When you have over-sized rubbish – that is, large items that don’t fit into your normal rubbish bags, you have to go through certain procedures to get rid of them.   I’m referring here to normal large size waste that is bigger than 30cm x 30cm x 30cm, and not home appliances and personal computers.

In Japan, this type of rubbish is called 粗大ごみ (sodai-gomi) and requires application to your city council with a pick-up arrangement and corresponding charge depending on the type and size of the item.  Here are the basics:

The Process

3 basic steps are required to complete this process and I’ll break it down to make it as foolproof as possible:

1. Call.  You need to call garbage collection service to detail your goods and when they will be picked up.  Depending on the city within which you live, this schedule may operate as often as once per week or a little as once per month.  There’s not a lot you can do about this except just call and home for the best, unless you already know their schedule.  The number to call is: 03-5296-7000.  Whether there is an English service there or not, I don’t know, but best to give it a ring and try and see.  Ask them if they understand English (‘Eigo wakarimasu ka’) and hopefully they’ll pass you on to someone who does.   If you live in Tokyo, and your Japanese reading ability is up to scratch, you can now book collections online.  Here is the link to start the process… pick your city ward if it’s supported and follow the links/buttons until you reach the application form you need.
2. Pay.  Depending on your rubbish size and type, it will cost a certain amount of money.  You don’t pay the pick-up guys directly, you buy coupons from your local convenience store.  Be careful though, ensure that when you do so that the coupons you’re buying are for the city ward you live in.  Sometimes certain convenience stores may be on the border of wards and you can end up buying the wrong ones.  Coupons come in 2 flavours: A (300 yen) and B (400 yen).  With these you’ll be able to mix and match to reach the price point you need.  For example, a couch that costs 1500 yen to dispose of will require you to buy Ax1 + Bx3.  Usually they will tell you what combination to buy and I don’t know if there’s any significance in that, but I’m sure it doesn’t make any difference.
3. Prepare.  On arranged day of pick-up, put the items out for 8am and attach your coupons to the items with your name and address written on the spaces provided.  This ensured everything matches up when the boys come around to pick them up.

And you’re done.  It’s that simple.  Check with your city council’s website for more details, especially if you don’t live in Tokyo since it’s only with Tokyo that I have experience with.  If you have any experience for your place of residence such that it differs from what I’ve said, please feel free to leave a comment below.  For some links to council websites, please take a look at another article I wrote that has some references to them.

If you live in Tokyo, chances are you aren’t surrounded by the lush green rolling hills of the countryside back home(!).  The work-out that comes with stepping out your front door to do just about anything isn’t there any longer.  So the natural solution is to go to the gym.  But it costs money, and depending on the gym, it costs a lot of money.

What’s the alternative?  Well, given that you’re an upstanding member of the community and you pay residential taxes, you hope hope there’d be perks somewhere. And there are!  While they might make it as difficult for cyclists as they possibly can in the city, they do provide great facilities for their constituents – one of these is a gym for most (all?) Wards in Tokyo, and I’m sure wherever you live in the country.

The gym costs

Membership is typically free for these gyms with the sole requirement that you are either a resident of, or working in, the particular Ward.  Nearly all the facilities you think you’d ever need are normally catered for.

Taking Minato-ku for example, they even have an English portion of their website detailing the facilities both for the sports centre (スポーツセンター) and also all other sporting facilities in the Ward.  It costs ¥400 per person to enter the sports centre and there is no horrendous monthly fee.  Granted, private gym facilities often have perks that accompany the service, but for those who don’t need the perks, this is a great option.

Where to find the gyms/sports centres

Below are some links for Wards in Tokyo – a simple Google search will yield some information quickly.  If you live in a particular ward and would like help to find some information on it, please leave a comment and I’ll help you search for it and add what I find to this article.

• Chiyoda-ku (千代田区)
• Chuo-ku (中央区) [look for the link 'Sports Facilities' and click for a PDF]
• Kōtō-ku (江東区)
• Meguro-ku (目黒区) [under Chpt. 5, look for 'Sports Facilities' and click for a PDF]
• Minato-ku (港区)
• Ohta-ku (大田区) [Japanese only]
• Shibuya-ku (渋谷区)
• Shinjuku-ku (新宿区)

If your ‘Ku’ isn’t listed, which is likely, just find the Kanji for your particular Ward or area in Japan, and run a Google search.  It will likely be the first link on the results page.

