On the weekend, I had mailed a little box of goodies to some friends in Australia, where there are strict rules are about what can be admitted into the country. I know not to send seeds, plants, raw foods, wood, and dried grasses so I was careful to avoid those sorts of things. But I included a can of fluorescent orange spray paint in my package. And that's a no-no on the anti-terror list. Oops, totally forgot about that.
But I didn't realise that until yesterday afternoon when a man from the post office arrived in the rain to return my parcel and refund my postage. Refund my postage! They didn't just junk the package or return it to me with a "cannot deliver" notice. He stepped away from his desk, hand carried the item to me, explained very politely in person what the problem was, and got my bank details to transfer the money to my account.
Wow. Go JapanPost!
Cool. I love reading about these little cultural tidbits.
When i lived in Japan, Japan Post ALWAYS opened and explored the parcels from my parents, which i had no problem with until the day i received an empty tin of Milo (my parents routinely added a tin to my care packages) - it had been opened, checked, emptied, and then given too me!