It's a four-minute walk from the Akihabara Station ticket gate towards Okachimachi. The building is enveloped in a calm atmosphere, a stark contrast to the bustling atmosphere in front of the station.

Familiar yet larger than we are used to, the mailbox welcomes us with its mouth wide open. It brings back memories of childhood, the tension of being held up and dropping a letter into the mailbox for the first time, and wondering what on earth was inside.

SOZO BOX is a place where you can spend some time thinking about your loved ones. We spoke with Doura Keisuke, who runs SOZO BOX.

The concept is the post office of the future. What is the idea behind it?

Everyone has visited a post office at least once. Although it has a mailbox, SOZO BOX is different from the post office you are used to seeing.

"The role of the postal service is to deliver letters and postcards to loved ones. I think it's a way of expressing feelings as a gift. Sozo Box was created as a place where people can deliver their thoughts to loved ones. The theme is the post office of the future. We aim to create a place that young people who don't often have the chance to stop by a post office will want to stop by."

How do you express your feelings to a loved one? We have carefully considered and devised ways to help you express your feelings.

"The store is made up of three 'SOZO' areas. First, there is 'Imagination', where you can think of your loved ones and become aware of their feelings. Next, there is 'Creation', where you give form to your feelings, and finally, there is 'Sending', where you drop the gift in the post. You can experience everything from selecting a gift to wrapping and shipping it," said Doura, introducing the store.

Designed to help customers imagine who they want to give the gift to and their feelings

At SOZO BOX, we have a system where you can write your thoughts to your loved ones in a book called "SOZO BOOKS" and give it as a gift. However, choosing the person and book to give as a gift can be surprisingly difficult. We have a mechanism to solve such problems for visitors.

"With the help of bookstores in Nagano Prefecture that mainly handle secondhand books, and their customers, we asked them to tell us about books they have given or received as gifts, and the stories behind them. In "SOZO BOX," you can read the books and stories they have told us about."

"You can also read about the stories behind famous people's book selections. There are also "SURPRISE BOOKS" that you can give without looking at the title or contents of the book. If you're not sure which book to choose, there is also a slightly unusual book selection support that uses AI (artificial intelligence). You can enjoy the fun of imagining who you are giving it to and the feelings you want to convey."

Furthermore, Doura-san talks about the customers who visit the store:
"It seems that many people choose to give to close relatives such as family members. I think that the closer we are to people, the less we express our gratitude to them. That's why many people may choose family members."

Craft goods that stimulate your creativity

Once you've chosen the book that best represents the recipient and your feelings, you can wrap it. There are apparently over 100 types of craft goods available at all times, including wrapping paper and sealing stamps.

"You can customize it with ribbons and other items while choosing the color and pattern that the recipient likes and the feelings you want to convey. The wrapping paper we currently carry is provided by a wrapping paper specialty store near our store. We also have our own original wrapping paper for "SOZO BOX."

"Most people are engrossed in the activities from the imagination area to the creation area without taking a break. I'm always overwhelmed by how serious everyone is."

There was also a selection of foreign stationery and stationery that goes well with books.

So that the culture of warm gifts can continue

After wrapping, the gift is placed in a specially made post box, and the monitor allows visitors to imagine the process it takes to reach the recipient. There is also a system that allows visitors to see who they have sent their gifts to in the past.

More than 15,000 people have already visited the store since it opened in February 2024. Of those, more than 500 people have actually experienced gift-giving.

"When we first opened, I was worried whether customers would actually come. But I was surprised that some people found SOZO BOX on social media and came from far away," he said happily.

They plan to expand the possibilities for gifts to include things other than books in the future.

Even though times change rapidly, our feelings for our loved ones remain the same. This is a place where you can "imagine" the look on the loved one's face as they receive their gift from here, and feel a warm feeling.

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SOZO BOX
Address: SEEKBASE Building 3, 15-1 Kanda Neribeicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Access: 4 minutes walk from JR Akihabara Station Electric Town ticket gate / 8 minutes walk from JR Okachimachi Station South ticket gate / 3 minutes walk from Ginza Line Suehirocho Station
HP: https://www.sozobox.pf.japanpost.jp
Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/sozo_box/?igsh=cHd6ejJyNTdpOGdn
*For details on business hours and holidays, please check the link above.