Post Offices

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■ Post Offices (Yubin Kyoku) and Mailboxes (Post)
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is the mark for post offices and mailboxes.

Some mailboxes (in red) are equipped with two slots.
The left one is for letters and postcards, and the right one for special delivery, international mail, etc.

■ Domestic Mail

Postage stamps (Kitte) of the appropriate amount must be attached to mail.
While official postcards (50 yen) sold at the post office and some convenience stores do not need stamps, other postcards require 50 yen stamps.
Return postcards are double-sized postcards and are available at post offices.

[Parcels (Kozutsumi or Yu-Pack)]
Domestic parcels are called "Yu-Pack" and their vouchers are available at post offices as well as postal agents such as convenience stores.

[Special Mail]
There are three types of special mail.
"Express Mail" (Sokutatsu) is delivered faster than regular mail.
"Registered Mail" (Kakitome) is designed for sending cash, marketable securities and other valuable documents, because the entire delivery process is recorded.
"Simplified Registered Mail" (Kan-i Kakitome) is also available.

■ Notice of Undelivered Mail (Fuzai Haitatsu Tsuchi)

Registered mail and parcels won't be delivered unless someone is home. In such a case, a notice of undelivered mail will be left. There are two ways to receive undelivered mail.
You can take the notice to the post office specified in the notice. Remember to take your Foreign Registration Card or other I.D. which verifies your identity. If you have a name stamp, please bring it with you.

The other way of receiving undelivered mail is to post the notice in the mailbox after specifying the desired delivery date and place (home, place of business, nearby post office, your friend's house, etc.).

■ International Mail

International mail includes air mail, surface mail, SAL, and international business EMS mail.

Air mail (Koku Bin)
Air mail is the most popular international mail, arriving at destinations around the globe in 3 to 10 days.

Surface mail (Funa Bin)
Surface mail is an inexpensive way to send unhurried items and heavy items. It takes from 20 to 80 days for delivery.

SAL mail
SAL mail offers cheaper rates than air mail but faster delivery than surface mail. It takes about 2 to 3 weeks.

International business mail EMS
International business mail features 2 to 4-day delivery to major cities around the world. This service applies to all items which can be handled as international mail.

■ Financial Services

Post offices provide financial services like banks.

Overseas Remittance (Kaigai Sokin)
International postal money orders are available in two types, "ordinary" (Futsu) and "wire"(Denshin) .
For the ordinary type, you or the post office mails a certificate of payment to the party overseas by airmail. The receiver takes the certificate to a local post office to cash it.
Wire utilizes on-line networks for high speed and improved safety.

<Inquiry>
YUBIN Homepage
URL http://www.post.japanpost.jp/english/index.html (in English)

City of Matsudo, International Exchange Office
271-8588 Matsudo-shi Nemoto 387-5
Phone 047-366-7310 Fax 047-308-6789
Email office@miea.or.jp