Did you know that Japanese addresses have no street names? Yes, most of Japan's streets generally do not have names. This is because Japan uses a different address system than that used in most Western countries. So, just imagine you're strolling through a certain city street. Since the street has no name, how are you ever going to get where you want? This might sound like a labyrinth of confusing nightmares- especially if you come from a Western land. However, this is how things work in Japan. Although most Japanese streets have no names, Japan uses a certain method to arrange things. It's only that the system may be that bit confusing to many people coming from other continents.
The book Planet Tokyo, A Geek in Japan, says: "To get us going, let's try to find out. First, Japanese addresses generally start with large divisions- the prefecture. Next, they are broken down into smaller cities. Further, some of the larger cities are also broken down into wards. For example, Tokyo city is made up of 23 wards. The areas are then divided into smaller districts. The smallest units are known as the Chrome. Hence, in Japan, a given address starts from the largest areas to the smallest. This is the exact difference with how the Western address system works. The biggest difference is that there's no such thing as a street name. Indeed, sometimes the Japanese address system is reversed to resemble the structure of a western address. Here's an example: 1-5-1, Yaesu, Chuo-ku, Tokyo.
In this example, Tokyo refers to the Prefecture, Chuo-ku stands for the ward, while Yaesu refers to the district within the city. The number "1" refers to the Chrome, while 5 refers to the number of the block. The last digit, "1" stands for the building number. So, that's how easy things are- all without ever mentioning a street name."
"While it all seems rather straightforward because each of these places in the address gets smaller and smaller, it can be a tricky business trying to zero in on a specific building number- why? Often the buildings may not be numbered like in the example supplied. Thus, it does seem like the area existing between the buildings in Japan is considered as nothing but a mere empty space. That's quite different from how the western address system works. Remember too, that these addresses would not be written in English; instead they have Japanese characters. This can make a simple trip turn out to be more challenging merely because many cannot read Japanese."
"In this state, the Japanese system for getting around a specific location within a city actually makes sense. It, however, requires much practice. To this end, it wouldn't hurt if a visitor makes some effort to learn Japanese."
Generally, US addresses and those of most other countries usually follow this arrangement: It starts with the street number, then the street name. The addresses start with a specified indicator, then the street number, followed by a street name (a broader indicator). To some, this may seem like a totally different intuitive system that is used to identify locations. Many would probably, not consider naming locations in any other way. Japan, however, names locations using a radically different method.
As noted, each area within a specific city is assigned a special neighborhood name. Specific streets then serve to create a block in the way shown above. Moreover, every block contains several buildings inside. In Japan, instead of the streets serving as identifiers (like in the US), the streets are used to create block numbers. Next, the block numbers are used to indicate different areas. Generally, the buildings in those specified areas are assigned numbers based upon the date they were built. Thus, most streets don't have street names. Most buildings are marked using signs that show the neighborhood first, then the block, and finally the building number. This means the signs start from broader locations, progressing gradually to specific locations.
Although the Japanese system may seem somewhat flawed, this system has some advantages. For instance, you can easily locate anything on a map reasonably quickly. If, for example, two streets intersected several times, it would cause some confusion using the western system of address. Why? It wouldn't be entirely clear the specific intersection being referred to. But with the Japanese system, one only has to identify the block he is in. Thus, it'd be much faster to pinpoint the place merely using a map.