JR Group's 'My Japan Railway' turns 150 years into a digital stamp rally — 12 Grand Prix

For the 150th anniversary of railways in Japan, Dentsu designed 'My Japan Railway' for the six JR Group companies. The aim was to turn interest in domestic travel into visits and make rail journeys personal and fun. Dentsu designed woodcut-style stamps for stations and built the TRAIN TRIP web app, which ran from April 28, 2022 to March 31, 2023.

Turn the 150th anniversary into a digital stamp rally: woodcut-style station stamps in six JR colors, collected on a phone app when you visit a station.

Stamps used only the six JR signature colors and a woodblock look; visiting a station with location sharing on 'stamped' it onto the phone. The app launched 562 station stamps plus 50 'railway jobs' stamps, later growing toward 900, and added sound stories, seasonal designs, special missions, and a commemorative book and posters.

More than 120,000 people used the app in its first year. The campaign then became one of the most awarded pieces of the 2023–2024 season: 12 Grand Prix trophies including Cannes 2023 Industry Craft, three Spikes 2024 Grand Prix, four ADFEST 2024 Grand Prix (among them Lotus Roots), plus a rare D&AD 2024 Black Pencil.

Japan's railways are so woven into daily life that they are easy to take for granted. For the 150th anniversary of rail in Japan, Dentsu was asked by the six JR Group companies to build an anniversary campaign; its objectives were to turn pandemic-era interest in domestic travel into visits and to make rail travel personal and fun.

The answer drew on Japan's tradition of collecting woodcut-style stamps at shrines, temples and stations. Dentsu designed woodcut-style stamps for stations across the country using only the six JR signature colors, and built the TRAIN TRIP web app: with location sharing on, users 'stamped' a station's design onto their phone, with personal details like the time of visit and how many people had collected the same stamp.

More than 120,000 people used the app in its first year. Starting with 562 station stamps and 50 'railway jobs' stamps, the project expanded with sound stories, seasonal designs and special missions — and a book and posters extended the identity into print.

The campaign then swept the awards: 12 Grand Prix across the 2023–2024 seasons, including Cannes 2023 Industry Craft, three Spikes 2024 and four ADFEST 2024 Grand Prix, and a D&AD 2024 Black Pencil — proof that design could make an entire nation's infrastructure feel personal.

It started from a real cultural ritual — stamp collecting — instead of inventing a new behavior.

It made a vast national infrastructure personal, turning every commute into a small adventure with the customer at the center.

The six-color woodblock craft gave the work instant visual identity and respect, in print and on screen alike.

It delivered measurable participation, 120,000+ users, and record recognition across every major awards show.

Infrastructure is invisible until made personal: giving millions a way to collect small moments of their own travel turned a heritage anniversary into one of the most awarded campaigns of its era.

The one-year project was extended to a three-year contract: the stamp library grew past 900 designs and continues toward all 6,000 stations, keeping the anniversary alive well beyond 2023. The campaign's 12 Grand Prix and rare Black Pencil made it a benchmark for heritage-brand design in the region.