The sender says one of her favourite activities is to play  Mölkky.  Mölkky was invented in 1996, but is similar to a centuries old game called  kyykkä, an old Finnish game.  The set consists of a throwing pin, and 12 shorter wooden pins numbers from 1 to 12. The pins are initially places in a tight group in an upright position 3-4 metres away from the throwing line, with the pins organized in a certain orer. Players take turns to toss the throwing pin to try and knock over the numbered pins. The player is awarded the number that is on the pin(s). The pins that are knocked over are then stood up in the exact location where they landed. The first player to 50 wins the game. If you score more than 50 a player is penalized by setting their score back to 25. If a player misses all the numbered pins three times in a row, they are eliminated. 

Oslo has been one of my bucket list cities for a while now. It is supposed to be a beautiful city.  It is ranked number one in terms of quality of life among European large cities in the European Cities of the Future 2012 report by fDi magazine. However, it is also the second most expensive city in the world for living expenses, after Tokyo, in 2011.  Lonely Planet named Oslo one of its Top Ten Cities to Visit in 2018. It citied Oslo's "innovative architecture and unmissable museums alongside cool bars, bistros, and cafes." It is also one of the safest capital cities in Europe. Crime has been on the decrease since 2020.

These beckoning cats are found in Gotoku-ji  護国寺, a Shingon Buddhist Temple in Tokyo's  Bunkyō . The temple was established by Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, the 5th  shōgun, and completed in 1681. It is notable for surviving the American air raids during World War II, whilte most other historical sites in Tokyo were turned in rubble.  Beckoning cats, it is believed, bring good luck to it's owner. 

Edogawa is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis. It was first recorded in 721. It has a population of almost 700 000 people. Edogawa also has a high percentage of people with Indian ancestry. As such, there is a thriving Indian restaurant industry in the area. 

A World Postcard Day card from Tokyo. The writer says she visited Yoyogi Park  代々木公園  the day she sent the card. Yoyogi is located in Shibuya, Tokyo. On Sundays the park is used as a gathering place for Japanese rock music fans, jugglers, comedians, martial arts clubs, cosplayers, and other subculture and hobby groups. In the spring, the cherry blossoms attracts thousands of spectators.  Japans first successful powered aircraft flight in Japan took place where Yoyogi is now. The flight was undertaken by Yoshitoshi Tokugawa  徳川好敏  on December 19, 1910.  Tokugawa was a captain in the Imperial Japanese Army at the time. He went on to become a lieutenant general until 1945. His last posting was with the Imperial Army Aviation School.   After World War II, the site was a housing area for United States Army officers, known as Washington Heights during the Allied occupation of Japan.  The area was used for athlete housing during the 1964 Summer Olym...

A beautiful photo of Kiyosato Heights in the Southern Alps (Akaishi Mountains  赤石山脈)  in Japan.  They go from central Honshu, near Nagano and joins with the Hida Mountains (Northern Alps) and Kiso Mountains (Central Alps) to form the Japanese Alps.  Mount Hōō  ( 鳳凰山) is the first mountain at the southern most part of the Southern Alps.  Mount Kita  ( 北岳) is the highest at 3193 m. 

This card features some anime but there is nothing written on the card to show what series it is from. The sender wrote down the following quotation: Learning without conjugation is equal to ignorance, Yukichi Fukizawa  福澤 諭吉 (1835 - 1901).  He was a Japanese educator, philosopher, writer, entrepreneur, and samurai. He founded Keio University  慶應義塾大学  and the Institute for Study of Infectious Diseases  東京大学医科学研究所 . Fukuzawa was a strong advocate for women's rights in Japan. He often spoke publicly about equality between a husband and wife. He promoted education for girls and boys. And he advocated for parents to love their children equally.  Fukizawa appears on the Series E (2004)  ¥10 000 banknote. 

A great card of a cable car on Mount Tsukuba. The mountain is one of the most famous in Japan and is known for its double peaks. The two peaks have their own names - Nyotai-san  女体山 translates to female body, while Nantai-san  男体山 means male body. Hikers can climb the mountain to take in the panoramic view of the  Kantō Plain. The Tokyo skyline, Lake Kasumigaura, and Mt Fuji can all be seen from the summit on clear days. Tsukuba is also different from most Japanese peaks as it is not volcanic, but made up of granite and gabbro. 

