Directions and position

Position words in Japanese are nouns, and they come after the thing they are measured from: 駅(えき)の前(まえ) is "in front of the station", 銀行(ぎんこう)の向(む)かい "opposite the bank". The whole sentence runs the other way round from English — first the landmark, then the place, then what is there: 駅(えき)のそばに公園(こうえん)があります. Directions in Japan are given by landmarks and corners rather than street names, so 突(つ)き当(あ)たり, 二(ふた)つ目(め) and 改札(かいさつ) are worth knowing early.