Daily life
在留カード / Zairyū card
zai-ryoo KAA-do
Your residence card, issued at the airport for medium and long-term stays. Carry it at all times — it is a legal requirement, not a suggestion.
住民登録 / Jūmin tōroku
joo-min TOH-roku
Ward registration, due within fourteen days of moving in. Hiroshima has eight wards and it must be the one your address falls in. Everything else waits on it.
マイナンバー / My Number
mai-NAN-baa
Your tax and social-security number, issued after ward registration. The physical card now doubles as your health insurance card.
住民税 / Jūminzei
joo-min-ZAY
Residence tax, calculated on last year's income and billed from the following June. Cheap in year one, expensive in year two, and it can follow you out of Japan.
土砂災害警戒区域 / Dosha saigai keikai kuiki
DO-sha SAI-gai kay-kai KOO-iki
Designated sediment-disaster warning area. Hiroshima Prefecture has an enormous amount of it, and checking whether an address sits inside one is a normal step in a rental search here.
電車 / Densha (the tram)
DEN-sha
In Hiroshima 'densha' usually means the streetcar, not the train. Hiroden runs the largest surviving tram network in Japan and it is how the delta actually moves.
Food
お好み焼き / Okonomiyaki
o-ko-no-mi-YA-ki
Hiroshima-style is layered, not mixed — batter crêpe, a mountain of cabbage, pork, and a nest of fried noodles under it. Ordering the Osaka version here is a small social event.
牡蠣 / Kaki
KA-ki
Oysters. Hiroshima Bay is Japan's dominant producer and the season runs roughly October to March. Grilled in the shell at a winter stall is the local form.
Culture
被爆者健康手帳 / Hibakusha kenkō techō
hi-BA-ku-sha ken-KOH te-CHOH
The Atomic Bomb Survivor's Health Handbook. Issuing and administering it is still a working function of the city's health bureau eighty years on.
8月6日 / Hachi-gatsu muika
HA-chi-ga-tsu MU-i-ka
The sixth of August. The Peace Memorial Ceremony is held at 8:15 in the morning, offices adjust, and the date is spoken about without further explanation.
Social
広島弁 / Hiroshima-ben
hi-ro-shi-ma-BEN
The local dialect — '〜じゃけぇ' for 'because', '〜のう' at the end of a sentence. Blunt-sounding to Tokyo ears and entirely friendly in practice.
Emergency
110 / 119
—
110 for police, 119 for fire and ambulance. Both free from any phone, including a locked one.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.