Three Japanese Train Station Names That Even Native Speakers Find Hard

Having a hard time pronouncing these train station names in Japanese? Don’t worry — most native speakers didn’t get them right, either!

By Jay Allen

For those of us coming at it from a Western language, Japanese can be tough. Perhaps no element is harder than proper names. But did you know that there are place names that even native speakers of the language stumble over?

Here are three of the hardest train station names in Eastern Japan that even native Japanese speakers stumble over. Did they vex you as well — or are you a kanji master?

What’s in a name? Who knows?

For me, proper names are one of the most frustrating parts of Japanese. I’ve gotten better at them as my grasp of the language has evolved. (Lots of reading helps.) But still, on occasion, I’ll stumble across one that leaves me guessing.

Thankfully, it seems I’m not the only one.

Kanji have numerous readings that are generally broken down into on-yomi, based on original Chinese pronunciations; and kun-yomi, or Japanese pronunciations. A lot of the time, you can take an educated stab at an unknown place…