Decipher this Address

[kronik]

Trying to return something to Italy and they gave me this address:

piergiuseppe castiello c/o mailboxes via diaz 108/110 81031 aversa )ce= italy

Now .. what the hell goes where?

 

[whodini]

Ask Britalian.

 

[mack11211]

Looks like


piergiuseppe castiello
c/o mailboxes
via diaz 108/110
81031 aversa italy

The ')ce=' part is the mystery.

81031 is the postal code of aversa, sayeth Google.

 

[ratboycom]

piergiuseppe castiello
c/o mailboxes
via diaz 108/110
81031 Aversa
Italy

Similar to sending anything outside of the states. No true street names and stuff in most hoods in Tokyo so Im used to sending packages to strange strings of words/numbers. My girlfriend's address has 3 sets of numbers then narrow to naming of her neiborhood (ie Denen-Chofu-Minami, Otaku, Tokyo) then postal code numbers then country

 

[whodini]

Tokyo doesn't use street names??

 

[fritzl]

Originally Posted by ratboycom

piergiuseppe castiello
c/o mailboxes
via diaz 108/110
81031 Aversa
Italy

Perfect match.

At the beginning I also struggled sometimes sending to the US.

 

[2000dB]

Tokyo doesn't use street names??

No, it has a system of numbers.

 

[whodini]

Having not been to Japan, does the system of numbers allow you to use stuff like Mapquest?

Here in Costa Rica they've kept things fairly rudimentary in a fairly modern society as far as addresses go. Every address is given based its geographical distance from a "known" location, i.e., from the National Bank in such-such city, 50m south, 100m west. I say "known" location because while the place may be known to the person at that address, someone from another town probably will not have a clue where that is. The other "fun" aspect is that people will often give addresses based on buildings or structures that have long-been torn down or changed. Lastly, no, not every citizen here is given a compass yet most could tell you by the direction they're facing here in the valley which way they're headed.

What's funny is I've heard Costa Ricans traveling in the US complain that our addresses are too exact and that it'd be next to impossible to find a small street in a given city just by driving around. That's when I explain Mapquest. Then they get a little freaked out.

 

[Percy Trimmer]

Originally Posted by mack11211

Looks like


piergiuseppe castiello
c/o mailboxes
via diaz 108/110
81031 aversa italy

The ')ce=' part is the mystery.

81031 is the postal code of aversa, sayeth Google.

They have just got the brackets in the wrong place and hit the equals sign by mistake. (CE) is Provincia di Caserta so the address is


c/o mailboxes
via diaz 108/110
81031 Aversa (CE) Italy

 

[Bic Pentameter]

Originally Posted by whodini

Having not been to Japan, does the system of numbers allow you to use stuff like Mapquest?


Yes, you can use stuff like Mapquest in Japan. There is rhyme and reason to Japanese addresses. In English, they are usually something like building #1 in the 2nd section of the 3rd quadrant (sometimes building name) of the Central Ward in SomeTown.

The address then looks like this in English:

1-2-3 (Building Name) Central Ward, SomeTown
Japan 123-456

 

[Britalian]

Originally Posted by Percy Trimmer

They have just got the brackets in the wrong place and hit the equals sign by mistake. (CE) is Provincia di Caserta so the address is


c/o mailboxes
via diaz 108/110
81031 Aversa (CE) Italy

Hit the nail, I'd say.

 

[Stu]

Originally Posted by whodini

Having not been to Japan, does the system of numbers allow you to use stuff like Mapquest? Here in Costa Rica they've kept things fairly rudimentary in a fairly modern society as far as addresses go. Every address is given based its geographical distance from a "known" location, i.e., from the National Bank in such-such city, 50m south, 100m west. I say "known" location because while the place may be known to the person at that address, someone from another town probably will not have a clue where that is.
Yeah I remember addresses like: Name 100 metros al sur de donde estaba el arbol de mango al lado del banco town, seriously.

 

[ratboycom]

So in Costa Rica its like
Shoe Store
Around the corner from the Radio Shack, next to the tall building
hahaha

Yeah, the rhyme/reason for the lack of street names in Japan has some to do with streets being rather odd shaped sometimes, and the fact that every house/appartment has the family name on a plate mounted on the mailbox or closest wall/structure to the street. There are a few exceptions to this though, for instance most the main drags in Tokyo have street names (ie Chuo Dori, main strip in Akihabara)

 

[whodini]

It's more like with what Stu said:

Pizza Hut
200 mts East and 100 mts North of National Bank
Town XYZ, Costa Rica

A buddy of mine needed something from the US mailed to a bank down here. He asked for a physical address and they told him, "Oh, just put the bank name and the town. They know where to find us."

I took the bus back home from my mom's hometown tonight. The bus station area is known as "the Coca Cola." Why? Because that's where Coca Cola used to be HQ'd some 40 years ago. Yeah.

I should add that every new President (or candidate) runs on a platform to address this problem with a modernization plan. Perhaps in the next 40 years...although oddly enough, the streets downtown HAVE names. Numbered streets/Lettered streets signaling N/S or W/E directions, similar to cities around the US (Portland comes to mind).

Stu, como son las direcciones en Puerto Rico?

 

[Tokyo Slim]

A helpful guide to deciphering Tokyo addresses:

Here's a sample address:

1-22-14 Jinan, Shibuya-Ku

Shibuya-Ku is the Ward (a large section of the City, Tokyo is comprised of 23 Wards). This will give you a general idea of where a given address is. If this destination is a well known attraction you can probably just take the subway to the heart of any given Ward and ask around once you get there (be prepared to do some serious walking).

In the above example, Jinan is the District within the Ward. This will give you an even more refined sense of where a given address is. The whole process is something like zeroing in on a target.

The District is further subdivided into subsections called Chome. The first number of the address is the Chome, or subsection of the District within the Ward. Surprisingly clear cut, really.

Now this is where it gets a bit complicated. The next digit represents the subsection of the Chome (usually a specific city block). The final digit is the actual building number within the Chome subsection. The problem is that the buildings are not numbered sequentially. Actually, they're numbered in the order in which they were constructed. Given the amount of destruction and aggressive development that Tokyo has witnessed over the past 75 years, it's extremely unlikely that any adjoining buildings in the City were built consecutively.

If this weren't difficult enough, the first two digits (Chome and subsection) are usually written in Japanese.

Careful consideration of this addressing scheme makes it apparent that even if you know the system like a native, there is still no way to find an address on the first try. Usually you'll spend a lot of time wandering around an area, looking at maps and wondering which direction is North.

Finding something in Tokyo can be half the fun, usually when someone wants you to get somewhere, they don't tell you the address they tell you directions from the subway station you are supposed to get off on.

IE

Take exit 3 from Minowa stn on the Hibiya line, Walk east two minutes. At first main intersection, take a left.onto Meji Dori (Meiji street is the main road in this neighborhood) cross to south side of street when you pass the Yamaha motorcycle store. Pass three stop lights and take a right on the street immediately preceding the Lawson Station. (the best convenience store in the world IMO) pass through one cross street and Hotel New Koyo, a red brick building, is the second building on the right.

2-26-13 Nihonzutsumi Taito-ku, Tokyo Jaoan