Area Code 2383 – Yonezawa, Yamagata

Geographic Overview

The area code 02383 is a geographic National Destination Code (NDC) assigned to the city of Yonezawa in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. Yonezawa is a historic castle town located in the southern part of Yamagata, known for its textile industry and the Yonezawa beef. The code covers the central urban area of Yonezawa and its immediate surroundings, including the former town of Matsukawa and parts of the surrounding rural districts.

Dialing Formats

When calling a landline in Yonezawa from within Japan, the domestic trunk prefix 0 is used, followed by the area code and the subscriber number. The full national number is 0-2383-X-XXXX (where X-XXXX is the 5-digit subscriber number). For example, a local number might be 02383-2-3456.

From outside Japan, callers must use the international access code (e.g., 011 from the US, 00 from most European countries), followed by Japan's country code +81, then the area code without the leading zero, and the subscriber number. Thus, the same number would be dialed as +81 2383 2 3456.

Local vs. National Calls

Within Yonezawa and its immediate vicinity, calls to numbers beginning with 02383 are typically treated as local calls and may be charged at a lower rate. However, if you are calling from outside the Yonezawa area code region, the call is considered a national long-distance call and will incur standard domestic long-distance tariffs. When dialing from a mobile phone, it is common practice to always include the area code, even for local calls, to ensure proper routing.

Overlay and Numbering Plan

Japan's numbering plan is regulated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) and follows ITU-T E.164 recommendations. The area code 02383 is part of the Yamagata Prefecture numbering area, which uses the prefix 023 for the prefecture. The specific code 02383 is a sub-division of the 0238 area code, which covers the Yonezawa region. There is currently no overlay code for this area, meaning that 02383 is the sole code for the geographic region it serves.

Caller Instructions

For callers within Japan: Dial 02383-XXXXX (including the leading 0) for both local and national calls. If you are calling from a mobile phone, you may need to include the area code even if you are within the same region.

For callers from outside Japan: Dial your country's international exit code, then 81, then 2383, followed by the 5-digit subscriber number. For example, to call the number 02383-2-3456 from the US, you would dial 011 81 2383 2 3456.

Always verify the subscriber number length, as some numbers in Japan may have different lengths depending on the service provider and the age of the number.