Greetings
Oh Lord, it's nearly Christmas again, and those of us (and I include myself here) who still have packets and cards to be mailed abroad need to get our skates on.
Some dates for posting from a list in Japanese supplied by the Post Office are as follows (if no mention is made of parcels, it's officially too late): parcels to the U.S. today, and cards by Dec. 14; cards to Canada by Dec. 12; parcels to Brazil by Dec. 13 and cards by Dec. 15; parcels and cards to Argentina (which needs all the good cheer it can get) by Dec. 14. Parcels and cards to Finland by Dec. 13; parcels and cards to the U.K. by Dec. 19; cards to the Philippines today; parcels to South Korea by Dec. 13 and cards by Dec. 16.
As for sending "nengajo" -- traditional Japanese greetings cards welcoming in the new year and sent to arrive on New Year's Day, the Post Office says they should be in the postbox by Dec. 25 to definitely arrive by Jan. 1. "However," said a spokesman, "if you post them by Dec. 28, we will do our best, but we can't promise." Fair enough.