Eki-stamps / 駅スタンプ

Along with transportation IC cards, I also collect eki-stamps – unique stamps that are available at train stations across Japan. It’s kind of like the Japanese version of my USPS postmark collection. Most stations have eki-stamps, but not all… most infamously, JR Central got rid of them at their stations at some point in the mid-2010s, and Kintetsu changed to “digital stamps” in most of the Kansai area around 2020. Other operators (companies) may only have them at specific times of the year during “stamp rally” campaigns. Each operator at a station typically will have their own design(s), with some operators having one for each line at interchange stations.

The publishing subsidiary of JTB (previously known as Japan Travel Bureau) sells a book specifically meant for eki-stamps. As of September 29, 2024, I’m currently working on filling volume 10 of my collection, and have 599 stamps total. The table here is a digital version of my physical collection to allow for searching, sorting, and to help ensure I don’t accidentally end up with duplicates.

eli’s eki-stamps

External resources

There’s all sorts of Japanese stamp collecting resources, including many people’s personal websites dating back decades to the days of the early internet. A good keyword to use in searches is 押し鉄 oshitetsu, a combination of the slang term oshi + the first half of tetsudou (“railroad”). The best sites I’ve found on the hobby are Oshitetsu no Susume, eki-stamp.com, stationstampetc, and Funakiya’s Travel Stamp Book; the first two of these also run BBS-style discussion boards located here and here, respectively. The Japanese Wikipedia article on eki-stamps is also quite detailed.