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By now most of you have probably noticed the small variations in address formats in different countries. But did you know that some of these are actually rooted in distinct perceptions of space?

This short video we found on youtube explains this concept, and a few other cultural differences.

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46 comments so far

cawindt, United States of America

Wow! I never understood the Japanese addresses, but now they make sense. What a great cultural lesson.

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Laser, Netherlands

I love this practical philosophy .... it's not about streets and blocks, it's about life in general and POV. I'm mostly very down to earth.....
I'm going to check his site for other insightfulness ...

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ErikaJean, United States of America

Interesting! Thanks for sharing your find.

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Dodd, Taiwan

That's how Japanese postal code work.

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dollart, Finland

cool!

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marlepowe, United States of America

Thanks for much for making sense of the addresses for me. I like the Japanese concept.

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FemkeDorien, Netherlands

intresting video nevver new that

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jlk254, United Kingdom

Wow that is such a cool video, interesting concepts.

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JulieMary, Canada

Oh, this is so interesting. I loved it!

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Zmrzlina, United States of America

Excellent! Next time I get an email from a grumpy public television viewer who insists there is no such thing as global climate change, I'm going to respond "Don't forget ... the opposite is also true" and send a link to video :-)

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Blogger, United States of America

love it! thanks for posting this. Whoever picks the stuff for this does a great job. It is always very interesting.

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ains, United States of America

so cool! i love this kind of stuff :P and to learn these interesting things

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sooshka, Latvia

now I know why I was confused when I saw a map of tokyo )))

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gabis, Germany

That's really amazing!

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FloridaGirl, United States of America

Very interesting. It sure does make you think or should I say it is making me think.

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redlynx, Russia

Cool video! That was really interesting, thanks a lot!

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kugusch, Germany

wow! Cool clip, interesting information. The speaker doesn't "lecture", but spreaks in a very conversational tone, which makes it even more fun to watch. I'll have to look for his other videos, too. Glad to finally be able to make sense of the japanese addresses.
Thanks for posting this!

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13_february, Russia

Very interesting video! Thank you.

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anagahan, North Macedonia

I stole this video from you...it's just too cool! I still however have some confusions about Japanese addresses :)

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MichelleW, United States of America

I think I would still be lost if trying to find a house in Japan, but this is a fascinating tutorial on practical and philosophical! Love it.

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leugim, United Kingdom

Very interesting video! Thanks for sharing with us :D

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bkoonce, United States of America

How would the naming-the-blocks-not-the-streets work when it comes to driving (or walking/biking) directions?

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zasa, Switzerland

When i was in Japan i never found a shop i've searched - it's to complicate - LOL...

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glaesmann, Germany

Thank you for posting this. Really interesting stuff.
I saw the map shown at the end in a shop in New Zealand ;o)

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Beachyblonde, United States of America

That was really neat! Thank you for sharing! I'm going to have to check out more of sivers.org!

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de88ie, United States of America

Thank that is neat!

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yixiongzh, Japan

very interesting,i never tried to find out the meaning of "x-xx-xx" in japanese address before.

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willemijn, Netherlands

Very interesting! I would love to understand the Finnish system as well. The 17 B 29 thing :-)

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isagv, Germany

Cool, again learned something through Postcrossing!

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cerisette79, France

Very interesting video! Thanks!!!

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irinao, Romania

Very educational! I'd like to see more posts about interesting facts like these!

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Sixth_Sense, Russia

That was great! I've never thought of such misunderstandings.

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volvomom, United States of America

Too cool!

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MillaMagia, Finland

Very interesting and instructive video. Thank you for it!

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nodders, United Kingdom

From what I can recall, addresses in Venice (Italy) follow the Japanese approach: the city is divided into districts ("sestriery" as there were originally six) and each house is identified by a number and the name of the district: "1249 San Marco" for instance, often without mention of the road. That makes kind of sense as there are few roads and many canals!

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zaksmom, United States of America

So glad to hear this bit of info. Thanks for sharing. Another reason for loving Postcrossing.

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champuru, United States of America

bkoonce: it is often difficult! you can give directions using landmarks, or number of stoplights. actually, major roads do have names. also, where i used to live, all the neighborhoods had tiny maps posted on telephone poles, showing the name and numbers of the blocks. and almost 100% of cars are equipped with navigational systems. i didn't drive but my cell phone also had a navi system. best way, of course, is to have someone show you the way!

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Mbali, Germany

Thank you so much for sharing these information. It is cool to actually learn stuff by ones hobby! :)

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raluk68, Romania

Nice! :)

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Geminiscp, Portugal

Thanks for the lesson! :D

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lucymonty, United Kingdom

That was really well explained! Thanks!!

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dahliablue, Netherlands

This is so funny, I knew that already, mostly because I was in Japan, but was surprised the explaination came from Derek Sivers ^_^ since I associate him with something else.................

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Poohmaa, Germany

What an interesting and informative video. Thanks for sharing.

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icdamoon, United States of America

That was very informative and much appreciated! Thanks for sharing that!

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ericca, Japan

分かりやすかったよ♪日本とアメリカの住所は大きく違うんだね^^
Thanks~~

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denarose, Australia

Thank you! That explains a lot

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