鉄道の日

"鉄道の日" is the annual Railway Festival in Japan on October 14 to commemorate the opening of Japan's first railway between Shimbashi Station (新橋駅), Tokyo and Sakuragichō Station (桜木町駅), Yokohama on October 14, 1872. In 2014, the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) issued a three-day unlimited-ride pass to celebrate the occasion.

Postcard JP-591605 from Japan shows the Super Sōya, express train service between Sapporo and Wakkanai in Hokkaido, operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) which is one of the six regional operators in the JR Group for the passenger services.

Shimokita Peninsula, Japan

Postcard JP-492787 came from the Shimokita Peninsula (下北半島),  located in the remote northeastern cape of the Japanese island of Honshū, separated from Hokkaido from the Tsugaru Strait. Shaped like an axe pointing to the west, the peninsula has a thin "handle" in the east connecting to the mountainous "blade" to the mainland.

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The whole Shimokita area was designated as a quasi-national park (下北半島国定公園 Shimokita-hantō Kokutei Kōen) on July 22, 1968. All Quasi-National Parks in Japan are managed by the local prefectural governments. The card shows many swans, migrated from Siberia for the winter, at Ominato Bay inside Mutsu Bay.