Enter the site and look for ‘English’ or ‘Multilingual’ links and you’re practically on the home straight.  If you find information to add, please let me know in the comments section and I’ll add it to this post in the section above for all to benefit.

Ever wondered how the incredible mesh, that is the Tokyo underground rail network, looks from space?  Well since it’s underground, it doesn’t really matter how far up you go, you wont be able to see it…

But… someone has gone to the trouble of super-imposing all the subway lines and their stations onto a Google Map, in a very neat way.  The map includes all the Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway lines, not counting the newly completed line (Fukutoshin line), at the time of writing.

Here it is.

Click each circle that represents each to view the route of the line. Clicking the “Satellite” button makes for a very interesting view of Tokyo.  Here’s a quick breakdown of what each letter represents (in bold), in case you don’t recognise them:

• Ginza (銀座)
• Marunouchi (丸の内)
• Hibiya (日比谷)
• Tōzai (東西)
• Chiyoda (千代田)
• Yurakuchō (有楽町)
• hanZōmon (半蔵門)
• Namboku (南北)
• Asakusa (浅草)
• mIta (三田)
• Shinjuku (新宿)
• ōEdo (大江戸)

Enjoy!

Tokyo… it’s a pretty big place.

Officially as of October 2007, the population of Tokyo is approximately 10% of country, which is roughly 12.790 million people.  The Tokyo prefecture is the 3rd smallest by land area (2.187km²) making it the most densely populated prefecture.  So how does everyone get around?  It’s like any major city really, the rail network serves the core central areas and connects the major hubs with the help of the bus network.  The further from the centre of the city you go, the heavier the reliance on buses and private transport.

Tokyo rail network

Starting with the trains, there are 2 types in Tokyo.  Basically there’s JR East (JR東日本/JR Higashi-Nihon), and then there’s everything else.  The everything else includes all the private rail and subway companies, with the main players being Keiō (京王), Toei (都営), and Tōkyu (東急).

Buying a ticket for a train on one network will not see you transition to a train on another – you’ll always have to buy a connecting ticket.  The there is a way around this headache.

IC charge cards

There now a one-size-fits-all to ticketing in Tokyo and other major cities.  As of March 2008, when using the IC charge systems in Tokyo you simply charge up your prepaid cards and swipe them as you enter and exit anywhere within the network.  The system does all the leg work for you.

But you wont be too surprised to find that there is more than one system – 2 in fact.  Typical!

1. Suica: operated by JR East, it is valid throughout Greater Tokyo and beyond.  It works for all trains, subways and buses in Tokyo, Sendai, Niigata and much further afield on JR trains in the likes of Osaka and Sapporo.
2. PASMO: (パスモ) is a combined effort by Tokyo railway and subway companies.  This is also valid for use on trains (including JR), subways and buses, but limited to the Greater Tokyo area.

Here are some important points to note:

• Where to get one: you can pick up these cards at either demarcated ticket machines, or counters at the respective operators i.e. JR provides Suica; other rail companies provide PASMO.
• How much: they are provided with a refundable 500-yen deposit and an accompanying initial charge value (Suica is 1500-yen; PASMO 500~9500-yen)
• How to recharge: this is done using Suica/PASMO demarcated ticket machines found at all JR and private rail stations.  I believe you can also charge on buses.
• Commuter pass inclusion: as well as a standard charge card, you can also have your commuter pass (teikiken) included on the card.
• Shopping: many convenience stores, restaurants and even taxis now allow you to make purchases using the cards instead of cash.  There will typically be a sign and card reader clearly visible.

IC card provision outside Tokyo

Suica has quite a bit more reach beyond PASMO. In other major cities throughout Japan, JR has implemented similar systems with different names.  Suica is by far the most versatile, while all IC card flavours work on Tokyo’s JR rail except one (at the time of writing).

