Japanese word of the day: 郵便局 (Yuubinyoku)

What does 郵便局 (Yuubinyoku) mean?

郵便局 (Yūbinkyoku) (noun) – Post office; a facility and organization that handles sending and receiving mail, selling postage stamps, and related postal services.

Kanji details for 郵, 便 and 局

Character: 郵 — mail, stagecoach stop
Radical: town (阝 right) 邑 (阝)

Character: 便 — convenience, facility, excrement, feces, letter, chance
Radical:

Character: 局 —
Radical:

Example sentences with 郵便局 (Yuubinyoku)

• 郵便局で荷物を送ってきました。
  (Yūbinkyoku de nimotsu o okutte kimashita.)
  📦 I sent a package at the post office.

• 近くの郵便局は何時まで開いていますか？
  (Chikaku no yūbinkyoku wa nanji made aite imasu ka?)
  ⏰ Until what time is the nearby post office open?

• 郵便局で切手を買いました。
  (Yūbinkyoku de kitte o kaimashita.)
  ✉️ I bought stamps at the post office.

郵便局 (Yuubinyoku) in context

郵便局 is more than just a place to send letters and packages. In Japan, it’s a vital community hub offering a wide range of services. Besides handling mail and parcel delivery, many post offices sell postage stamps, postcards, and revenue stamps. They also accept applications for services like forwarding mail, and some have private mailboxes (私書箱).

Many post offices feature a “ゆうゆう窓口” (Yūyū Madoguchi), a special counter open during evenings, weekends, and holidays, making it convenient for people who can’t visit during regular hours. However, these counters mainly handle postal services and not banking or insurance.

Japan Post, the company running 郵便局, also operates banking and insurance services through affiliated institutions, but these are usually handled separately from the postal counters.