Japanese Place Name Generator
Districts, mountains, rivers, islands, shrines and streets
Generate Japanese place names for every kind of location: city districts like Shinjuku and Gion, mountains, rivers, lakes, islands, capes and bays, shrines, castles and bridges, plus invented neighborhood and street names that follow real Japanese naming rules.
About Japanese place names
Japanese place names almost always tell you what kind of place they are, because the last element is a geographic word. Mountains end in -san, -yama or -dake (Fujisan, Takaosan, Yarigatake), rivers in -gawa or -kawa (Sumidagawa, Kamogawa), lakes in -ko (Biwako, Ashinoko), islands in -shima or -jima (Miyajima, Yakushima), capes in -misaki or -zaki (Erimo Misaki, Inubosaki) and bays in -wan (Sagami-wan). Shrines take -jinja, -jingu or -taisha, temples -ji, -dera or -in, castles -jo, bridges -bashi or -ohashi, mountain passes -toge and hot springs -onsen. Urban addresses use -ku for wards, -cho or -machi for neighborhoods, -dori for avenues and -zaka for sloping streets.
The front half of a name is usually a short description or a piece of history: a plant (sakura, matsu, yanagi, fuji wisteria), an animal (tsuru crane, kitsune fox, kamome gull), a color (aka red, shiro white, kuro black, ao blue-green), a direction (kita, minami, higashi, nishi) or something that once stood there, which is how Tokyo ended up with Jingumae (in front of the shrine) and Torii-mae. Newer suburbs favor pleasant images like Fujimigaoka (Fuji-view hill) and Hikarigaoka (hill of light).
The list mixes well-known real places across Japan with invented ones built on the same rules, so you can pull an authentic-sounding district, river or shrine for a novel, anime setting, game map or travel-style fiction.
How to choose Japanese place names
- Pick the suffix first. A river should end in -gawa, a shrine in -jinja or -jingu, a slope street in -zaka; a name with the wrong ending reads as a mistake to anyone who knows Japan.
- Pair an old-fashioned front half with a modern suffix for suburbs and new towns (Hoshigaoka, Asahigaoka) and a terrain word for anything rural or natural (Kirisawa, Momijidani).
- Watch the voicing change: kawa becomes gawa, saki becomes zaki and shima becomes jima after most elements (Sumidagawa, Inubosaki, Miyajima). Copying a real compound is the safest guide.
- For a fictional town, give it one famous landmark with its own name, such as a shrine, bridge or mountain, and name the surrounding neighborhoods after it the way real Japanese cities do.
- Use hyphenated romaji (Minato-ku, Azabu-juban) when you need a reader to parse the parts, and closed spelling (Kagurazaka) when you want it to look like an established name.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make an invented Japanese place name sound real?
Combine one descriptive element with one geographic suffix, following actual patterns: plant, animal, color or direction words plus yama, gawa, saki, shima, hara, dani, oka, machi or dori. Names like Hotarugawa (firefly river), Tsukimigaoka (moon-viewing hill) and Kamome-zaki (gull cape) are invented but built exactly like real ones.
What is the difference between -cho, -machi and -ku?
-ku is a ward of a large city (Shibuya-ku, Minato-ku). -cho and -machi are the same kanji read two ways and mean a neighborhood or small town; which reading a place uses is local custom, so copy real examples rather than guessing.
Can I use these for an anime or light novel setting?
Yes. Anime towns are usually fictional but follow real naming rules, and many use pretty nature images: Hinamizawa, Kamiyama, Itomori. The invented names here, such as Kirisawa, Shiratsuki and Amatsuba, are written in that register, while the real places work for stories set in actual cities.
Why do some names appear with and without a hyphen?
Romanization is not standardized. Official signs tend to hyphenate the suffix (Minato-ku, Takao-san) while maps and common usage close it up (Takaosan, Kagurazaka). Both are correct; choose one style and stay consistent within a project.
