Japan Post Address System

The Japanese address system is characterized in that the spelling of the address begins with the indication of the addressee’s prefecture . They are usually denoted by the suffix ken ( 県 ), for example: 秋田 (Akita) + 県 (Ken) = 秋田 県 (Akitaken) or 和 歌 山 (Wakayama) + 県 (Ken) = 和 歌 山 県 (Wakayamaken), in Japan there are 43 "Ken »Prefectures. There are four more subnational units equal in status to the prefectures, but with a different self-name:

• 東京 + 都 = 東京 都 (Tokyo) - the metropolitan prefecture of Tokyo .
• 北海道 (Hokkaido) - Hokkaido Governorate.
• The two city prefectures of Osaka and Kyoto, are written respectively: 大阪 府 (Osakafu) and 京都 府 (Ketofu).

Further, the name of the settlement with the suffix -sy (- 市 ), if it is a city, or -ku (- 区 ), if it is a special district of Tokyo or a district of the city. And the county of the prefecture is the gong (- 郡 ), and then –that or –mati (-) for small towns or –mura or –son ( 村 ) for villages and settlements.

Further there are two different schemes:

1. The municipality is first divided into Mati and then into districts ( 丁目 Tömö ). For example: 台 東区 [浅 草 四 丁目] (Taitoku, [Asakusa, 4- tömö ])
2. The municipality is first divided into oadza ( 大字 ) districts, which in turn can be divided into adza (,), and further into coadza ( 小 ). For example: 青森 市 [大字 滝 沢 字 住 吉] (Aomorisi, [ oadza Takizawa, adza Sumiyoshi])

However, it is worth recalling that the line between styles is very vague and there are a large number of exceptions.

Below this level, two different styles of names are possible again:

1. In the newer system, juko hёji ( 住居 ), enacted by the Law of May 10, XXXVII, Showa (1962) No. 119 “On indicating the residential address” ^[1] and used in most of the country, the next level is the quarter ( 街区 nut ), which is always followed by the house number ( 番号 bango ). Building number 10 in block number 5, will receive the following address 5 番 10 号 (5- ban 10- th ). For apartment buildings, an apartment number is also added ( 部屋 番号 Heya Bango ), in this case the house and apartment number is separated by a dash, so apartment number 103 in the above-mentioned house will have the address 5 10-103 .
2. In the older system Tiban ( 地 ), still used in rural areas and some old cities, the next level is the number of land tenure ( 番地 banti ), followed by the number of a particular plot in land tenure (formally 号 号 sergo , but more often ). It can be written as: 3 番地 5 (3- banti 5), 3 番地 の 5 (3- banti-no 5) or 3 5 (3- ban 5). Land not entered in the register is called mubanti ( 無 番地 , literally, “land without assigned numbers”).

Since in both systems the address elements are in fact numbers, they are usually written like this, and the numbers are separated by a dash or の ( but ), resulting in, for example, Asakusa 4-5-10 or Asakusa 4 の 5 10. This makes the two systems indistinguishable in writing. Apartment number can also be added, we get 4-5-10-103.

The name of the streets in Japan is almost never used. In addition to the address itself, all post offices have postal codes of the form 〒123-4567 .

The standard work address in Japan is as follows:

The address of the Tokyo Post Office looks like this:

• Japan Maps - Maps of Japan Diddlefinger. - Displays any address in Japan. The date of circulation is February 23, 2017. Archived February 23, 2017.
• Addresses in Japan , Universal Postal Union
• The Japanese address system
• Postal Information for Japan , japan-guide.com
• Japanese 2005 census - definition of shi , ku , & c.