Info on the Japanese addressing system

I posted this on another board, but I thought it would be helpful here as well. This is fairly helpful general information about Japan that can be a big help while mongering.

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I wanted to explain the bizarre nature of the Japanese address system.

If you have no interest in 'learning to fish' and just want to be 'given the fish', if someone says that a place is located in Nagoya at Sakae 4-11-10 (which is near one of the hobbying districts in Nagoya, Japan, you can just go to maps.google.com and plug in "Japan Nagoya Sakae 4-11-10" in the search box, and it will show you the exact block you are looking for.

For everyone else, read on.

There are many streets in Japan that have no names, so an address like 123 Main Street makes no sense in many / most cases. This is far more true in Tokyo than Kyoto or Nagoya, in my experience. Regardless, no address in Japan is formatted the way we do in the west. They format based on a 'subset' model, where the next entity down in the address is a smaller part of the its upstream entity. Generally for larger cities, these entities follow this pattern:

Country-> Prefecture-> City-> Ward-> District-> Cho-> Land number

The 'Cho' and 'land number' make up the 3 digit number you see in many addresses, where 'Cho' is a numbered subsection of town, and the land number, being the 2nd and 3rd numbers, represent the numbered block within that Cho, and then the numbered building on that block. In some cases the cho will be listed separately.

So 'Japan Nagoya Sakae 4-11-10' where Aichi Prefecture and Naka Ward are left out because Google Maps knows where Nagoya and Sakae are, says that it's the 4th Cho (usually when talking about 'Cho', it will actually be written 'Chome', so 4-Chome- in Japanese yon-chome) , then the 11th block within 4-Chome, then the 10th building of that block. Google Maps is smart enough to put a dotted line around the block if you leave the building number off (it also lists the block number on the block itself) , and if its mapping system has the building number in it, it'll point to the right building.

For a Tokyo example, lets look at the Hinomaru BJ bar: Tokyo, Shinjuku, Kabukicho. 2-36-3, where Tokyo is the city, Shinjuku is the ward, Kabukicho is the district, it's the 2nd Cho (2-Chome, or in Japanese Ni-Chome), 36th block of that cho, and 3rd building on that block.

Depending on the website, you can often just cut and paste the address into Google Maps. Learning to recognize the kanji for Japan and the city in question is pretty easy, and look for the 3 sets of numbers. Unfortunately a lot of sites use image files instead of text for their information (to keep it from being searchable?) , so easy cutting and pasting for various reasons is regrettably unavailable.

Double-bonus hint: This can be useful the other direction too. Instead of writing up reviews saying "It's 50 meters from the Family Mart on the west side of the station." You can be much more accurate in your reporting by going to Google Maps and finding the district of town and block in question.

As previously described, having the City-Ward-District-Cho-Land Number and handing them to a taxi driver will usually get you right there (although recently my taxi driver couldn't find my hotel in Tokyo based on its address. GPS may have issues with new buildings). Hopefully this info helps with your mongering and other tourism needs in Japan.

Some kanji:

Japan: 日本
Tokyo: 東京
Shinjuku: 新宿 (An area in west Tokyo)
Kabukicho: 歌舞伎町 (the 'adult' area of Shinjuku)
Ikebukuro: 池袋 (An area in northwest Tokyo)

Thanks. nice to know. Tried it on GMaps already.

What's with the plastic front and umbrella? Do all the BJ Bars use that as identification that "no-raincoat is required"

Hehe. I think that street front shop is actually a Ramen restaurant. Haven't been to Hinomaru myself yet..it may be on an upper floor.

Hinomaru is indeed on an upper floor, but from the street you can see a sign and a staircase to Hinomaru. It's like a theater staircase, and there is a valet, I don't know what to call him, in front that will lead you in.