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All 500 Japanese place names
A: 36 names
- Aizu-Wakamatsu
- Ajisai-zaka
- Akabane
- Akagiyama
- Akaishi
- Akanko
- Akasaka
- Akashi Kaikyo Ohashi
- Akatsuki-dori
- Akihabara
- Amakusa
- Amami Oshima
- Amanohashidate
- Amatsuba
- Aobayama
- Aogashima
- Aoiwa
- Aomori
- Aoyama
- Arakawa
- Arashiyama
- Ariake
- Asagaya
- Asahigaoka
- Asakusa
- Asamayama
- Ashihara
- Ashinoko
- Ashizuri Misaki
- Asosan
- Atami
- Atsugi
- Awajishima
- Ayame-cho
- Ayamegawa
- Azabu-juban
B: 7 names
- Bandaisan
- Beppu
- Biei
- Bitchu Matsuyama-jo
- Biwako
- Botan-machi
- Byodoin
C: 4 names
- Chichibu
- Chofu
- Chokaisan
- Chuzenjiko
D: 8 names
- Daikanyama
- Daisen
- Daisetsuzan
- Dazaifu
- Dejima
- Den-en-chofu
- Dogashima
- Dotonbori
E: 5 names
- Ebina
- Ebisu
- Eiheiji
- Enoshima
- Erimo Misaki
F: 14 names
- Fubuki-kogen
- Fuchu
- Fuefukigawa
- Fujikawa
- Fujimidai
- Fujimigaoka
- Fujisaki
- Fujisan
- Fukuroda no Taki
- Funabashi
- Furano
- Furumachi
- Fushimi
- Fushimi Inari Taisha
G: 9 names
- Gassan
- Ginkakuji
- Ginnan-dori
- Ginza
- Ginzan Onsen
- Gion
- Gokokuji
- Goryokaku
- Goto Retto
H: 47 names
- Hachijojima
- Hachioji
- Hadano
- Hagiwara
- Hagurosan
- Hakata-wan
- Hakodate
- Hakone
- Hakusan
- Hamadera
- Hamanako
- Hanabusa
- Hanamizaki
- Hanzomon
- Harajuku
- Harunasan
- Hayashi-cho
- Heian Jingu
- Hibiya
- Hieizan
- Higashinakano
- Higashiyama
- Higashiyama-dori
- Hikarigaoka
- Hikone-jo
- Himawari-cho
- Himeji-jo
- Hinode-machi
- Hinokizaka
- Hinomisaki
- Hirado
- Hiraizumi
- Hiratsuka
- Hirayama
- Hirokoji
- Hiroo
- Hirosaki
- Hiroshima
- Hiruhama
- Hongo
- Honmachi
- Honmoku
- Horyuji
- Hoshigaoka
- Hoshizora-cho
- Hotakadake
- Hotarugawa
I: 30 names
- Ibukiyama
- Ibusuki
- Iidabashi
- Ikaruga
- Ikebukuro
- Ikenohata
- Ikinoshima
- Inatori
- Inawashiroko
- Inokashira
- Inubosaki
- Inuyama-jo
- Iriomotejima
- Irozaki
- Ise Jingu
- Ise-wan
- Ishibashi
- Ishigakijima
- Ishizuchisan
- Iso no Sato
- Isohama
- Isoyama
- Itsukushima Jinja
- Iwakuni
- Iwakura
- Iwatesan
- Iwaya
- Izu Oshima
- Izu-Kogen
- Izumo Taisha
J: 5 names
- Jimbocho
- Jindaiji
- Jingumae
- Jiyugaoka
- Jogasaki
K: 76 names
- Kachidoki
- Kaedegawa
- Kagehara
- Kagemori
- Kagetsu-cho
- Kagoshima-wan
- Kagurazaka
- Kakunodate
- Kamakura
- Kamakura Kaigan
- Kameido
- Kamikawa
- Kamikochi
- Kamiyama
- Kamogawa
- Kamome-zaki
- Kanmon Kaikyo
- Karasumori
- Kasai Rinkai
- Kasuga Taisha
- Kasumigahara
- Katsuragawa
- Kawagoe
- Kawagoe Kurazukuri
- Kawaguchi
- Kawaguchiko
- Kawakami
- Kawara-machi
- Kawaramachi-dori
- Kawasaki
- Kawazu
- Kazesaki
- Kegon no Taki
- Kibune
- Kichijoji
- Kikyogaoka
- Kinkakuji
- Kinokawa
K, continued
- Kinshicho
- Kintaikyo
- Kinugasa
- Kirigamine
- Kirisawa
- Kirishimayama
- Kiso-Komagatake
- Kisogawa
- Kitadake
- Kitakamigawa
- Kitano-cho
- Kitashirakawa
- Kitayama
- Kitsunezuka
- Kiyamachi
- Kiyomizudera
- Kiyosato Kogen
- Kobuchizawa
- Koenji
- Kogane-cho
- Kogarashi-toge
- Kokubunji
- Kokusai-dori
- Korakuen
- Kotohira-gu
- Koyasan
- Kujukuri-hama
- Kumagawa
- Kumamoto-jo
- Kumano Kodo
- Kumanoyama
- Kurama
- Kurobe Kyokoku
- Kuroishi
- Kurokawa
- Kurosaki
- Kurotaki
- Kusunoki-cho
M: 36 names
- Machida
- Manazuru
