Postal Service in Japan

[HelloKyoto]

I have someone's lastname (family name) and I know the name of the village this person lives in. It is a very small village of about 40 houses. I know the name of the village and where it is located. It is a remote village in Kyoto .

What I do not know is the exact house in the village. My question to you is: how likely is it that this person will receive my letter if I omit the house number?

Thanks.

 

[Windy]

I'd say there's a great chance of it getting delivered.

When I lived in a place with tens of thousands I still received one parcel that got wet and the entire address was gone, just leaving my name. Mind you my name is foreign.
Hopefully everyone in the village isn't named (Suzuki).

 

[budd]

try typing their phone number in google maybe?
Japan People Search

also agree that its likely it will be delivered (to the correct address). good luck

 

[misa.j]

Umm, Kyoto is a pretty big prefecture, and I believe there is no small village in Kyoto...

I would suggest you to try to get as much the person's information as possible if you don't want to get your mail lost. Especially with people who live in a small town are likely to be related and might have the same last name.

 

[HelloKyoto]

Thanks everyone. I have 2 more questions:

1. Will writing the address in English reduce my chances?

2. Where can a non-Japanese speaker get Japanese postal codes? I saw a few websites, but they were all in Japanese. Could I call a post office in Japan and ask them? (Assuming someone speaks English at the post office.)

 

[GaijinPunch]

Chances are slim to none that they won't speak any English at the post office. Best bet is to tell somone here and have them find the postal code for you.

 

[khammo01]

I have someone's lastname (family name) and I know the name of the village this person lives in. It is a very small village of about 40 houses. I know the name of the village and where it is located. It is a remote village in Kyoto.

What I do not know is the exact house in the village. My question to you is: how likely is it that this person will receive my letter if I omit the house number?

Thanks.

I would almost guarantee it will get delivered.
I live in a city of 500,000 people and I got an overseas package once with nothing but my name (in Roman characters, no less) and the name of the city!

 

[khammo01]

Chances are slim to none that they won't speak any English at the post office. Best bet is to tell somone here and have them find the postal code for you.

They might not speak English, but they will know how to read the Roma-ji of the place and personal names.
Romaji should be perfectly fine.

 

[Mike Cash]

I would almost guarantee it will get delivered.
I live in a city of 500,000 people and I got an overseas package once with nothing but my name (in Roman characters, no less) and the name of the city!

Have you ever encountered the phenomenon of the postman dumping off any and all mail addressed to a foreigner at the residence of any random foreigner on his route?

 

[khammo01]

Have you ever encountered the phenomenon of the postman dumping off any and all mail addressed to a foreigner at the residence of any random foreigner on his route?

I don't live in "gaijin-central" - I don't think there are any other foreigners within miles of my route. Lucky for me the only foreigner mail I get is mine. But I get my Japanese neighbors' mail sometimes.

 

[pika la]

That's weird. After reading all your respsonses...

I once sent a letter to a friend on mine who lived on one of the smaller Okinawan islands (I have no idea about the actual size and population though) and I wrote everything except, that one time, I forgot the house number....it came back in the mail stamped from Japan saying the address was...insuffiencent or wrong (I don't remember) so I had to resend it (added the address that time) and THEN she got it.

Maybe I was just unlucky.

 

[budd]

"2. Where can a non-Japanese speaker get Japanese postal codes?"

Japan Postal Code List maybe (i am very sleepy)

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

I remember once I sent a letter to a friend. I wrote the address perfectly, but I used the wrong kanji in my friend's name. Given the context, there was only one possible reading, but since I got the name wrong, my mail was returned to me.