In celebration of Dragon Ball’s 30th Anniversary, the JR East Railway Company and Dragon Ball have teamed-up for a limited-time Dragon Ball Stamp Rally!

From January 10 to February 27, 2017, there are 65 unique stamps from the Dragon Ball Series, spread across 65 JR Train Stations in and around Tokyo, Japan. If you collect all 65 stamps you get special limited-edition prizes!

Here at JapanSauce.Net, we decided to take on the challenge! So for those of you that want to get right into the action, please see the video here:

As you can see, we completed the challenge!!!

It was not easy. We actually had to go to about 80 train stations, since we needed to use some stations to transfer to stamp locations that were further away! Here were some of the challenges we faced:

1. Many stations did not have escalators, which meant that we were climbing up and down many stairs. Our legs felt like Jell-O by the end.
2. The weather was cold! You will notice in the video that I’m wearing a big jacket and scarf, because it was about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Many stations have platforms that are outside, and almost all stamp locations were next to the entrances.
3. The map of the stations was in kanji! Luckily, my Japanese girlfriend could translate for me, but it would be near-impossible without help.
4. The stamp locations were not next to the train platforms, which meant we had to search for them in stations that we had never been to. Some of the stations were also very big–I’m looking at you Shinjuku. Haha.
5. There were so many packed trains. Imagine getting on a packed Tokyo train. Now imagine getting on another 20-30 packed trains! Haha.
6. Our hands were hurting by the end. We each had two booklets (one to keep and one to give away), which meant we had to get 130 stamps each. After pressing down on 130 stamps, it felt like someone threw a baseball at my hand!

But it was so much fun! It was definitely an adventure trying to get to all the stamp locations, and we met so many people along the way. Here are some of the fun and cool things about the challenge:

1. We had a chance to visit many train stations we had never been to, which meant that we saw parts of Tokyo that we had never seen before. Each area had it’s own unique atmosphere!
2. We met many people who were also doing the challenge. From kids as young as 2-3 years old with their parents, to an old woman that was 95 years old! The old woman was so tiny, but was excited about getting all the stamps, haha.
3. We also saw some crazy Dragon Ball otakus! One person had about 10-12 books! It was so funny.
4. We ate many snacks! One of the best parts about the adventure was getting many snacks at train stations, convenience stores, and food shops all over Tokyo. These snacks kept us going for the 30 hours.
5. We felt an amazing sense of accomplishment! After 30 hours of struggling and searching for 65 stamps, after the last one was in the book it was like we had received a Gold Medal at the Olympics, haha!
6. And of course, we received many prizes!!!

Here are the prizes we won:

Limited Edition Hologram Goku and Vegeta trading Cards.

Limited Edition Dragon Ball Stamp Rally Poster.

Grand Prize Limited Edition Seven Dragon Ball and Shenron pins. Which you only get fr completing all 65 JR stations.

We also received this 65 JR Station stamp:

This stamp is very important. If you send in this stamp, on a special postcard provided in the booklet, then you have an opportunity to win the Ultimate Grand Prize–an opportunity to be a voice actor in an actual Dragon Ball anime!!! But that’s not all, you will also get your own special Dragon Ball poster, and you are on the poster!!! We sent all of our postcards, so I’m hoping that we win!

For those of you that want to complete this challenge, you only have one week left, so hurry up!!! Here are some tips:

1. Buy the special 750 yen (adults)/350 yen (kids) all day tickets. These special passes allow you to go to about 90% of all of the stamp locations for one price! You have to go in and out of many stations, so this is a huge money saver.
2. Plan your stamp route! It will make things so much easier if you set a course that allows you to get to as many stations in the easiest way. For example, we first traveled all around the Yamanote line, which gets you to about 28 stamp locations. Then, we went along the different train lines outside of the Yamanote line.
3. Bring someone that can read Kanji! The map of the train stations is all in Kanji, take a look here:So, if you don’t read Kanji, you will need someone that can help you navigate.
4. Bring snacks! The challenge will take a long time, so you will need plenty of water and snacks to keep you going. I recommend picking-up snacks throughout the trip too.
5. Start early and stay late. Train stations are less busy early in the morning (before the work rush hour) and late in the evenings (after the work rush hour), which make sit easier to get through the stations and onto trains.
6. Explore the areas you have never been to! Take a few minutes to walk-around some of the train stations you’ve never been to and experience the neighborhoods. This is one of the best parts of the adventure.
7. Travel light. You will have many stairs to climb, so you don’t want to have too many things in your bags.
8. Make sure to have fun!!!

I hope we have the opportunity to do another one of these great challenges soon. But until then, please let us know which stamp or pose in the video was your favorite! Thank you for all of your support, and we will see you next time!

–Sal