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番地◇ばんち (House numbers)
lit. number-area
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On a Japanese street, one sees various signs as well as advertisements. Among them are found house numbers. Such information will not only be written at each house, but at the corners of the street.
The Japanese house numbering system is quite different, one may even say, confusing. In short, the system does not relate to the street, but to a square area. In this sample sign found in Tokyo, the green sign at the center of the photo indicates that this is the corner of area no. 18 in the area no. 3 of the area called Nishi-Ikebukuro. Each house in this area then has a third number (e.g., the house no. 5 will be indicated as "3-18-5"). As the result, a house number does not immediately provide the information as to which street it faces, and a careful study of a map becomes necessary in order to find the house one is looking for. |