Japanese Address in English
＋More features: how to address an envelope or parcel, and reading an English address back into Japanese order
How to address an envelope or parcel
Write the converted address in the following order (sender at the top left, recipient at the bottom right).
| Line | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Line 1 | Name of the recipient | Mr. Taro Yamada |
| Line 2 | Building name and room number (if any) | Sakura Bldg. 201 |
| Line 3 | House number and town area | 1-2-3 Nagatacho |
| Line 4 | City, ward or town | Chiyoda-ku |
| Line 5 | Prefecture and postal code | Tokyo 100-0014 |
| Line 6 | Country name (larger, in capitals) | JAPAN |
Reading an English address back into Japanese order
An English address goes from small to large, a Japanese one from large to small. Read the English version backwards and you get the Japanese order.
| English order (front to back) | Japanese order (front to back) |
|---|---|
| Building and room → house number → town area → city or ward → prefecture → postal code → country | Postal code → prefecture → city or ward → town area → house number → building and room |
It turns a Japanese address into English (romaji, in the Western small-to-large order). It also works the other way round, turning a Japanese address written in Roman letters back into Japanese (〒 plus kanji). Use it for overseas shopping sites and international mail, and for the moments when a city-hall or hospital form asks you to write your address in Japanese.
How to use
- Choose the direction. To turn a Japanese address into English, pick Japanese address → English; to turn a romaji address back into Japanese, pick The way you write it at home → Japanese.
- Going into English: type your postal code (for example 100-0014) and the address and its romaji fill in automatically, then add the block and house number and the building name.
- Going back into Japanese: choose your country and paste the address exactly the way you normally write it. It is read correctly whichever order your country uses.
- The result appears right below. Use the copy button to paste it straight into a form.
How it is converted
- Order in English: “building and room → house number and town area → city or ward → prefecture and postal code → JAPAN”, the reverse of the Japanese order. This follows Japan Post guidance on addressing international mail.
- Address and reading: the address and its kana reading for each postal code come from Japan Post postal code data (about 120,000 entries nationwide) and are converted to Hepburn romanization.
- Designated cities are written as “ward, city” (for example Chuo-ku, Sapporo), and rural districts as “town or village, district” (for example Yoichi-cho, Yoichi-gun).
- Going back into Japanese, the address is read by shape rather than by order: a group of 7 digits is taken as the postal code, a group of digits and hyphens (3-2-1) as the house number, and whatever is left as the building name and room number. The kanji for the prefecture, city and town area are then looked up from the postal code. That is why the result is the same whether you write from large to small or from small to large.
Countries and regions covered (the 10 largest groups of foreign residents in Japan)
The example address and the way room numbers are recognised (Apt, Unit, Apto, Kamar and so on) switch according to the country. If your country is not on the list, choose “Other countries/regions” and the conversion works just the same.
| Country or region | Order an address is written in |
|---|---|
| China | Large to small (starting with the prefecture) |
| Taiwan | Large to small (starting with the prefecture) |
| Vietnam | Small to large (starting with the house number) |
| South Korea | Small to large (starting with the house number) |
| Philippines | Small to large (starting with the house number) |
| Nepal | Small to large (starting with the house number) |
| Indonesia | Small to large (starting with the house number) |
| Brazil | Small to large (starting with the house number) |
| Myanmar | Small to large (starting with the house number) |
| Sri Lanka | Small to large (starting with the house number) |
The ten largest countries and regions are taken from the statistics of the Immigration Services Agency (as of the end of Reiwa 7 / 2025). A different order does not change the result, so if you are unsure, “Other countries/regions” is fine.
Sources (primary information)
- Japan Post, “How to write addresses for international mail” (order of the English lines, how to write the country name) — in Japanese
https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/use/writing/normal.html (accessed July 26, 2026) - Japan Post, “Postal code data download” (source of the addresses and kana readings; the data used here is from July 2026) — in Japanese
https://www.post.japanpost.jp/zipcode/download.html (accessed July 26, 2026) - Immigration Services Agency, “Number of foreign residents as of the end of Reiwa 7 (2025)” (basis for the list of countries and regions covered) — in Japanese
https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/publications/press/13_00062.html (accessed July 26, 2026)
Assumptions and notes
- Because the romaji is generated automatically, it can differ from the actual local reading (some place names are read in unusual ways). You can correct it directly in the romaji fields.
- For Kyoto street-name addresses (“…dori agaru” and similar) and for the individual postal codes of large businesses, the town area may be missing. In that case type it into the town area romaji field yourself.
- There is no single legally correct way to write a Japanese address in English. This tool produces the common style described by Japan Post.
- When converting back into Japanese, the building name stays in Roman letters. A building name is a proper noun, and its correct Japanese spelling cannot be derived from the postal code. If you know how your building is written, please replace it yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the order reversed in English?
English-speaking countries write addresses from the smallest unit to the largest, the opposite of Japan. Take the Japanese order (large to small) and reverse it and you have the English one.
What if I do not know my postal code?
When no postal code is found in “The way you write it at home → Japanese”, a field appears where you can search by the town name in Roman letters (for example Nishishinjuku). If the same town name exists in several places in Japan, pick the right one from the candidates.
If someone sends me a parcel from abroad, does the address have to be in English?
Only the country name (JAPAN) has to be readable in the sending country. According to Japan Post, the part inside Japan can be written in Japanese and will still be delivered. The English version is useful when the sender cannot write Japanese or when a website only accepts Roman letters.
In “1-2-3”, which number is the chome?
They run in the order chome-banchi-go from the front (so 1-2-3 means 1丁目2番3号). The same string of numbers is normally kept as is in the English version.