Botanical Stamp Rally!

This is a short post for all you woodblock printers and appreciators out there -- you know who you are. People here love their ink stamps. At nearly every touristic venue (castles, museums, gardens, temples, ...), you'll encounter a little cubby-like station where you can obtain a "stamp" unique to that place. Often these are meant go into dedicated stamp passport books, and it's common for there to be marketing pushes around them, encouraging folks to travel (sometimes all across the country) and visit places as part of a "stamp rally."

We've appreciated but never partaken in any of this frenzied stampiness ourselves, until now. It just so happens that the (frankly spectacular) Kyoto Botanical Garden, located right in our neighborhood (only 5 minutes away on Tangerine Dream), is celebrating its 100th Anniversary this year. And as part of that celebration, you guessed it: Stamp Rally!

I had so much fun doing it and was so impressed with the final product, I wanted to share the step-by-step here. Enjoy!

Step 1: Purchase a commemorative stamp card at the front gate. At only 70 cents, it's a steal.

 

Step 2: Orient yourself with the map to see where the five stamp locations are throughout the Gardens. They've spread things out so nicely -- it has the feel of a treasure hunt while showcasing everything the Garden has to offer.

 

 

Step 3: At each station, you slide your card into a very nice hardwood indexing block.

 

 

Step 4: Then pick up the large ink stamp and give it a firm STAMP. The stamp is also heavy and made of hardwood...and it fits so satisfyingly well into the indexing block. 

 

 

And that's it. A child can do it -- heck, I can do it. Station by station, the stamps start layering, each one introducing a new color...and the final result was surprisingly lovely. See for yourself, in the layer-by-layer below:

 

 

 

The final product:

 

 

Sugoi desu ne? 

(Amazing, right?)