Tokyo Addresses

[superTrash]

Hey all,

Was wondering if anyone new how to figure out how to find an address in Tokyo. Like I understand that the city is divided into districts, then in each district its a another division... Like 2-3-9 AzabuJuban, Minato-Ku... But I'm wondering does anyone know of a website that can locate addresses in Tokyo, or is it a lost cause? Google Maps sort of shows it I think, but then again I don't read or speak Japanese...

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[djrajio]

Hey all,

Was wondering if anyone new how to figure out how to find an address in Tokyo. Like I understand that the city is divided into districts, then in each district its a another division... Like 2-3-9 AzabuJuban, Minato-Ku... But I'm wondering does anyone know of a website that can locate addresses in Tokyo, or is it a lost cause? Google Maps sort of shows it I think, but then again I don't read or speak Japanese...

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.mapion.co.jp/

The breakdown for addresses is

Mailing number - 〒（郵便番号） 7-digits. For example 〒106-0044

Prefecture - 都 For example:　東京都

Ku-ward - 区 For example: 港区

Chou-me - 丁目, then Ban - 番, then Go - 号, usually as all three: 2-3-9 or 2丁目-3-9

Then the name of the building and location in building.

[isdenn]

my personal experience was that even locals will not be able to tell you where a building is just based on its street address. for example i was looking for a store in harajuku (whoop-de-doo) and i had its address, and i had different people telling me to go all over the place...one dude in hare actually thought it might be in or on the way to shibuya which was definitely not the case. it's far better if you can find someone who actually knows the building youre looking for and can give you landmarks or cross streets or draw a map or something.

[herpsky]

maps are far more convenient tokyo

things are slightly easier when you have one of those phones

with the EZ navi walk function

[superTrash]

thanks guys.

the mapion.jp site looks good, now I just have to learn japanese. :[

so in other words if I want to find out the address of a store in Tokyo I should just rely on the superfuture maps as a general guide. ;]

how do most locals navigate the city, is it all sort of word of mouth?

[djrajio]

thanks guys.

the mapion.jp site looks good, now I just have to learn japanese. :[

so in other words if I want to find out the address of a store in Tokyo I should just rely on the superfuture maps as a general guide. ;]

how do most locals navigate the city, is it all sort of word of mouth?

Yes. Word of mouth and most magazines post a small map of the surrounding area of a shop to help people. Also, most fashion magazines post insert map guides of popular areas. Learn Japanese! The men's non-no map guide is probably the best because its always up-to-date and dynamic: mensnonno.shueisha.co.jp/map/. Superfuture is good but not the best. You can't search and do printables of certain areas.

[herpsky]

boon and cooltrans have tokyo shopping maps once in a while

i find em extremely helpful b/c it's not as cluttered as the SF maps

too bad it's all in japanese

[Kasper]

http://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-City-Atlas-Bilingual-Guide/dp/4770025033/sr=8-2/qid=1161631857/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-2807115-7583949?ie=UTF8&s=books

check out this book, it's a billingual atlas of Tokyo and by far the best option if you can't read japanese. really easy to find to find a place if you have the address in english, and not really expensive. of course, like other saids, it's much easier if you can read japanese cause you can use your cellphone or internet maps. even if you don't read japanese, it's quite easy to recognize the main areas （新宿　渋谷　六本木　青山　etc) so with a quick study, you should be able to use a japanese map

[smurf]

Yeah, Kasper is right. That book will be the best investment you make prior to your trip. Oh, and get a small compass too! Anyway, my girlfriend and I tracked down all sorts of obscure locations. The only thing is, it's really only accurate to the block, but once you're there, just walk around that one block and you're golden. My only other word of advise is to look up! Lots of bars and stuff are not on the street level, so keep an eye open for neon signs, etc.