Guide to Japanese Place Name Kanji
The most common characters in Japan’s 300,000+ place names, explained.
Japanese place names are written in kanji— characters borrowed from Chinese, each with its own meaning. Learning even a handful of common place-name kanji lets you “read” the landscape: a name with 山 involves a mountain, one with 川 involves a river, and 新 means something new was built there. This guide covers the kanji you’ll encounter most often on the map.
Terrain & Landforms
The most common kanji in Japanese place names describe the physical landscape. Japan is a mountainous island nation, so terrain characters appear everywhere.
富士山 (Fujisan, Mount Fuji), 山形 (Yamagata, "Mountain Shape"), 山口 (Yamaguchi, "Mountain Entrance")
品川 (Shinagawa, "Goods River"), 香川 (Kagawa, "Fragrant River"), 石川 (Ishikawa, "Stone River")
広島 (Hiroshima, "Wide Island"), 鹿児島 (Kagoshima, "Deer Child Island"), 福島 (Fukushima, "Fortune Island")
秋田 (Akita, "Autumn Field"), 成田 (Narita, "Growing Field"), 羽田 (Haneda, "Feather Field")
長野 (Nagano, "Long Field"), 上野 (Ueno, "Upper Field"), 中野 (Nakano, "Central Field")
秋葉原 (Akihabara, "Autumn Leaf Plain"), 松原 (Matsubara, "Pine Plain"), 柏原 (Kashiwabara, "Oak Plain")
渋谷 (Shibuya, "Bitter Valley"), 四谷 (Yotsuya, "Four Valleys"), 世田谷 (Setagaya, "World Field Valley")
旭丘 (Asahigaoka, "Sunrise Hill"), 光が丘 (Hikarigaoka, "Light Hill"), 桜丘 (Sakuragaoka, "Cherry Hill")
長崎 (Nagasaki, "Long Cape"), 宮崎 (Miyazaki, "Palace Cape"), 川崎 (Kawasaki, "River Cape")
横浜 (Yokohama, "Sideways Beach"), 浜松 (Hamamatsu, "Beach Pine"), 千里浜 (Chirihama, "Thousand Mile Beach")
池袋 (Ikebukuro, "Pond Bag"), 池田 (Ikeda, "Pond Field"), 鶴ヶ池 (Tsurugaike, "Crane Pond")
湖西 (Kozai, "Lake West"), 湖南 (Konan, "Lake South"), 浜名湖 (Hamanako, "Beach Name Lake")
金沢 (Kanazawa, "Gold Marsh"), 藤沢 (Fujisawa, "Wisteria Marsh"), 所沢 (Tokorozawa, "Place Marsh")
Directions & Position
Directional kanji are extremely common, often distinguishing between neighboring areas (like 東京 "Eastern Capital" vs 京都 "Capital Metropolis").
東京 (Tokyo, "Eastern Capital"), 東大阪 (Higashi-Osaka, "East Osaka"), 東村山 (Higashimurayama, "East Village Mountain")
西新宿 (Nishi-Shinjuku, "West New Lodging"), 西宮 (Nishinomiya, "Western Palace"), 西東京 (Nishi-Tokyo, "West Tokyo")
南区 (Minami-ku, "South Ward"), 南アルプス (Minami-Alps, "South Alps"), 南砂 (Minamisuna, "South Sand")
北海道 (Hokkaido, "Northern Sea Road"), 北区 (Kita-ku, "North Ward"), 北九州 (Kitakyushu, "North Kyushu")
中野 (Nakano, "Central Field"), 中央 (Chūō, "Central"), 中目黒 (Naka-Meguro, "Central Black Eye")
上野 (Ueno, "Upper Field"), 上田 (Ueda, "Upper Field"), 川上 (Kawakami, "River Upper")
下北沢 (Shimokitazawa, "Lower North Marsh"), 下関 (Shimonoseki, "Lower Barrier"), 下田 (Shimoda, "Lower Field")
目黒前 (Meguro-mae), 駅前 (Ekimae, "Station Front"), 宮前 (Miyamae, "Palace Front")
丸の内 (Marunouchi, "Within the Circle"), 宮内 (Miyauchi, "Within the Palace"), 河内 (Kawachi, "Within the River")
Size, Age & Character
Adjective kanji modify other characters, creating names like "Great Mountain" or "New Lodging."