Super convenience – Mobile Suica

These charge cards are incredibly convenient.  That said though, they’ve taken it a step further: Mobile Suica (モバイルSuica).  This service runs off the back of the NTT Docomo developed system, osaifu-keitai (おサイフケータイ) – literally translated as “wallet mobile”.

It’s exactly as it sounds.  You charge up the little IC chip (FeliCa) that has been placed in your mobile phone with a preconfigured credit card of your choice.  You then use it just as you would the Suica/PASMO cards described above – one less thing to carry in your wallet / lose / forget.

Pros:

1. There is an interface that you can use on your phone or the internet to view all transaction history on the card – this isn’t available on the standard Suica/PASMO cards
2. One less card to carry around and remember.
3. You nearly always have your mobile phone with you and if you lose/forget your wallet/cash, you will have a handy backup.

Cons:

1. The interfaces that I have seen for it are only provided in Japanese.
2. You must have a credit card that you register in order to provide top-ups as you need it.  You are also charged a 1000 yen fee (per year I believe) for this privilege.
3. It is not available on all mobiles.  Look out for the FeliCa logo on the phone handset:

Suica + N’EX deal

As I was researching some of the finer details for this post, I came across this interesting offer.  Basically, at Narita airport terminals 1&2 you can buy a combined Suica card (with 2000 yen top-up included) + Narita Express transit ticket to Tokyo for 3500-yen.  Bargain!  This saves you nearly 1500 yen.

There are so many services out there that it can all get a bit confusing, but I hope this article helps to clear some of the mystery or confusion for you if you’re just getting used to it in Japan.  Please feel free to comment on, add to, or correct anything you’ve read in this article.

A question that arises time and time again is for an easy and cost-effective method to transfer money overseas from your Japanese Yen.  Go to any bank and you can do it.  Whether you need an account with that particular bank/branch is something I don’t know at this point, but there is a convenient alternative altogether in the form of GoLloyds.

Golloyds

Lloyds TSB have for many years now been providing a service called the GoLloyds Overseas Remittance Service.  They basically allow you to register a bank account that you have overseas, most likely the current account you used in your previous domicile.  Once they can confirm the details and connectivity to the specified account, they will provide you with details on how to get money to it.

It’s really very easy, and for only a little bit of ground work at the beginning you can have a superbly easy service at your fingertips.  Not only that, if you took heed of the banking for foreigners article you’ll even have online banking in English through which you can setup a bank transfer contact and be able to make a transfer to GoLloyds within minutes.

How to sign up

This can be done online… well… not completely, but they make it as easy for you as can realistically be done.  Follow the guide on the site itself and you will be set up in no-time.  Then simply perform a bank-transfer/furikomi (振込) to the details that are provided for you after sign-up is confirmed and after a day or so, the money should appear in your target account.

How it works and the costs involved

This system simply works by them creating a bank account, or a virtual account, for you on the GoLloyds side into which you transfer the cash.  Their systems will then notice the money you have sent there and by your registration know where the money needs to be then forwarded to.  GoLloyds receive their payment by deducting their standard fee from your transferred amount and performing the remittance.  Here are typical costs involved:

• Bank transfer charge from your account to GoLloyds
• GoLloyds service fee: 2000 yen
• A fee will likely be charged on the far end of the transfer by your target bank.  This fee will be detailed to you by GoLloyds at the time of account setup
• Exchange rate: not a fee as such, but you need to take into the account the current exchange rates as provided by GoLloyds for that day

Just a note on the exchange rates: they apply for that day up to 3:00pm only, and are generally fair rates.  They are usually a few percentage points away from the “real” rate of the day, but never excessively so.

When you would not use this service

There is no point in registering for this service if you don’t have a need to regularly send money to the same place.  Granted, with GoLloyds, you can set up another beneficiary for your account but it’s not practical to do this everytime, though there is no limit with GoLloyds and to do this is free.

Another reason you may not use this is if you’re traveling to the place you are sending the money and you believe that you can obtain better rates using the services provided by citibank and Shinsei with Foreign Currency Deposits service.  That way you can just send the money into one of those deposit accounts and then withdraw the cash directly as you need it when you’re there.

