Police Box
Koban
proper noun
This word is a little tricky — at first, the combination of mix and number in a series doesn't seem to add up to police box, but there's a catch. This word is actually an abbreviated combo of two other words: The 交 comes from 交替 (in rotation) and the 番 comes from 立番 (standing watch).
A police box is basically a tiny community police station staffed by one or two officers. It's something that is not common in many Western countries, but it is pretty much all over Japan.
こうばん
This is a jukugo word, which usually means on'yomi readings from the kanji. If you know the readings of your kanji you'll know how to read this as well.
交番で、大しかんまでの道をききました。
I asked for directions to the embassy at the police box.
新しく入って来たヒマリちゃんは、この交番のアイドルです。
Himari, the new girl in this police box, is Miss Popular.
すみません、お巡りさん。一番近い交番はどこですか?ある男が私のことをデブと言ったので、警察を呼ぶ必要があるんです。
Excuse me, officer. Where is the nearest police box? I need to call the police because some man just called me fat.