大阪 (Osaka, "Great Slope"), 大宮 (Ōmiya, "Great Palace"), 大手町 (Ōtemachi, "Great Hand Town")
小田原 (Odawara, "Small Field Plain"), 小金井 (Koganei, "Small Gold Well"), 小樽 (Otaru, "Small Barrel")
新宿 (Shinjuku, "New Lodging"), 新潟 (Niigata, "New Lagoon"), 新橋 (Shinbashi, "New Bridge")
名古屋 (Nagoya, "Old House of Names"), 古河 (Koga, "Old River"), 古川 (Furukawa, "Old River")
長崎 (Nagasaki, "Long Cape"), 長野 (Nagano, "Long Field"), 長岡 (Nagaoka, "Long Hill")
高田馬場 (Takadanobaba, "High Field Horse Place"), 高松 (Takamatsu, "High Pine"), 高崎 (Takasaki, "High Cape")
広島 (Hiroshima, "Wide Island"), 広尾 (Hiroo, "Wide Ridge"), 帯広 (Obihiro, "Belt Wide")
深川 (Fukagawa, "Deep River"), 深谷 (Fukaya, "Deep Valley"), 深大寺 (Jindaiji, "Deep Great Temple")
Nature & Vegetation
Many place names reference plants, trees, and natural features — reflecting Japan's deep connection to the natural environment.
松本 (Matsumoto, "Pine Root"), 浜松 (Hamamatsu, "Beach Pine"), 高松 (Takamatsu, "High Pine")
桜木町 (Sakuragichō, "Cherry Tree Town"), 桜新町 (Sakura-Shinmachi, "Cherry New Town")
梅田 (Umeda, "Plum Field"), 青梅 (Ōme, "Blue Plum"), 梅島 (Umejima, "Plum Island")
竹橋 (Takebashi, "Bamboo Bridge"), 竹田 (Takeda, "Bamboo Field"), 竹ノ塚 (Takenotsuka, "Bamboo Mound")
杉並 (Suginami, "Cedar Row"), 杉田 (Sugita, "Cedar Field")
森下 (Morishita, "Forest Below"), 青森 (Aomori, "Blue Forest"), 大森 (Ōmori, "Great Forest")
小林 (Kobayashi, "Small Grove"), 若林 (Wakabayashi, "Young Grove"), 林間 (Rinkan, "Forest Between")
花見 (Hanami, "Flower Viewing"), 花園 (Hanazono, "Flower Garden"), 小花 (Kobana, "Small Flower")
藤沢 (Fujisawa, "Wisteria Marsh"), 藤が丘 (Fujigaoka, "Wisteria Hill"), 加藤 (Katō, "Add Wisteria")
Animals
Animal kanji in place names often reference local wildlife, historical hunting grounds, or spiritual symbolism.
鹿児島 (Kagoshima, "Deer Child Island"), 奈良公園 (Nara Park, famous for deer)
高田馬場 (Takadanobaba, "High Field Horse Place"), 馬込 (Magome, "Horse Gather"), 練馬 (Nerima, "Training Horse")
鶴見 (Tsurumi, "Crane View"), 鶴岡 (Tsuruoka, "Crane Hill"), 舞鶴 (Maizuru, "Dancing Crane")
亀戸 (Kameido, "Turtle Door"), 亀有 (Kameari, "Turtle Having"), 亀岡 (Kameoka, "Turtle Hill")
鳥取 (Tottori, "Bird Take"), 鳥居 (Torii, "Bird Sit" — shrine gate)
熊本 (Kumamoto, "Bear Root"), 熊谷 (Kumagaya, "Bear Valley"), 熊野 (Kumano, "Bear Field")
Water & Sea
As an island nation, Japan has thousands of water-related place names along its coastline, rivers, and lakes.
