Address Envelopes to Japan

The Japanese postal system uses many methods that are unlike those used in the Western world. For example, when writing in Japanese, they write the address in a reverse order, starting with the postal code. However, the postal system uses different formats for domestic and international letters, in order to account for many letters written in Latin languages. To appropriately address a letter to Japan, you must follow the local conventions and take care to use an honorific title, for both private and business letters. This article will tell you how to address envelopes to Japan.

Steps

Addressing Personal Letters

1. Start to address the front of the envelope to the right of the center of the envelope. Use blue or black ink. You will use the recognized "Western Format" to address an envelope in English.
2. Write the first and last name of the person on the top line. It is important to include either a Western or Japanese honorific before or after the name of the person. Letter writing etiquette is formal and very important in Japanese society.
   • You can use a western honorific before the name of the person, such as Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr. or Prof. or Sir. For example, you may write "Mrs. Mei Tanaka."
   • You may use a Japanese honorific after the name of the person. For Mr. or Mrs., you can write "-sama" after the name. This is usually used as an honorific between equals. For Sir or Madam, you can write "-dono." For Lord, Lady or Dame, you can write "-kyou." For anyone with superior knowledge than you, such as a doctor, teacher, politician or professor, you can write "-sensei."
3. Write the sub-area, block and building numbers with dashes between them on the second line down. Write the ward after these numbers. For example, the second address line may say "1-4-6 Kamiosaki." This line can also be written to identify the sub-area after the ward, such as "4-6 Kamiosaki 1-choume."
   • If you need to identify these on a map, the sub-area or block is called a "choume," a lot is called a "ban" and a building is called a "go." "Choume" is sometimes written "chome."
   • Japanese addresses are not laid out in a rectangular grid, like they are in many Western countries. The addressing system also accounts for that fact that only main streets have names and buildings are numbered by the order they are built.
4. Write the city and the prefecture on the third line down. There should be a comma between the 2. For example, "Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo."
5. Write the postal code to the right of the prefecture name. Although the postal code used to be only 3 numbers, it is now a 7-digit number with a dash after 3 numbers. For example, the entire third line would be "Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0021."
6. Place the word "Japan" on the fourth line. This is sometimes written on the third line domestically, but it will be easier for your own country to recognize, if it stands alone on the last line.
   • The entire address is as follows, with commas mostly signifying line breaks: "Mrs. Mei Tanaka, 1-4-6 Kamiosaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0021, Japan." The comma between "Shinagawa-ku" and "Tokyo" does not signify a line break.
7. Write your address in the upper right portion on the back of the envelope. Write your own address using your country's conventions so that it can easily find its way back to you. Make sure to include your country at the bottom of your address.
   • Honorific titles are not used with a sender's name. In keeping with letter-writing courtesy and formality, this gives the tone that the receiver is being honored by the sender.

Addressing Business Letters

1. Start to address the front of the envelope to the right of the center of the envelope. Use a computer to address the letter, whenever possible. If you cannot print out the address, use blue or black ink.
2. Write the full name of the person on the top line. It is important to include either a Western or Japanese honorific before or after the name of the person.
   • You can use the same formal titles as you would with a personal letter to Japan. However, you should write "-sempai" if you are addressing a hierarchical superior.
3. Write the name of the company on the second line of the address.
   • If you are addressing the letter to a company itself, and not a person, write the word "-onchu" after the company's name.
4. Write the sub-area, block and building numbers with dashes between them on the third line down. Write the ward after these numbers.
5. Write the city, prefecture and postal code on the fourth line down. There should be a comma between the city and prefecture.
6. Write the country name, "Japan," on the fifth line down.
7. The business address is as follows, with commas mostly signifying line breaks: "Mei Tanaka-sempai, Sony Entertainment, 1-4-6 Kamiosaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0021, Japan." The comma between "Shinagawa-ku" and "Tokyo" does not signify a line break.
8. Write your address in the upper right portion or center on the back of the envelope. Write your own address using your country's conventions so that it can easily find its way back to you. Make sure to include your country at the bottom of your address.
   • If your company already has its address on business envelopes, then there should not be a problem that the return address is on the front rather than the back. Make sure to include your country name, if it is not written there.

Tips

• For envelopes addressed in Japanese, the order is as follows: the postal symbol and postal code on the first line, the prefecture, city, ward, sub-area, block and building on the second line, and the last name, first name and title on the third and last line.
• If you have received an address that is typed in Japanese, you may want to print it onto the envelope or print it and affix it to the envelope. Because the Japanese and Western styles differ in order, it is likely there would be an error if you tried to translate it.

Warnings

• Do not address a letter with red ink. It can signify ill will toward the receiver.

Things You'll Need

• Pen with blue or black ink
• Envelope
• Postage
• Printer (optional)
• Address

Related Articles

• Address a Business Envelope Effectively
• Put an Address on an Envelope (Great Britain)
• Address an Envelope to a Family
• Address Envelopes to Canada
• Address an Envelope to Finland

Sources and Citations

• http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2224.html
• http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+46712
• http://www.wa-pedia.com/language/japanese_suffixes.shtml
• http://www.sljfaq.org/afaq/addresses.html

See also

• Secretly Open a Sealed Envelope
• Label an Envelope
• Write an Address on an Envelope
• Become a Japanese Citizen
• Visit Japan on a Budget
• Find an Apartment in Japan
• Distinguish Between Japanese and Chinese Cultures
• Address an Envelope in Care of Someone Else
• Create a Letter Postage Scale
• Write a Professional Mailing Address on an Envelope

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