Intersections...
Jun. 6th, 2012 07:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khiemtranThis photo contains all you need to glean one very important tip to navigating in Japan. Can you guess what it is?
The trick is that streets have name signs, but intersections also have name signs and they are often made up of the names of the intersecting streets. So, in the above example, we have the intersection of Gojo and Mibugawa streets, which is therefore named Gojomibugawa.
Here's another example... Gojoomiya, the intersection of Gojo and Omiya streets.
Why is this important? Well, sometimes when you come to an intersection, especially a big one, the only sign visible might be the intersection name. So, if you were looking for Gojo street (Gojō dori) and you came across the example below, you might not be aware that were actually crossing it.
Of course, the other trick about navigating in Japan is that you don't really need the street signs at all. The correct approach seems to be to go up to the nearest stranger and very politely ask how to get to where you want to go. The stranger will very politely give you directions and then you very politely thank them profusely, and then both parties leave feeling satisfied. (This is especially true once you get into the smaller streets below the city block level, where addressing system gets a bit more complicated.)
Incidentally, there's something else very interesting about that last photo. Take a look at the kanji over "Horikawagojo". The last two, 五条, are the ones for Gojō. 五, you might remember from this post about the Tsukubai at Ryōan-ji. It means "five".
The other character, 条, can mean strip or stripe (and also article), so you can translate Gojō as something like "Fifth street". There are a series of streets in Kyoto all made up of a number followed by 条, counting down as you approach the Imperial Palace from the south.
Now, can you see another 条 somewhere in the picture?
That's right, it's in the name of Nijō Castle, home of the famous nightingale floor. Which means that the castle itself is probably just named for the street it is on (Nijō, or "Second Street").
I actually visited Nijō Castle the previous time I was in Kyoto, without working this out.
The trick is that streets have name signs, but intersections also have name signs and they are often made up of the names of the intersecting streets. So, in the above example, we have the intersection of Gojo and Mibugawa streets, which is therefore named Gojomibugawa.
Here's another example... Gojoomiya, the intersection of Gojo and Omiya streets.
Why is this important? Well, sometimes when you come to an intersection, especially a big one, the only sign visible might be the intersection name. So, if you were looking for Gojo street (Gojō dori) and you came across the example below, you might not be aware that were actually crossing it.
Of course, the other trick about navigating in Japan is that you don't really need the street signs at all. The correct approach seems to be to go up to the nearest stranger and very politely ask how to get to where you want to go. The stranger will very politely give you directions and then you very politely thank them profusely, and then both parties leave feeling satisfied. (This is especially true once you get into the smaller streets below the city block level, where addressing system gets a bit more complicated.)
Incidentally, there's something else very interesting about that last photo. Take a look at the kanji over "Horikawagojo". The last two, 五条, are the ones for Gojō. 五, you might remember from this post about the Tsukubai at Ryōan-ji. It means "five".
The other character, 条, can mean strip or stripe (and also article), so you can translate Gojō as something like "Fifth street". There are a series of streets in Kyoto all made up of a number followed by 条, counting down as you approach the Imperial Palace from the south.
Now, can you see another 条 somewhere in the picture?
That's right, it's in the name of Nijō Castle, home of the famous nightingale floor. Which means that the castle itself is probably just named for the street it is on (Nijō, or "Second Street").
I actually visited Nijō Castle the previous time I was in Kyoto, without working this out.
