Even though I’ve basically lived in the same place for more than 20 years, it’s still easy to get turned around, misdirected, and just generally confused. As a native, it’s kind of embarrassing.

So you can imagine that finding my way around in Japan is ten times as bad. But during the month we spent in Japan earlier this year, I learned a lot about navigating Japan and finding my way around.

Let’s assume that you’re in Japan and that you have phone service. You may think that because you have a phone with an internet connection, you’re invincible. GPS will deliver you to your destination without any problems.

We used Google Maps a lot (a lot) in Japan, but it wasn’t a cure-all. Even with a map of the world in your hands, there are still a few problems.

Japanese Addresses Are Different

A lot of people don’t realize this, but addresses work diffrently in countries around the world. Because of that, the format of Japanese addresses doesn’t always make sense to foreigners.

Fortunately, we wrote about how the Japanese address system works a few years back; but for those who missed it, here’s a quick recap:

You know streets? Those things that cars drive down and have names? You can basically forget about them in Japan.

Streets pretty critical in the American address system (they’re sometimes even called “street addresses”), but the Japanese system instead relies on areas.

Japanese addresses break down in this order:

1. Prefecture
2. Municipality
3. Location within municipality
4. District
5. Block
6. House number

Note that a street name isn’t anywhere in that list. That can be kind of a culture shock to people used to something different.

Even once you understand the Japanese address system, there are other oddities and obstacles to getting around.

Unreliable Maps

You might want to know the phone number to the place you’re going to, since a lot of Japanese GPS systems accept phone numbers in addition to addresses, and a phone number can be much easier to remember.

Don’t count on always being able to rely on your GPS, either. While some (like Google Maps) are pretty reliable, others are really undependable.

Apple Maps has been even worse in Japan than the rest of the world (although it’s been getting better), and if you’re old-fashioned and have a dedicated GPS (instead of a phone), you can forget about it.

Most dedicated GPS from the US and other countries just don’t have Japanese map information built in. You might be able to download the maps you need, but it’s probably not built-in.

Helpful Tools

It might sound like I’m trying to make it sound like it’s hard to get around in Japan, but it’s really not! Public transportation is obviously world-class in much of the country, and people are almost always friendly and willing to help you out.

Plus, there are lots of guides out there (like this one from Surviving in Japan) made specifically for foreigners visiting Japan.

And if you’re looking for a maps app to help you out, there are more and more Japanese-made apps popping up by the day (thanks in part to the failure of Apple Maps).

With those tools, your own smarts and intuition, and some hard work, it can be simple to get wherever you want to go in Japan.

Now where the hell was I going again?

I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen a Japanese address written down somewhere before, but if you have, you’ll know that they’re about as long as writing an essay, and perhaps take an equal amount of analytical thinking. If you’ve never run into the concept of a Japanese address, it’s about as opposite as you can get from an American address. I’m not saying that’s bad… just completely different. Thank goodness for GPS, on both accounts. I can barely get around San Francisco, let alone Tokyo.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1zh49J5rsg']

Watch the first half (or so) of this video. Derek Sivers (hoopy frood who knows where his towel’s at) does a great job explaining the idea of Japanese addresses and how they work, on a basic level. On a more complicated level, it goes something like this.

The first thing to know: Japanese address system is based on areas. These areas are divided from big to small, which go something like this. It’s a lot like a funnel, really.

1. Prefecture (県)

• There are exceptions to this, though. 都 (to) for Tokyo,  道 (dō) for Hokkaidō and 府 (fu) for the two urban prefectures of Osaka and Kyoto.

2. Municipality.

• Large cities use 市 (shi)
• Special wards can use 区 (ku)
• Smaller municipalities include the district 郡 (gun) followed by the town 町 (chō / machi) or village 村 (mura / son).

3. Location within the municipality

• Many cities have wards 区 (ku)
• Wards can be divided up into 町 (chō / machi) or village 村 (mura / son)
• Towns may be subdivided into even smaller parts too.

4. City District: 丁目 (chōme)

• Usually assigned based on the order or proximity to the center of the municipality.

5. City block: 番地 (banchi)

• Also assigned based on the order or proximity to the center of the municipality.

6. House Number: 号 (gō)

• Based on when the house / building was built or assigned in clockwise order around the city block.

7. Apartment number may be added if the house number refers to an apartment building.

The postal code, which is indicated by a 〒 symbol, goes on top of the address. If you see this symbol on a metal box, it’s a good bet you can put your mail in there.

Here’s an example of an address ripped right off of the good folks at Wikipedia.

〒100-8799
東京都千代田区丸の内二丁目7番2号
東京中央郵便局

〒100-8799 (postal code)
Tōkyō-to (prefecture exception “to” for Tokyo)
Chiyoda-ku (the ward)
Marunouchi ni-chōme (city district)
nana-ban (city block)
ni-gō (house number)
Tōkyō Chūō Yūbin-kyoku(name of the place, in this case the “Tokyo Central Post Office”)

Kyoto and Sapporo, The Postal Rebels

Kyoto and Sapporo (up in Hokkaido) do something a little different, though the “official” addressing systems still work. Kyoto has many little chōs going on, often with the same names within the same Ward (which makes it tough on the postal folk). So, to combat this, they have an unofficial (though it is supported by the post office) system that’s based off of street names. This system takes an intersection (two crossing streets) and then additional information on whether the building is north, south, east, or west of this intersection. Yes, this does mean that buildings can have multiple addresses, depending on which intersection was chosen. Sapporo’s system is based on a quadrants set up in the center by two intersecting roads. Blocks are then named based off of how far away they are from the center, which can get kind of weird the farther you are away from the sweet spot.

In the end, the Japanese address system totally makes sense, despite being nearly our complete opposite. Personally, I’d just get a GPS and have it tell me where to go. Or, better yet, get lost. So much more potential for adventure. Well, if you ever get yourself a Japanese pen pal or long-distance language partner (and not one of those new-fangled e-mail ones), hopefully this’ll come in handy!

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