The Tokyo Traveler » Koban http://www.thetokyotraveler.com About Tokyo for travelers, visitors, and residents. Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:30:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Koban – Police Boxes http://www.thetokyotraveler.com/2008/07/koban-police-boxes/ http://www.thetokyotraveler.com/2008/07/koban-police-boxes/#comments Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:00:32 +0000 http://www.thetokyotraveler.com/koban-police-boxes/ Post from: The Tokyo Traveler

]]> Koban If you ever find yourself in need of assistance in Japan look for a police box or Koban. There are approximately 1200 Kobans located at major intersections and near most train stations throughout Tokyo. If you don’t see a sign for a Koban you can locate one by looking for a circled X on most maps.

The officers in the Koban can provide directions and guidance to citizens and visitors that are lost (Japan’s address system can be quite confusing even to the Japanese), accept Koban2reports of crime and respond to local emergencies. They also act as a community lost & found. Be warned though, the officers assigned to the Koban are unlikely to be conversant in English.

Koban1One interesting thing that I have noticed is that the Koban signs are usually the same in that they have the word KOBAN prominently displayed on a green background but they often have a different logos. So far I have seen Pipo, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police mascot (top) and the police hat (bottom left).

Photo Credit: Personal Collection

Post from: The Tokyo Traveler

]]> http://www.thetokyotraveler.com/2008/07/koban-police-boxes/feed/ 1