Personal note

The articles I write on this site are based on my own experience living in Japan.  There are ways to make your life more comfortable and efficient here and I believe this is one of them and since setting up your account is free, where’s the harm?  I hope you find it as useful as I have.

If you think this article is useful, GoLloyds run a ‘Introduce a friend’ promotion… feel free to say we’re friends during your application process – my name is Paul Goodchild.  Of course, if you’d rather not, that’s fine too and I hope you find the GoLloyds experience as beneficial as I have!

Disclaimer: GaijinGuide.com and its authors are not affiliated in any way with any banking institution mentioned on this site.  We absolutely do not accept any responsibility for your financial management and any costs, liability, implications, complications or otherwise from your reading of any material on this site.  The information here is provided as-is with no implied warranty or otherwise.  In saying that though, I hope you find it useful.

There are several frustrations that foreigners can experience during their time in Japan, one discussed before was banking, another is long-term accommodation – renting an apartment.  Why is it such a chore?  Well moving to a new place is a stressful event at the best of times, but to do so in a foreign language and culture just adds to the complications.  I will attempt to break down the very basics of what you can expect to experience, and some things to look out for when undertaking this quest so that they’re not a complete shock to the system.

The very basics

When you meet with the estate agent/fudōsan (不動産) to find your dream apartment, you’ll need to have thought about the following points before you get there:

• where – typically specified by train-line and the stations on that line.  Typically accessible to your place of work
• budget – depending on your requirements, this will seriously dictate what is available to you
• distance from the station – a very common requirement is how far from your desired station are you prepared to live.  Would you walk 10 minutes, or are you prepared to live a 15 minute bus ride away.  Something to consider.
• apartment age – some apartments on the market are incredibly old and if safety in an earthquake is big factor for you, then you need to bring this up.  It’s also an indicator in the materials used in construction – see below in the ‘Apartment build types’

Room sizes and layout (madori/間取り)

In order to quickly categorize the size and layout of an apartment, they use the following shorthand:

• R – Room
• L – Living
• D – Dining
• K – Kitchen
• S – Small
• # – a number representing the number of potential bedrooms

It’s always been a little vague and down to interpretation – let’s take an example to illustrate: 2LDK.  Breaking this down, it tells us that this particular apartment has 2 bedrooms, and a “combined” Living-Dining-Kitchen room – so 3 main rooms altogether.  This doesn’t include bathrooms or shower rooms.  Depending on how the owner interprets the layout of his apartment, this could have been called a 2DK.  If it had only been named a 2K, then you can assume the room represented by the ‘K’ is really just room enough for a kitchen.

There will of course be a specified floor space area/menseki (面積), in either m², or the more traditional tsubo (坪).  1-tsubo is the equivalent of 3.31m², or 2x standardised tatami mats.

Apartment build types

There are 3 main types of “apartment” on the market, and they are:

• apaato (アパート) – a room within a wooden based building structure
• manshon (マンション) / – a room within a reinforced concrete (RC- 鉄筋コンクリート) building structure.
• ikkodate (一戸建て) – a separate house

Experience has shown that the only one really worth any consideration is the ‘manshon’ type.  While these also aren’t anything special, they beat the completely un-insulated wooden apartments that are terrible during the extremes of the Winter and Summer seasons in that they cannot retain heat or cool respectively.  Houses are appropriate if you need the space and sometimes will bag you a bargain.

Another important point to note is that most newer building are constructed using RC and are therefore said to be much more reliable and resilient to the damage inflicted by an earthquake.  This sounds logical, but frankly if the earthquake is substantial enough, it’s not going to really matter.  ‘Mansion’ types are also naturally more costly than ‘apaato’ types.

Costs

There is a set of standard costs incurred with moving into an apartment in Japan – below are the main ones:

• estate agent fee – typically 1 month, though there are some that charge 0.5 month
• skikikin (敷金) – the deposit, usually 1~3 months depending on the landlord
• reikin (礼金) – a ‘gift’ to the landlord for his/her generosity in allowing you to reside there.  Usually 1~3 months depending on the landlord.
• hoshōkin (保証金) – the guarantor fee, described further under the section about contract types

There is a long-standing tradition for the obligatory key-money (gratitude) payments, though by all accounts this practice is slowly but surely being phased out and reikin-free apartments are quite common.  It is perhaps the most significant issue foreigners in Japan take when making a lease.

