文通の秋: Letter writing autumn

With stormy weather days I tend to stay at home more often. As I live alone and am more of an introvert than an extrovert (although I do enjoy hanging out with friends and family when I do so) I don't always want to physically talk to someone.

Besides reading and studying I like to write letters during my free time. As was once mentioned by Lord Baron: "Letter writing is the only device that combines solitude with good company". The cute stationery in many 100 yen shops in Japan, as well as the famous "kawaii" brands San-x, Sanrio and even Pokemon, almost always tempt me into buying a new set despite already having enough.

I have been writing to a penpal from the UK for several years now and, although not being the consistent type of person, always got back to her.

However, with a little bit less stress and more time on my hands now, I wanted to try having Japanese penpals. So, I checked out Instagram which has an active letter-writing community. If you don't have a preference who to write to (as in Japanese or not), then I recommend looking for hashtags such as "penpalswanted" "lookingforpenpals" and so on. In case you want to try out writing to a Japanese penpal then I recommend trying out these hashtags: "文通相手募集中”　”文通仲間募集中”　”文通相手募集”　”文通仲間募集”

Most Japanese letter writers want you to be able to write in Japanese so this might be a bit tricky if your level is not that high and you want to look for a penpal there. There are many other options to find a penpal, mainly websites dedicated specifically to penpalling (typing "penpal" into a search engine usually does the trick).

In case you feel a bit unsafe towards sharing your address with strangers you could also pick up a letter set or letter pad which can be as cheap as a hundred yen and start sending letters to your friends and relatives back in your home country. 

I think it's a nice activity (and surprise for the recipient) and a great opportunity to spend some time away from technology.

Especially when it is advised to stay at home it can get boring at some point and writing to new people is a nice way to expand your horizons and get to know other cultures.

Have you ever tried penpalling during your childhood or are you doing it from Japan right now?