This article was written for 10 November 2026.
When you are lost in Japan, or you have dropped a wallet, the first door is not the police station. It is the small neighborhood post, a 交番. Say it koh-bahn, こうばん. It is closer to a police box than to a headquarters.
The box, the station, and 110
A 交番 handles directions, lost property, and small reports. A 警察署 is the police station. You go there when the box sends you, or when the paperwork gets long. 110 is the police emergency number. Use it when someone is in danger now. Illness and fire are 119.
#9110 is widely used for police advice that is not an emergency. Asking the way belongs nearer that line. Watching a theft belongs on 110. Local notices can differ. The number posted on the box is the number for that neighborhood.
Asking the way
すみません。道に迷いました。
Excuse me. I’m lost.
この住所はどこですか。
Where is this address?
Show the address on paper or on a screen. You do not have to ask them to read it. Handing it over is the question. 交番はどこですか。 Where is a police box? That sentence also finds the next one.
Some boxes are staffed at night and some are dark. If the light is off, walk to the next box or to a police station. Do not memorize “always open.”
When something is lost
A dropped thing is 落とし物. The report is a 遺失届.
財布を落としました。
I dropped my wallet.
携帯をなくしました。
I lost my phone.
落とし物を届けたいです。
I want to report something lost.
They will ask where, what, and how to reach you. Passport handling is not the same at every box. Some copy it there. Some send you to the station. Go to the counter they name.
Do not expect English or Korean. If it is there, that is luck. One short Japanese line is faster. Injury and crime belong in emergency Japanese. A sick body belongs at a pharmacy or a clinic.
Questions that keep coming up
Do they speak English?
Some do. Many do not. An address on a screen, plus one sentence, works more often.
Where do I look for a lost item?
File it at the box or the station near where you lost it. They search the wider system. You do not need to memorize a website.
Are they open at night?
Some are, some are not. Trust the light in the window.