As with anything such as this, rent, key-money and deposit are usually negotiable to varying degrees and the simple fact is that if you really don’t want to pay gratitude costs, you don’t have to – you just specify properties that don’t demand this payment.  One way that the landlord will “forgo” the gratuity is to spread the cost of it out amongst the first 12 months of the lease.  That’s one option, but you are free to decide if this is appropriate for you or not.

My opinion is that market forces will win out in this case.  If nobody is prepared to make these gratitude payments, then the landlords will be forced to scrap it.  Clearly not enough people are standing up to this system, so it naturally perpetuates.

Contract types

There are 2 main types of contract available to you.  One is private/kojin-keiyaku (個人契約), the other is corporate/hōjin-keiyaku (法人契約).  This is where the guarantor issue and payments comes in to play.  If your employer is prepared to take on the lease on your behalf, you will gain in 2 ways.  Firstly, rent can be paid directly from your salary each month using pre-taxed yen making your costs lower.  Secondly, since it is your employer that is contracted, it is a safer bet for the landlord that they’ll will receive their monthly payments each month.  In this case also, a guarantor for the lease is required and typically it is you – that is, if the company fails to meet it’s obligations, you will signed as the person responsible in the end to meet the payments.  Naturally this is the preferred option all-round.

Private leases however are more complicated.  They’re riskier in the eyes of the landlord and are therefore more challenging to obtain.  If you want to cut your employer out of the picture altogether, you will need a Japanese national to act as guarantor for you.  However, Japanese people are generally very reluctant to put their signature on a contract like this and so you’re usually forced to make use of a “Guarantor Agency”.  You pay the agency typically a month’s rent and they will sign on the dotted line for you.

Private leasing in Japan generally does not make for a pleasant story…

Further points to note

When choosing what you want in your apartment, as you meet with the housing agent you will be presented with a whole range options and specifications.  Below are some of the most common so you can recognise them if they’re written only in Japanese:

• バス･トイレ別 – separate room for bath and toilet
• 2階以上 – the room is on the 2nd floor and above (due to safety concerns for some people, this is important)
• エアコン – air-conditioner unit(s) are provided
• 室内洗濯機置場 – there’s a dedicated place provided to set your washing machine
• ペット相談 – the landlord is open to the discussion of allowing your pets
• 駐車場あり – car parking space option is available
• 南向き – south facing and therefore captures more direct sunlight
• 2人入居可 – catering for couples
• 築年数 – years since construction

There are many more things to consider besides all of these, such as payment methods and initial fee and rental payments/schedules… too much to list in a single article.

If you need further translations of the terms here, please see the Links page for translation tools available online.

Moving out

A very important issue that comes up is moving out of an apartment before a lease is up.  The standard lease is 2 years, but there is usually nothing, unless it is binding in the contract, keeping you there – you can leave at any time and should not incur costs for this.  This becomes more significant when you reach the end of the 2 year lease period since, as another way to squeeze more money from you, you are required to pay a renewal fee that amounts to a month’s rent.  This is the cost you incur for the privilege of staying the apartment.  It is not uncommon for people to take this opportunity to move to a new place.

When you actually do decide to move out, consider your notice period and notify early.  It is a good idea to state that this notification period be 1 month at the time of creating the contract, as it is quite common to have a 2 month period specified by the landlord.

Usually on the last day of your stay, the landlord and/or agent will c0me to inspect the property.  Based on that inspection, you will be liable for any damages and cleaning fees.  It is typically deducted from the deposit you paid in the beginning, and the remainder is returned to you through bank transfer after approximately 1 month.

Personal note

There are agencies out there that service the foreign community in Japan though I have yet to find a definitively quality outfit in either English or Japanese.  I have noticed that some of the foreigner-focused agencies demand a price premium for the services offered so be aware of this when using them.

