To give credit where it is due, PingMag was one of the main things that inspired me to write about Japan on a regular basis and then led to Tokyo Thursdays, a weekly feature.

To my chagrin and that of many others, they suspended publication at the end of 2008.

I just found out today that they are back online.

Their most recent story is Riding the Yamanote Line Railway Stamp Rally or how you can keep a passport like collection of your visits to train stations.

They bought a My Trip Stamp Notebook from Kotsu Shimbunsha shop to collect these stamps along the way.

These station stamps are also known as eki stamps according to The Eki Stamp (Densha de Japan, May 2011).

'Densha de Japan' piece informs us that there were no less than 9161 train stations at the time, each with their own stamp that reflects its location from temple to aquarium to tower.

Amongst many illustrations from their piece, I chose 'Wakkanai' stamp for 'northern most station in Japan in Hokkaido.

Taking a train ride for Tokyo Thursdays # 258

Previously: Bold and Beautiful Tasting, Celebrating Junmai Sakes at Sakamai, NY, June 20