北海道 (Hokkaido, "Northern Sea Road"), 海老名 (Ebina, "Shrimp Name"), 熱海 (Atami, "Hot Sea")
東京湾 (Tokyo-wan, "Eastern Capital Bay")
浦和 (Urawa, "Bay Peace"), 三浦 (Miura, "Three Bays"), 浦安 (Urayasu, "Bay Peaceful")
港区 (Minato-ku, "Harbor Ward"), 新港 (Shinkō, "New Harbor"), 長崎港 (Nagasaki-kō, "Long Cape Harbor")
津田 (Tsuda, "Harbor Field"), 木更津 (Kisarazu, "Tree Change Harbor"), 津軽 (Tsugaru, "Harbor Light")
和泉 (Izumi, "Peaceful Spring"), 泉岳寺 (Sengakuji, "Spring Peak Temple")
広瀬 (Hirose, "Wide Shallows"), 瀬田 (Seta, "Shallows Field"), 瀬戸 (Seto, "Shallows Door")
Buildings & Administration
Administrative kanji indicate the type of settlement — from imperial capitals to rural villages.
東京 (Tokyo, "Eastern Capital"), 京都 (Kyoto, "Capital Metropolis"), 京橋 (Kyōbashi, "Capital Bridge")
京都 (Kyoto, "Capital Metropolis"), 都営 (Toei, "Metropolitan"), 宇都宮 (Utsunomiya, "Heaven Metropolis Palace")
宮城 (Miyagi, "Palace Castle"), 城東 (Jōtō, "Castle East"), 茨城 (Ibaraki, "Thorn Castle")
宮崎 (Miyazaki, "Palace Cape"), 大宮 (Ōmiya, "Great Palace"), 宇都宮 (Utsunomiya, "Heaven Metropolis Palace")
国分寺 (Kokubunji, "National Divide Temple"), 泉岳寺 (Sengakuji, "Spring Peak Temple")
神田 (Kanda, "Shrine Field"), 神戸 (Kobe, "Shrine Door"), 神奈川 (Kanagawa, "Shrine Nara River")
日本橋 (Nihonbashi, "Japan Bridge"), 新橋 (Shinbashi, "New Bridge"), 京橋 (Kyōbashi, "Capital Bridge")
御成門 (Onarimon, "Honorable Arrival Gate"), 赤門 (Akamon, "Red Gate"), 長門 (Nagato, "Long Gate")
大手町 (Ōtemachi, "Great Hand Town"), 有楽町 (Yūrakuchō, "Pleasure Town"), 神田町 (Kandamachi, "Shrine Field Town")
田村 (Tamura, "Field Village"), 木村 (Kimura, "Tree Village"), 中村 (Nakamura, "Central Village")
Colors
Color kanji add visual character to place names and often reference historical landmarks, soil types, or vegetation.
白金 (Shirokane, "White Gold"), 白川 (Shirakawa, "White River"), 白馬 (Hakuba, "White Horse")
目黒 (Meguro, "Black Eye"), 黒田 (Kuroda, "Black Field"), 黒部 (Kurobe, "Black Part")
赤坂 (Akasaka, "Red Slope"), 赤羽 (Akabane, "Red Feather"), 赤城 (Akagi, "Red Castle")
青森 (Aomori, "Blue Forest"), 青山 (Aoyama, "Blue Mountain"), 青梅 (Ōme, "Blue Plum")
金沢 (Kanazawa, "Gold Marsh"), 金閣寺 (Kinkakuji, "Gold Pavilion Temple"), 白金 (Shirokane, "White Gold")
銀座 (Ginza, "Silver Seat"), 銀閣寺 (Ginkakuji, "Silver Pavilion Temple")
Elements & Weather
Natural elements and celestial references give place names a poetic quality, often connecting the location to its climate or spiritual significance.
