Map an Address in Japan
Have you ever had a hard time locating an address in Japan? Japanese addresses can very confusing to foreigners and if you have ever tried to find one on a map it can be very frustrating. I have found a tool that allows you to map an address in Japan - it’s called diddlefinger and it has an easy to use interface in English!
Here is an example of an address in Japan:
7-1,7-chome, Yatsu, Narashino-City, Chiba (This happens to be for Yuzawaya a craft store I plan on visiting often)
Here’s how diddlefinger works (the default city is Tokyo but other cities are available by using the drop down box in the upper right hand corner):
Step 1 - Click “English Address Search”and the following box will appear:
Step 2 - Enter the shi or city - in this case Narashino (a box will drop down so that you can pick the correct item)
Step 3 - Enter the Ku or Ward (in this case it was not necessary)
Step 4- Enter the area - in this case Yatsu
Step 5 - Enter the address - in this case 7-1
Step 6 - Click Map
You have done it! You can zoom in and out and recenter the map with your mouse. But there’s more, if you check the detail box you will then see the main station names in English. Click on the small train icon closest to your address and it will provide you the name of the station and often the line it is on - now you can figure out how to get there.
Do you want to know how far your address is away from the station or other landmark? If so, just click on the address that you just found and a white dialog box will open. Check the set as home point box and save (the bubble turns magenta). Then go anywhere else on the map and double click - you will get a new (white) bubble. Click on that and you can export a link or find out how far it is from your home point as the crow flies. You can also click on Satellite to see a view with landmarks, etc.
I think that this is a very handy tool that I will be putting to good use when I get to Japan. I hope that you find it useful too.
on 31 January, 2008 on 9:06 pm
Map Japan Addresses Easily With This Site
How to easily locate the map of an address in Japan (with an English interface). A handy new tool that I will be using often!
on 1 February, 2008 on 3:39 am
Woo, that’s lovely - I was thinking of doing something like that for just train stations. Unfortunately, Google doesn’t do train routing, otherwise that would be a killer app!
The bottom-to-top address entering is a bit irritating, however.
on 1 February, 2008 on 6:36 am
Ken,
I was a bit confused at first but then I just started clicking around until it all made sense. You are right about the way the address is entered - it seems backwards but it works and that’s what counts. Thanks for the comment!
on 1 February, 2008 on 6:53 am
Japan Address Mapping: A New Tool
Japanese addresses are a bit confusing to foreigners and are notoriously hard to locate. You can now easily map your destination, find the nearest train station and even view a satellite image of the location so you can determine landmarks,…
on 1 February, 2008 on 12:20 pm
Looks very useful, thanks
on 1 February, 2008 on 3:49 pm
Nice find!!
on 1 February, 2008 on 5:00 pm
Thanks Chris! This tip even made it to the front page of the NewsOnJapan site - I’m blown away!
on 14 February, 2008 on 6:47 am
Oh my gosh - I used to live right by that Yuzawaya! Thanks for this very useful info!
on 14 February, 2008 on 7:53 am
It’s a cool store and I can’t wait to get back. Are you still in Japan?
By the way, I checked out your blog and your jewelry it very nice.
on 15 February, 2008 on 6:54 am
Thanks for the compliment!
No, unfortunately I’m not in Japan anymore. I miss Tokyo! I’ve been back twice in the last couple of years and have stopped by Yuzawaya both times. They had a bunch of used/vintage kimono for sale (cheap!) last October.
on 15 February, 2008 on 7:48 am
Tokyo is a very vibrant city and I am very excited to go back. I’ll be a regular at Yuzawaya so if you ever get back let me know and we’ll meet for a Yuzawaya fix and a bento!
on 4 March, 2008 on 7:10 pm
this is a great program……….i really have not know how to get around here and i have been here for 10 years and stll getting lost.
very cool..
thanks
on 28 March, 2008 on 8:17 pm
[...] even had a few exciting moments like when my post on how to Map an Address in Japan got picked up by Japan Probe and News on Japan and got a whopping 176 hits in one day (it’s [...]