If your current agency is providing what you think is poor service, do not hesitate to find somewhere else that doesn’t.  Shop around.  In general all the agencies source the same pool of apartments and the only difference is the service you receive, not what is on offer to you.

Good luck.

When you’re at a any social gathering, there are do’s and don’ts – certain topics are socially permissible, some certainly are not.  Sometimes you’ll find yourself boring the your counterpart when going into great depth about your passion for traditional Japanese Flower Arranging (生花 – ikebana), but you won’t cause any offence.  Mention Japanese banking on the other hand, to people living in Japan for any length of time, and you’re likely to bring a party mood to a full-stop very quickly for anyone within ear’s reach.

Banking in Japan for foreigners has been painful at best, and downright torture at worst. There are many reasons for this, for which a whole website alone could be dedicated.  This article is here to save you pain and frustration so you can go straight to the source and avail of some of the better retail banking in this country.

What you need

Before setting off on your journey to a branch you will, as is nearly always the case, need to ensure you have your Alien Registration certificate (外国人登録証 – gaikokujin-torokusho). Without that, you are just a tourist in Japan, and you can’t be setting up a bank account when you’ll be gone within 90 days. You should, by law, always have this on you anyway. You also need a recent (6 months) utility bill stating your current home address.

I have experience with 3 banking institutions in Japan. First with Mizuho Ginko (みずほ銀行), then Citi Bank, and finally Shinsei Ginko (新生銀行).  Mizuho is a very traditional, long-established part of the Japanese banking furniture.  It operates just as the many other domestic banks do in Japan and is the source of much of the frustration people experience. To set up an account with them, you will likely need a decent level of Japanese language ability, an inkan (印鑑), and a truckload of patience. If you open an account with them, any time you go to the desk to perform almost any task, this inkan will be required of you. And of-course the patience I mentioned earlier.

If your Japanese language ability isn’t up to scratch and you’d like online banking as standard, then the Citi bank and Shinsei bank options are great. You wont need an inkan to sign-up and therefore you wont need to bring this with you when performing uncommon transactions. The services provided by these two institutions are bilingual and this also includes the telephone and Internet banking which is provided for you by default with your application.

What services are being offered?

The Citi bank account being referred to here is the Yen Savings/MultiMoney Account. Opening this particular account effectively opens 2 separate accounts. One is for your everyday current account processes, while the other allows you to make deposits in foreign currencies. Why is this useful? If for example you’re intending to visit Europe in 6 months and you believe that the current exchange rate is preferable and you’d like to guarantee how much yen you will effectively be spending at that time, you can transfer money from your yen-savings account into your Euro foreign currency deposit account (FCDA). When you withdraw money (Euro) from the account during your trip, it will be taken by the default from your FCDA. This account can therefore be used, at your own risk, to profit from currency exchange rate fluctuations and to mitigrate currency exchange risk.

The Shinsei bank account being referred to here is Powerflex. When you create a Powerflex account, you will also simultaneously create, as with Citi, a foreign currency savings accounts for each of the major currencies available. Not only that, but there will also be a second savings account called PowerYokin. This 2nd account adds another layer of safety to the access of your money. Funds cannot be withdrawn directly from the account, but rather transferred either by phone- or online- banking to your standing yen savings account.

In summary

There is a lot to say about the negative points of traditional Japanese banking, but really it’s best to focus on the great positives that come with the banks catering for the English-speaking foreigners in Japan. The following is a brief list that details services that currently aren’t, to the best of my knowledge, offered by the traditional banks either at all, or by default:

• Telephone and online banking, in English
• Foreign currency deposit accounts
• Ability to withdraw money while traveling abroad
• No requirement to have an inkan during sign-up or afterwards
• With Shinsei you have FREE 24hr access to withdrawals from their ATM (with Mizuho, you must pay a fee after 6pm or weekends/public holidays for the privilege)
• With Shinsei you have 1+ free domestic bank transfers per month. With platinum accounts, this can be up to 5 or more.
• You can start the account creation process by post or telephone

Please check out the service charges for both Shinsei and Citi. A point to note that (at the time of writing) unless you meet certain requirements with Citi bank, you are charged 2100 yen monthly “account maintenance fee”.

