Streetwise in Japan

[Niko]

Getting Lost in Japan

I suppose anyone who has ever travelled or lived in Japan, you will have realised that there are very few street signs displayed. Only the larger streets in Japan have names, and once you get off the main thoroughfares, navigation can be interesting, to say the least.

A decent city map can considerably cut down on aimless wandering.

So how does one navigate if there are no streets names? Well, in Japan, locations and directions are navigated by zones. You need to find the zone you are going to, then that zone will consist of a range of ordered numbers.

Example of finding a street in Japan:

Instead of having a location named 23 Nishi St., it would more look like 2-32-105 Higashi Oizumi. You need to find the zone Higashi Oizumi. Once done, then find the larger zone 2, following by the building number 32. Finally, 105 would be the apartment number.

I have found myself navigating by the Japanese way, and it sounds harder than it actually is in practice.