- Marunouchi
- Mashuko
- Matsue-jo
- Matsumoto-jo
- Matsushima
- Matsushima-wan
- Matsuzaki
- Megane-bashi
- Meguro
- Meiji Jingu
- Minamiaoyama
- Minato Mirai
- Minato-ku
- Minatomachi
- Mitakesan
- Miyajima
- Miyakojima
- Miyanoshita
- Mogamigawa
- Momijidani
- Momoyama
- Monzen-nakacho
- Morinomiya
- Morioka
- Moriyama
- Moto-Hakone
- Motomachi
- Motomachi-dori
- Motosuko
- Mukojima
- Muroto Misaki
- Musashino
- Mutsu-wan
- Myogadani
N: 29 names
- Nachi no Taki
- Nagaragawa
- Nagatoro
- Nagisa-cho
- Nakajima
- Nakameguro
- Nakanoshima
- Nakatsu
- Nakayama
- Namba
- Nantaisan
- Naoshima
- Naruto Kaikyo
- Nashinoki
- Nasu Kogen
- Nasudake
- Nihonbashi
- Nijo-jo
- Nikko Toshogu
- Nippori
- Niseko
- Nishiazabu
- Nishijin
- Noboribetsu
- Noborito
- Norikura Kogen
- Numabukuro
- Numazu
- Nyuto Onsen
O: 32 names
- Oboke Koboke
- Oborozuki-cho
- Ochanomizu
- Odaiba
- Ogasawara Shoto
- Ogikubo
- Ohara
- Ohara-cho
- Oigawa
- Oirase Keiryu
- Oiso
- Oka no Ue
- Okayama
- Okazaki
- Okinoshima
- Okuhida
- Okunoto
- Okutama
- Okuyama
- Ominato
- Ominesan
- Omiya
- Omotesando
- Onomichi
- Ontakesan
- Osaka-jo
- Osaka-wan
- Oshiage
- Otaru
- Otemachi
- Oyama
- Oze
P: 1 name
- Pontocho
R: 5 names
- Rebunto
- Rishirito
- Roppongi
- Ryogoku
- Ryuguzaki
S: 60 names
- Sadogashima
- Sagami-wan
- Sagamihara
- Sagano
- Saiko
- Sakuradamon
- Sakuradani
- Sakuragaoka
- Sakuraigawa
- Sakurajima
- Samidare-bashi
- Sanjo Ohashi
- Sannomiya
- Sasazuka
- Sata Misaki
- Sawara
- Sawayama
- Senju
- Sensoji
- Seto Naikai
- Seto Ohashi
- Shibuya
- Shijo Ohashi
- Shikamori
- Shikotsuko
- Shimantogawa
- Shimoda
- Shimokitazawa
- Shimoyama
- Shin-Okubo
- Shin-Osaka
- Shinagawa
- Shinanogawa
- Shinbashi
- Shinjuku
- Shinonome
- Shinsaibashi
- Shiodome
- Shiogama-minato
- Shirahama
- Shirahige-cho
- Shiraishi
- Shiraito no Taki
- Shirakawa
- Shirarahama
- Shiratsuki
- Shiretoko
- Shodoshima
- Shonan Kaigan
- Shuri
- Shuzenji
- Sorahama
- Sounkyo
- Soya Misaki
- Sugamo
- Sumidagawa
- Suruga-wan
- Susukino
- Suwako
- Suzumegaoka
T: 55 names
- Takachiho
- Takachiho Kyo
- Takamatsu
- Takanosu
- Takaoka
- Takaosan
- Takasaki
- Takatsuki
- Take no Uchi
- Taketomijima
- Tamagawa
- Tanegashima
- Tanigawa
- Tanizaki
- Tanukidani
- Tasogare-zaka
- Tateyama
- Tazawako
- Tennoji
- Tenryugawa
- Teradomari
- Teshima
- Todaiji
- Togetsukyo
- Toi Misaki
- Tokunoshima
- Tokyo-wan
- Tomonoura
- Tonegawa
- Toranomon
- Torii-toge
- Tottori Sakyu
- Towadako
- Toyako
- Toyama-wan
- Toyosu
- Tsubaki-dori
- Tsubakiyama
- Tsugaru Kaikyo
- Tsukigase
- Tsukiji
- Tsukimigaoka
- Tsukimiyama
- Tsukinoura
- Tsukinowa
- Tsukishima
- Tsukubasan
- Tsukuda
- Tsukudajima
- Tsurugahama
- Tsurugisan
- Tsurumiyama
- Tsushima
- Tsutsujigaoka
- Tsuyukusa-machi
U: 10 names
- Ueno
- Uji
- Umeda
- Umegaoka
- Umezono
- Umineko-zaki
- Unzendake
- Uraga
- Urayasu
- Usagihara
W: 4 names
- Wakaba-cho
- Wakasa-wan
- Waseda
- Washibane
Y: 25 names
- Yaesu
- Yakushima
- Yamabuki-cho
- Yamadera
- Yamanakako
- Yamanouchi
- Yamashina
- Yanagawa
- Yanagibashi
- Yanaka
- Yarigatake
- Yasaka Jinja
- Yatsugatake
- Yoakegawa
- Yodogawa
- Yokohama
- Yoshino
- Yoshinogawa
- Yoyogi
- Yufuin
- Yugawara
- Yugure-misaki
- Yuigahama
- Yukimura
- Yurakucho