Personal experience

On a purely personal note, I have had a fantastic experience with Shinsei bank. I can’t think of a single problem I’ve had since opening the account about a year ago. Account creation took 20 minutes when I went to the branch and comprehensive English online banking was up and running after only a week.

Disclaimer: GaijinGuide.com and its authors are not affiliated in any way with any banking institution mentioned on this site. We absolutely do not accept any responsibility for your financial management and any costs, implications, complications or otherwise from your reading of any material on this site. The information here is provided as-is with no implied warranty or otherwise. In saying that though, I hope you find it useful : )

Before ever venturing out anywhere in Japan, either for a day-trip, or a party/event, I will nearly always print a map for where I’m going. It’s part of my character and I don’t really know what other way to operate comfortably.

If for example I’m given an address for a venue, I will nearly always look it up and add it to my growing collection of venues in my personal Google map.  But to do that, I need to know how to interpret the address that’s been provided.  Nearly always if the venue has their own website, the excuse for a “map” is nowhere near enough for me to get there reliably.  So how to get from address, to map?

Address breakdown

Let’s take the following address as an example, which is the address to one of my favourite little Japanese restaurants in Tokyo, namely Teyan-tei [てやん亭]:

東京都港区西麻布2-20-1

The first part that you’ll need to learn to recognise for addresses in Tokyo, is the symbol for the Tokyo prefecture:

東京都 (Tokyo-to)

The next part, is the name of the municipality or ward.  Everything following the Tokyo part, up to the part with the 区 (ku) symbol is the name of the particular ward.  In this case,

港区 (Minato-ku)

is the ward.  Tokyo is split up into 23 “special” wards (特別区/Tokubetsuku) aside from the other 26 cities that make up the Tokyo prefecture.  I’m referring in this post to the 23 ward system as I’m not directly familiar with others and I’m likely to get it completely backwards if I try.

Each ward/ku is fairly expansive in itself and they consist of many t0wns and that’s the next part of the address puzzle.  Everything following the 区 symbol and up to the first number that appears, is the name of the town.

西麻布 (Nishi-Azabu)

It being Tokyo, each town is as you might guess fairly large also, and the real complication for addresses enters at this point.  The 3 numbers that follow narrow down the location right to the very building you’re looking for.  Sometimes you’ll only get 2 numbers, but the reason for that will become clear shortly.  So, we’re left with:

2-20-1

Each town within the ward is split-up into several districts called chōme (丁目) .  These are fairly arbitrarily demarcated, but I have found that main roads and thoroughfares are typical borders between these chōme and especially towns themselves.  So this restaurant is in the 2nd chōme of Nishi-Azabu town.

These districts aren’t usually too big and they consist basically of a collection of city blocks (a block being 1 continuous piece of land demarcated by pedestrian pathways or roads).  These city blocks are called banchi (番地) and within a chōme they are numbered.  And that’s what the 20 refers to in this address – block number 20.  The last number is simple – it’s just the building number on that particular block, refered to as gō (号).  And that’s that.  Except of course if the address points to an apartment block meaning you will also require the apartment number, or if it’s a multi-storey building, you’ll perhaps want the floor number.

The format of the address I gave you wasn’t as complicated as it can get however.  Very often in formal circumstances, though not limited to these, the address will be completely in Japanese, or at least more in Japanese than the one I gave.  Taking the address I provided for example, I will write it in slightly increasingly complex Japanese and also provide the equivalent as you would write it in English at the end, which tends to mix it around a bit.  Note that I have provided the Japanese names for the components of the address, so refereing to them should help.  Here it is:

東京都港区西麻布２－２０－１

東京都港区西麻布２丁目２０番地１号

東京都港区西麻布二丁目二十番地一号

2-20-1 Nishi-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo

I hope that all makes sense and helps a little.  Check out the Links section for map tools which I may explain how to use in a future post.  And for the record, here is a link to the map for this particular place: map.  Take a look around the map, zoom in and out and see if you can see within it what I’ve been describing here.