A lovely card of the Ninna-ji  仁和寺  Temple in Kyoto from an American ex-pat living with her husband in Tokyo. Ninna-ji is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1994). The Ninna-ji Temple is the head temple for the Omura School of the Shingon Sect of Buddhism. It was first founded in 888 and reconstructed in the 17th century.  Emperor Kōkō  光孝天皇 ordered the construction of the temple in 886 to bless the nation and propogate Buddhist teachings. His successor, Emperor Uda, saw the construction to its completion.   From 888 to 1869, it was traditional for the reigning emperors to send a son to the temple to take over as head priest when a vacancy arose. Uda retired from the throne and became the first Monzeki  門跡 , or aristocratic priest, of Ninna-ji. The last Monzeki was Junnin Hosshinno, the 30th chief of the temple.  The temple was destroyed by fire and fighting in the  Ōnin War  応仁の乱, a civil war from 1467 to 1477. It was a dispute between Hosok...

Asakusa  浅草 is a district in Tokyo. Asakusa is home to one of three largest Shinto festivals in Tokyo, the Sanja Matsuri  三社祭, or the Three Shrine Festival. It is a weekend long religious celebration that is dedicated to the kami (spirits) of three men - Hinokuma Hamanari and Hinokuma Takenari, two fishermen, and Hajino Nakatomo, a wealthy landlord. All three men devoted their lives to Buddhism after the fishermen caught a statuette of the Bodhisattva Kannon. Nakatomo convinced the fishermen to devote their lives to Buddhism. This apparently happened the morning of 18 Mar 628. 

This card is an ad for a Japanese television series based on the life of Shizo Kanakuri  金栗 四三. He was a Japanese marathon runner and is considered the father of marathon in Japan.  Kanakuri qualified to attend the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. Japan only sent two athletes and they had to pay for their own travel expenses. It took Kanakuri 18 days to get to Stockholm. He took a ship to Russia and then traveled on the Trans-Siberian Railway. He needed five days to recover from the journey. The day of the marathon, the temperature was  25°C. Kanakuri was weakened by the journey to Sweden, had problems with the midnight sun, and had troubles with the local food. His coach, Hyozo Omori, was bedridden due to tuberculosis during his stay in Sweden. Halfway through the race, Kanakuri pulled out and was taken care of by a local family. Embarrassed, Kanakuri returned back to Japan without notifying race officials. Rumours that he disappeared swirled in Sweden.  Kanakuri was select...

The sender is a big fan of Ghibli. Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo. Its mascot is a character named Totoro. It is a giant spirit inspired by raccoon dogs and cats. The studio's highest grossing animated films are Spirited Away (2001), Howl's Moving Castle (2004), and Ponyo (2008).

The ginkgo biloba (maidenhair tree) is indigenous to China. Its leaf extract is commonly used as a dietary supplement, but there isn't any evidence that it works. Ginkgo's can grow up to 35 meters. It is deep rooted and resistant to wind and snow damage. They are disease resistant, with insect resistant wood, and have the ability to form aerial roots and sprouts which make them durable. There are some ginkgo trees that are more than 2500 years old. 

Naho from Tokyo  東京  sends a card from the Astro Boy  鉄腕アトム manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was created in 1952. Astro Boy is an android young boy with human emotions created by Umataro Tenma after Tenma's own son dies. He is sold to a robot circus, and then saved by Professor Ochanomizu. Astro Boy becomes Ochanomizu's surrogate son and he creates a robot family for Astro and helps him leve a normal, human boy life. Of course, Astro Boy goes on many adventures. 

Isehara  伊勢原市  is a city of 102 000 people about 50 km from Tokyo. A large part of the city is located within the Tanzawa-Ōyama Quasi-National Park   丹沢大山国定公園. The park includes the Tanzawa Mountains, Miyagase Dam, Hayato Great Falls, and Mount  Ōyama.  Isehara is considered a bedroom community for Yokohama and Tokyo, but is also the home of Amada Company, a machine tool manufacturer, and Maru-Chan, an instant noodle manufacturer.  

This card was sent on World Postcard Day! Tokyo  東京都  is the home of the NEC Blue Rockets  NECブルーロケッツ, a men's semi-professional volleyball team that plays in the V.Premier League. The team's owner is NEC, a multinational information technology and electronics corporation. The V.League is the top-level semi-professional volleyball league for men and women. It started in 1994. There are 10 teams in the men's league, and 12 in the women's league. NEC Blue Rockets have been the men's champions four times - 1992, 1994, 1996, and 1999. The Suntory Sunbirds are the current men's champions, while the JT Marvelous are the women's champions. 

It must be insane living in Tokyo  東京  and the Greater Tokyo Area. There are 14 million people in Tokyo, and 37.5 million in the GTA. Canada only had 35 million in the 2016 census! I don't think I could imagine living in such a densely populated city.  Daria, a Russian ex-pat from Siberia, lives in Tokyo (nothing in her bio or on the card to suggest why). She sent me a beautiful drawing entitled "Spring on River Sumida." She also fairly new to Postcrossing as her 'sents' and 'received' only number in the teens. Hopefully she will stick around because she has good taste in postcards.