Sandra Bullock (R) and Keanu Reeves (L)

Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves, who play lovers united through letters but divided by time in "The Lake House," say e-mail can never replace the passion of handwritten correspondence.

"I love letters. I don't think we should ever lose the art of sending a letter. It might be time-consuming but the person who receives it will always have it," Bullock told a news conference in Tokyo.

"The Lake House," a remake of a South Korean film, tells a love story between two people who both mysteriously occupy a lakehouse home.

The two exchange love letters, but then realize that they are actually living two years apart.

A letter "doesn't take batteries, you know," Reeves said.

He said letters showed the personality of the senders.

"You can see their handwriting, you can hear their voice, smell their scent, it's part of them. It's fantastic," he said.

Bullock, who locks lips with Reeves in their first film together since the 1994 thriller "Speed," also extolled the virtues of kissing, saying the Japanese should do it more often.

"Kissing should become as much part of Japanese custom as is bowing," Bullock said.

"After this everyone should go out and kiss someone!" she beseeched the reporters.