日本 (Nihon/Nippon, "Sun Root" = origin of the sun), 日光 (Nikkō, "Sun Light"), 春日 (Kasuga, "Spring Sun")
月島 (Tsukishima, "Moon Island"), 有明月 (Ariake, "Existing Bright")
日光 (Nikkō, "Sun Light"), 光が丘 (Hikarigaoka, "Light Hill"), 横芝光 (Yokoshibahikari)
旋風 (Senpū, "Whirlwind"), 台風 (Taifū, "Typhoon")
雪谷 (Yukigaya, "Snow Valley"), 雪が谷 (Yukigaya, "Snow Valley")
天王寺 (Tennōji, "Heavenly King Temple"), 天神 (Tenjin, "Heaven God"), 天満 (Tenma, "Heaven Full")
火山 (Kazan, "Fire Mountain" = volcano)
水戸 (Mito, "Water Door"), 清水 (Shimizu, "Clear Water"), 水道橋 (Suidōbashi, "Waterway Bridge")
Numbers
Numbers in place names often count geographic features, refer to distances, or come from historical administrative numbering.
一関 (Ichinoseki, "First Barrier"), 一宮 (Ichinomiya, "First Shrine")
二子玉川 (Futako-Tamagawa, "Two Children Jewel River")
三鷹 (Mitaka, "Three Hawks"), 三浦 (Miura, "Three Bays"), 三軒茶屋 (Sangenjaya, "Three Houses Tea House")
四谷 (Yotsuya, "Four Valleys"), 四日市 (Yokkaichi, "Fourth Day City")
五反田 (Gotanda, "Five Strips Field"), 五条 (Gojō, "Fifth Avenue")
六本木 (Roppongi, "Six Trees"), 六甲 (Rokkō, "Six Shells")
七里ヶ浜 (Shichirigahama, "Seven Leagues Beach")
八王子 (Hachiōji, "Eight Princes"), 八重洲 (Yaesu, "Eightfold Province")
千葉 (Chiba, "Thousand Leaves"), 千代田 (Chiyoda, "Thousand Generations Field"), 千里 (Senri, "Thousand Miles")
百合ヶ丘 (Yurigaoka, "Lily Hill" — 百合 = lily, not hundred)
万博 (Banpaku, "Ten Thousand Exhibition" = World Expo)
Phonetic Kanji (Ateji)
Not all kanji in place names carry semantic meaning. In many cases — especially in Hokkaido, Okinawa, and ancient place names — kanji were assigned to existing non-Japanese words purely for their pronunciation. This practice is called ateji (当て字, literally "assigned characters").
Many Hokkaido place names come from the Ainu language. 札幌 (Sapporo) uses kanji meaning "bill" + "plain" but actually derives from the Ainu word sat-poro-pet meaning "dry great river." The literal kanji translation is a coincidence.
Okinawan place names often derive from the Ryukyuan languages. 那覇 (Naha) uses kanji meaning "that" + "cover" — but the name comes from a Ryukyuan word for "fishing place." The kanji were chosen for sound, not meaning.
Japan's most famous mountain likely takes its name from an Ainu word (possibly meaning "fire" or "everlasting"). The kanji 富 (wealthy) + 士 (gentleman) were applied later and don't reflect the original meaning.
The ancient name for Japan proper. The kanji 大 (great) + 和 (peace/harmony) were deliberately chosen as an auspicious name for what was originally a native Japanese word yamato.
On LiterallyMaps, characters used phonetically are marked with phoneticin the breakdown view. This tells you the kanji was chosen for its sound rather than its meaning, so the literal translation may not reflect the place’s actual origin.
Tips for Reading Place Names
- Start with geography — look for 山, 川, 島, 田, 野 first. These tell you what the landscape looks like.
- Check the direction — 東/西/南/北/中 often distinguish between neighboring areas with similar base names.
- Size matters — 大 and 小 are like “Greater” and “Lesser” in English place names.
- Watch for suffixes — 市 (city), 区 (ward), 町 (town), 村 (village) are administrative, not descriptive.
- Two readings per kanji — most kanji have a Chinese-origin reading (on’yomi) and a native Japanese reading (kun’yomi). Place names use both unpredictably.
- Hokkaido is different — most Hokkaido names are Ainu words written with phonetic kanji. Don’t expect the literal meaning to make geographic sense.
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