Every year in late January the Japan Post Office announces the winning numbers of the 年賀ハガキお年玉 (New Years Postcard lottery).
I’ve written blog posts about it. Click here to read one that explains about it.
There used to be nine winning number combinations years ago…then it was reduced to seven winning number combinations. This year, there are only four winning combinations.
First place: if you have a postcard with the last five digits being 97085, you’ve won ¥10,000.
Second place: if the last four digits are 2344, you win your choice from a selection of various prizes. Mainly foods, drinks and kitchen supplies.
Third place: if the last two digits on any of your postcards are either 72 or 74, you win a sheet of two postage stamps with this year’s Chinese horoscope character (the horse).
“Year of the Horse” stamps for 2014.
Every year I only win the postage stamps, if anything at all. Later today I’m going to check my postcards…hopefully I’ll have a first-place winner this year!
How about you? Did you win?
Tokyo Five 
Oh cool, I didn’t know about this. Maybe next year I’ll do it.
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Sending 年賀状 (New Years Postcards) in Japan is a kind of obligation. If you decide to begin sending them to American friends and family, that’s different.
But if you send them to Japanese people, there are rules / customs that are followed (as with most things in Japan)…so consider carefully.
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I will look further into it..thank you!
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How to write them, what type of card to use, what to write, when to send them, what to do if there is a recent death in one’s family…are all factors. And more.
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I just checked my 2014 postcards. I got two winners … both of them for postage stamps – again.
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