Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto. Japan

From left to right are a 1981 stamp depicting the Japanese folk song "Cherry Blossoms" by Takeshima Hagoromo and Rentarō Taki in 1900, a paper mache tiger toy from a 2009 Year of the Tiger stamp set, and a lucky cat from a 2019 Year of the Ram stamp set. The Higashiyama Ward is Kyoto's well preserved historical district with narrow streets lined with wooden buildings and traditional shop.

Forest Hike in Finland

From Pori, Finland. The "Forest Hike" booklet stamps from 2019 feature photos of children in a forest with puppies. The images were composed to highlight the friendship that exists between children and animals.

Lufthansa AWI Charter Flight, Germany

The Lufthansa Airbus stamp on this envelope is pre-printed. The envelope and postmark commemorate the journey of winter staff to Germany's Newmayer III research station in the Antarcitc. They were scheduled to be flown from Munich to the Falkland Islands by Lufthansa charter flight LH-2572 on 10 March 2025. 

Big one from Canada

No postmarks but that's ok. I wasn't expecting actual stamps on this package. The pane of stamps in the top right corner are 1982 Canada Day stamps featuring landscape paintings by Canadian artists. The three on the left from 1991 are from a five year series that commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Second World War. And below the pane are a pair of basketball centenary stamps from 1991, a pair of Queen Elizabeth golden jubilee stamps from 2002, three caricature definitives from 1973 featuring the queen, and a lonely 5c 1977 Dodecatheon hendersonii flower definitive.

Kudanminami, Tokyo. Japan

A few older stamps on this cover from the Kudanminami district in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo. The stamps on the left from 1965 commemorate Soma Nomaoi: an annual festival going back 1000 years, that showcases military and horse riding skills. The stamp in the middle from 1988 features the UNESCO listed Itsukushima shrine near Hiroshima. And the stamp on the right from 1989 shows a small gift bowl from Nara's Tōdai Temple, circa 750 AD.

The postmark shows Yasukuni Shrine surrounded by cherry blossoms. The controversial shrine was established in 1869 to commemorate those who died in the service of Japan. It's controversial because some of the individuals honored by the shrine were convicted war criminals. 

Watrous, Saskatchewan. Canada

Watrous is a small town in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Pictured in the postmark is the CBK radio station that has operated outside of Watrous since 1939. It operates a 50kW AM transmitter that provides coverage of the Saskatchewan urban areas of Regina and Saskatoon. The art-deco style main station building is long gone but the antenna and a transmitter shed remain. The station has been fully automated since the 1980's with all programming fed in from CBC studios in Regina.

Concordia Antarctic Research Station

This was returned to me from the French/Italian Antarctic research station Concordia. It's marked with the stamp of the 40th Italian National Research Expedition and signed by Concordia's summer station leader station leader Riccardo Scipinotti. The position "Dome C" stamped at the bottom left gives the coordinates of the base. Dome C is one of several Antarctic ice domes which are large hills or caps of ice accumulation. This particular dome is 3300m thick.

  

The Founding of Québec City in 1608

This postmark from Québec City, the capital city of the Canadian province of Québec, is in the shape of a postage stamp with a design from a 2008 stamp that commemorated the 400th anniversary of the founding of the city. It was a joint issue with France and was part of a series of stamps that commemorated French settlements in North America.

Marsa, Malta

A collection of recent stamps from Malta. From left to right, a SEPAC 2024 tourist attractions stamp featuring the Mgarr Harbour in Gozo, a Malta Railway stamp from 2024 showing the Hamrun railway station, a 2025 Year of the Snake stamp, and below that a Porbeagle Shark stamp from a 2023 set featuring marine life in the Mediterranean.

Hornbills of Malaysia

On this cover from Selangor is a set of stamps from 2024 featuring hornbills found in Malaysia: the Weathered hornbill, Great hornbill and the critically endangered Helmeted hornbill. The stamp at the bottom depicts Boy Scouts in uniform from a Stamp Week 2024 set that shows various student organization uniforms. And the stamp on the left depicts children making music, from a 2018 set feature children's activities.

Marion Dufrense OBS Austral 2025

Where's the postmark? This was returned from the Marion Dufresne during its involvement in an oceanographic campaign in the waters between the Kerguelen Islands and the islands of St Paul and Amsterdam. Lots of handstamps from Amsterdam support staff on the back. And after a few Google searches I think I know why it's not postmarked. Bad weather kept them from disembarking at Kerguelen and then a fire on Amsterdam Island required the vessel to halt all activities and provide rescue assistance. No chance to drop off the mail at a TAAF base.

Mumbai, India

Received from Mumbai. The souvenir sheet from 2018 commemorates 70 years of diplomatic relations between India and Serbia. The the stamps on the right from 2015 commemorates the International Day of Yoga which is June 21.