“5-ban 25-go” or “123 Banchi”? How to Read a Japanese Address

Tokyo’s Minato Ward gives, as an example address within its own ward, “Minato-ku, Shibakoen 1-chome, 5-ban, 25-go” (港区芝公園一丁目5番25号). The ward’s name, the town’s name, and then two numbers: “5-ban” and “25-go.” Where a Ukrainian address starts from the street and building number and works up to the oblast (see “A Ukrainian Address Runs From Street to Oblast”), a Japanese address starts from the prefecture and proceeds from the largest unit to the smallest. The meaning of that final number, however, works in one of two different ways depending on the area.

What follows is based on the Act on Indication of Residential Address (住居表示に関する法律), and on official guidance from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Tokyo’s Minato and Shinjuku wards, Kyoto City, and Japan Post, checked in September 2026.

From the Largest Unit to the Smallest

“5-ban 25-go” and “123 Banchi”

The final number in a Japanese address works in one of two ways.

Jukyo Hyoji: Numbering the Buildings

The Act on Indication of Residential Address (住居表示に関する法律, jukyo hyoji ni kansuru horitsu), promulgated and enforced on May 10, 1962, sets out a system for making urban addresses easier to understand. Article 2 lists two methods for indicating an address: the “block method” (gaiku hoshiki), which uses a number assigned to a “block” (gaiku) — an area of a town bounded by roads, railways, rivers, and the like — plus a number assigned to the building within it (the residential number, 住居番号, jukyo bango); and the “street method” (doro hoshiki), which uses a street name plus a building number. Under Article 3, each city, ward, town, or village decides, through a resolution of its assembly, in which areas and by which method to carry out jukyo hyoji.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications explains the purpose of this system as replacing the “town name and chiban” (町名地番) method of address, which had become confusing as urbanization advanced, with a more rational one. In Minato Ward’s example, “5-ban” is the block number (街区符号, gaiku fugo) and “25-go” is the residential number (住居番号, jukyo bango).

Chiban: Using the Land Registry Number

In areas that have not adopted jukyo hyoji, the number of the plot of land the building stands on — the “chiban” (地番) — is used, written as “〇 banchi.” Chiban is a land-management number used for real-estate registration and property tax. Minato Ward states that there is no relationship between jukyo hyoji numbers and chiban.

Which system applies can differ by location even within the same city, ward, town, or village.

• Minato Ward: jukyo hyoji is used across the ward except for the districts of Azabu-Tanuki-cho and Azabu-Nagasaka-cho (99.71% of the ward’s area).
• Shinjuku Ward: jukyo hyoji is used in 76.60% of the ward, and not used in the remaining 23.40%. In areas where it is not used, the address is written using the town name followed by the chiban’s “parent number” as “〇 banchi,” sometimes with a “branch number” attached.
• Kyoto City: does not use jukyo hyoji anywhere. Resident registration is based on the chiban of the plot of land where the home stands.

Based on the official guidance of Minato Ward, Shinjuku Ward, and Kyoto City (checked September 2026).

According to Kyoto City, when a chiban has a branch number, addresses recorded before 1995 (Heisei 7) are written as “123 banchi no 4,” while addresses newly recorded from 1996 onward are written as “123 banchi 4.” The city explains that both forms, with or without “no,” refer to the same location.

Kyoto’s “Street Names”

Addresses in central Kyoto City sometimes include street names. Kyoto City Hall’s address, for example, is “Kyoto-shi Nakagyo-ku Teramachi-dori Oike-agaru Kamihonnoji-mae-cho 488 banchi.” “Teramachi-dori” and “Oike” are street names, the following “agaru” is a word indicating direction, “Kamihonnoji-mae-cho” is the town name, and “488 banchi” is the chiban. Nakagyo Ward Office’s address is likewise written as “Kyoto-shi Nakagyo-ku Nishihorikawa-dori Oike-sagaru Nishisanbo-horikawa-cho 521.”

Kyoto City’s page for children introduces a mnemonic song that traces the east-west streets “in order from north (agaru).” For how to write your own address, it is most reliable to follow what is recorded on your residence certificate (住民票, juminhyo).

The Postal Code Has 7 Digits

A Japanese postal code (郵便番号, yubin bango) is a 7-digit number, with a hyphen inserted between the third and fourth digits (〒〇〇〇-〇〇〇〇). According to Japan Post’s manual, a postal code is assigned to each town area (the range of a town name excluding “〇-chome,” called an oaza) and to high-rise buildings that receive a large volume of mail. A business that receives an especially large volume of mail may also be assigned its own individual code.

The postal code system began on July 1, 1968 (the Postal Museum). The 3-digit and 5-digit codes used at the time survive intact as the first part of today’s 7-digit codes. Japan Post states that if the postal code is written correctly, the city/ward/town/village name may be omitted, but everything from the town name onward must always be written.

The “Digital Address” Is Not a Substitute for an Address

From May 26, 2025, Japan Post began a “Digital Address” service that lets a person convey their address as a 7-character alphanumeric code. It is a code for calling up an address registered with Japan Post’s “Yu ID,” and stays the same even after you move. However, Japan Post states that mail or parcels cannot be sent using the Digital Address alone — the postal code, address, and name must still be written.

In the Roman Alphabet, the Order Reverses

When having mail sent to you from abroad, or writing a Japanese address on an English-language document, you write it in the Roman alphabet. For international mail, Japan Post asks that addresses be written in Roman letters and Arabic numerals as a rule, to ensure delivery, and gives the following order.

This is the reverse order from a Japanese-style address: the building and banchi come first, and the prefecture and country come last. It is a closer order to how Ukrainian addresses are written. Japan Post warns that reversing the positions of the sender’s and recipient’s addresses, or writing them vertically, can cause mail to be returned or delayed.

The procedure for receiving mail and parcels within Japan is set out in “Receiving Mail in Japan.” For registering your address with your city, ward, town, or village, see “Words That Come Up in Japan’s Resident Registration.”