further since I started traveling by bicycle…
- Tickets
When you travel in Japan, you may receive some tickets, such as ferries, museums or onzens. Some of the tickets are well-designed and really worth-collecting.
For example, if you visit Beppu for their hot springs, for sure you will be recommended to have the “Hell Tour”, which is to visit the 7 most unique hot springs in Beppu. They all have different nature, colour and sceneries. You can buy a booklet which includes the tickets to enter all 7 hot springs, and after that, you can still keep the booklet, with photos & explanations for each hot spring, as souvenir.
- Manhole cards
Occasionally, Manhole cards would be issued by some cities or prefectures. Tourists can get them for free from visitor centres or ward offices. These manhole cards show the complete colorful design of local manhole covers, as well as explanation about that region.
- Dam cards
Likewise, there are many rivers and lakes in Japan, thus many dams. I heard that almost every dam have their own dam cards.
Therefore, if you are driving or come across a dam, don’t forget to check out the office of that dam. If you are lucky that the dam office is open, you may be able to get the dam cards for free!
Again, these dam cards show picture and history of the dams, so they were quite interesting to read and collect!
There are in fact much more things that you can collect while traveling Japan, depending what your interest is… Whatever it is, I hope you have fun in Japan!