Looking at Google Maps I noticed when translating to Japanese some names are
hyphenated and others are not. It seems to be arbitrary but maybe there's some
Japanese rule I'm unaware of

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Wy9En.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Wy9En.jpg)

The first example I noticed is "Daikan-Yama" which at first I thought, "Okay,
that's strange" but then I thought, "well, I guess if you think of it as
_Mount Daikan_ then it might make sense".

But there's is apparently no rhyme or reason as to when something is
hyphenated. Followed the "Daikan-Yama" example I'd expect "Sangu-bashi" as in
"Sangu Bridge" or "Aka-saka" as in "Red Hill" or "Shibu-Ya" as in "Shibu
Valley". We see "Higashi-Kitazawa" for "East Kitazawa" but we don't see
"Shimo-Kitazawa" for "Lower Kitazawa".

Is there any actual rule or is it just arbitrary?
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names rōmaji punctuation
Is there any Japanese language reason why Google Maps hyphenates some names and not others?
Seeing _Ikeno-Ue_ I'll venture a guess and say that there is no reason why
Google Maps hyphenates some place names and not others.

Here ノ is the particle の and I would say that hyphenation of 池ノ上 _ike no ue_
based on the Japanese language should be one of the following

  1. Ikenoue
  2. Ike-no-Ue (or Ike-No-Ue)
  3. Ike no Ue (or Ike No Ue)

although I'd definitely choose the first (it a single name).

In some cases (e.g. _Shimbashi_ ) Google Maps seems to use the romanization
given by the train company, but in this case Keio Corporation has romanized
池ノ上 as _Ikenoue_

[![Ikenoue](https://i.stack.imgur.com/5kQIo.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/5kQIo.png)

* * *

Some hyphens seem to be placed appropriately, separating a name from a prefix
( _Shin-Daita_ ) or from a suffix ( _Meidai-Mae_ ).

Maybe the hyphen in _Daikan-Yama_ was put to distinguish _n'ya_ (two morae)
and _nya_ (one mora). Here 山 _yama_ should be part of the name and not a
suffix. (And, by the way "Mount Daikan" would be _Daikan- **San_**.)

I agree that the hyphenation of _Shimokitazawa_ and _Higashi-Kitazawa_ is
inconsistent, as is the (non-)hyphenation of _Higashishinbashi_ (where
_Higashi_ should be a prefix)

[![higashishinbashi](https://i.stack.imgur.com/gAw7q.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/gAw7q.png)

* * *

## tl;dr

> Is there any Japanese language reason why Google Maps hyphenates some names
> and not others?

No.
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answer
( Map and train companies, and English-language newspapers must have
stylebooks and style guides for these things.)

Akasaka and Shibuya (like Ginza) are among the most famous places in Tokyo,
and Jp people are used to seeing them in Roman alphabet, so they wouldn't be
written as "Aka-saka" or "Shibu-Ya" -- except for some particular effect.

The same for "Shimokitazawa" ( not "Shimo-Kitazawa" ) ---
<https://taiken.co/uploads/2016/01/21418829858_22386637eb_o-medium.jpg>

> find-travel.jp -- 下北沢はグルメ、カルチャーのホットスポット！音楽、ファッション、サブカルの最先端を常に発信し続ける、個性豊かな街。
> カフェもレストランもユニークなお店が集まっていて、散策しているだけで楽しいです。 また、ライブハウスや劇場も多く、 ...

Shin-Daita ... There may be historical reasons for preferring Shin- with
hyphen. (for this and for other names) (or just to avoid Shinyokohama しにょ ...)

They seem to use [School name]-Mae.

Elsewhere too "... -cho" is usu. connected without a hyphen. (e.g. Yurakucho)

Naka-Meguro -- maybe this is because Meguro is so historically famous. ...
目黒のさんま

* * *

I've seen several Jp Web pages discussing this and related matters. Train
stations tend to insert more hyphens to improve readability, and each train
company has its own rules and conventions.

The following page contains partial summaries of rules followed by JR東日本,
東京メトロ, and つくばエクスプレス

<http://mandel59.hateblo.jp/entry/2012/09/11/015525>
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