Place Names of Interest in Tokyo

In this lesson you will learn the names and locations of major islands of Japan, major cities, districts in Tokyo, major areas within Tokyo, and notable places of interest such as the Imperial Palace, museums, shrines, and more. This lesson builds on the place names you studied in Lesson 2 and prepares you for navigating the city.

Dialogues (会話)

Asking about locations in Tokyo

Romaji	English
A: Amerika Taishikan wa doko ni arimasu ka?	Where is the American Embassy located?
B: Akasaka ni arimasu.	It’s in Akasaka.

Romaji	English
A: Koko wa doko desu ka?	Where is this place?
B: Akasaka desu.	This is Akasaka.

Romaji	English
A: Koko wa Shinjuku desu ka?	Is this Shinjuku?
B: Iie, Shinjuku jaa arimasen. Akasaka desu.	No, this isn’t Shinjuku. It’s Akasaka.

Key Vocabulary (語彙)

Area names in Tokyo

Romaji	Kanji	Grid	English
Akasaka	赤坂	3-D	Akasaka
Ginza	銀座	6-E	Ginza
Shinbashi	新橋	4-E	Shinbashi
Marunouchi	丸ノ内	5-D	Marunouchi
Kanda	神田	5-B	Kanda
Roppongi	六本木	3-E	Roppongi

Places of interest in Tokyo

Romaji	Kanji	English
Kokkai Gijidoo	国会議事堂	the Diet Building
Kokuritsu Gekijoo	国立劇場	National Theater
Meiji Jinguu	明治神宮	Meiji Shrine
Tokyo Tawaa	東京タワー	Tokyo Tower
Tokyo Eki	東京駅	Tokyo Station
Ueno Kooen	上野公園	Ueno Park
Kabukiza	歌舞伎座	Kabuki Theater
Kookyogai	皇居	Imperial Palace
Shinjuku Gyoen	新宿御苑	Shinjuku National Garden
Kasumigaseki	霞ヶ関	Kasumigaseki
Hibiya Kooen	日比谷公園	Hibiya Park

Wards (ku) in Tokyo

Romaji	Kanji	English
Shinjuku-ku	新宿区	Shinjuku Ward
Chiyoda-ku	千代田区	Chiyoda Ward
Shinagawa-ku	品川区	Shinagawa Ward

Major islands and cities of Japan

Romaji	English
Hokkaidoo	Hokkaido (northern island)
Honshuu	Honshu (main island)
Shikoku	Shikoku
Kyuushuu	Kyushu
Okinawa	Okinawa
Tokyo	Tokyo
Oosaka	Osaka
Nagoya	Nagoya
Kyooto	Kyoto
Sapporo	Sapporo
Fukuoka	Fukuoka
Naha	Naha
Matsuyama	Matsuyama

Grammar & Usage Notes

Asking the location of a place

Two expressions can be used to ask where something is located — they mean approximately the same thing:

• Depaato wa doko desu ka? — “Where is the department store?”
• Depaato wa doko ni arimasu ka? — “Where is the department store (located)?”

Answering location questions

When someone asks where something is, the answer usually takes the form:

• (Place) desu. — “(It’s at) (place).”
• (Place) ni arimasu. — “(It) is at (place).”

For example:

• Q: Amerika Taishikan wa doko desu ka? — “Where is the American Embassy?”
• A: Akasaka desu. / Akasaka ni arimasu. — “(It’s) in Akasaka.”

Using place names with location patterns

You can substitute any place name into the patterns you have already learned:

• Tokyo Eki wa doko desu ka? — “Where is Tokyo Station?”
• Koko wa Ginza desu ka? — “Is this the Ginza?”
• Kono chikaku ni depaato ga arimasu ka? — “Is there a department store near here?”

Practice Exercises (練習)

Map reading — Area identification

Look at a map of Tokyo’s Urban District. Identify each area and practice pronunciation:

Grid reference	Ask	Answer
3-D	Koko wa doko desu ka?	Akasaka desu.
6-E	Koko wa doko desu ka?	Ginza desu.
4-E	Koko wa doko desu ka?	Shinbashi desu.
5-D	Koko wa doko desu ka?	Marunouchi desu.
5-B	Koko wa doko desu ka?	Kanda desu.
3-E	Koko wa doko desu ka?	Roppongi desu.

Response drill — Where is it located?

Practice asking and answering about locations:

Question	Answer
Shinjuku Gyoen wa doko ni arimasu ka?	Shinjuku ni arimasu.
Hie Jinja wa doko ni arimasu ka?	Akasaka ni arimasu.
Kasumigaseki Biru wa doko ni arimasu ka?	Kasumigaseki ni arimasu.
Ueno Kooen wa doko ni arimasu ka?	Ueno ni arimasu.
Amerika Taishikan wa doko ni arimasu ka?	Akasaka ni arimasu.

Map reading — True or false

The instructor points to a location and asks if it is a particular place. Answer Hai, soo desu or Iie, … jaa arimasen. … desu.

Question	Answer
Koko wa Shinjuku desu ka? (pointing to Akasaka)	Iie, Shinjuku jaa arimasen. Akasaka desu.
Koko wa Ginza desu ka? (pointing to Ginza)	Hai, soo desu.

Finding places on an island

Practice asking which island a city is located on:

Question	Answer
Oosaka wa doko ni arimasu ka?	Honshuu ni arimasu.
Tokyo wa doko ni arimasu ka?	Honshuu ni arimasu.
Fukuoka wa doko ni arimasu ka?	Kyuushuu ni arimasu.
Nagoya wa doko ni arimasu ka?	Honshuu ni arimasu.
Naha wa doko ni arimasu ka?	Okinawa ni arimasu.

Cultural Notes

• Tokyo-to (東京都) is the official name for the Tokyo jurisdiction. To literally means “capital.” It consists of the Urban District, the Tama District, and the Ogasawara Islands. As of the mid-1980s, the population of Tokyo-to was approximately twelve million — about 10% of the entire population of Japan.
• The Urban District is composed of 23 wards (ku, 区). It is where you find government offices, headquarters of major companies, museums, and the American Embassy and American Center. It is the center of political, economic, cultural, and educational activities in Japan.
• The Tama District, especially the areas near the Urban District, consists of satellite towns — what the Japanese call “bed towns” — from which many people commute to downtown Tokyo.
• Kasumigaseki is the center of Japanese government, home to most national ministries and agencies.
• The Imperial Palace (Kookyogai, 皇居) is located in Chiyoda Ward, surrounded by moats and gardens, in the heart of Tokyo.