Understanding "Near" in Search – Bug?

Hello,

Can you help me understand how “near” works when searching?

Currently, I have 4 places:

The National Art Center, Tokyo:
(Japan > Tokyo > Minato)
Asakusa and Sensoji Temple:
(Japan > Tokyo > Taito)
Imperial Palace:
(Japan > Tokyo > Chuo)
Budokan and Kitanomaru Park:
(Japan > Tokyo > Chuo)

In search, if I type in “Chuo” and then select “Chuo (city)” when it drops down, search filters the results and only shows “Imperial Palace” and “Budokan and Kitanomaru Park” (as it should).

However, if I type in “chuo” and don’t select the autocomplete, it shows all places – in Chuo and not.

Is there a way to have it use the word entered in “near” even if the user does not choose the autocomplete dropdown?

This will cause confusion (ie user doesn’t select the autocomplete dropdown – “I typed in Tokyo, why am I getting results for Kyoto too?!”)

Is there a setting? Is this a bug?

Site:
http://www.accessible-japan.com/database/

Animated GIF of behavior:
http://www.accessible-japan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/near.gif

Thank you in advance!

PS – I have the following extensions:

• Custom Posts
• Advanced Search Filters
• Multilocation