Japanese Address → English
Paste a Japanese address — get the English order with official romaji for prefectures, wards and major cities.
How Japanese addresses convert to English
Japanese addresses run from large to small with no street names: prefecture, city or ward, district, then the block-lot-building chain (2丁目3番4号 becomes the hyphenated 2-3-4). The English convention reverses the order and romanizes the names: block numbers and district first, then ward and city, prefecture with the 7-digit postal code, and Japan last.
What this tool can and cannot romanize
All 47 prefectures, Tokyo's 23 wards, and Japan's major cities are converted with their official romaji. Smaller town and district names written in kanji cannot be romanized by rule — kanji readings are not derivable from the characters — so those are kept as-is with a warning. That is still deliverable: within Japan, carriers read kanji natively, and mixed romaji-kanji addresses arrive fine. For a fully romanized version of an uncommon place name, Japan Post's postal-code search shows official readings.
Where do I put the postal code?
The 7-digit code (NNN-NNNN) goes with the prefecture line, or in the dedicated postal-code field of a shipping form. The 〒 mark itself is not needed in English.
How to write a Japanese address in English
Follow four steps. First, romanize the place names (this translator does that for prefectures, wards and major cities). Second, reverse the order: block-lot-building numbers first, then district, ward or city, prefecture, postal code. Third, keep the hyphenated number chain exactly as-is — 2-3-4 is a real locator, not a decoration. Fourth, end with "Japan" on its own line. A finished example:
2-3-4 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 100-0005
Japan
Addressing an envelope to Japan
Write the recipient's name on the first line, the converted address below it, and "JAPAN" in capitals as the last line so postal workers in your country route it correctly. Only the country name needs to be in English for international routing — everything after arrival is handled by Japan Post, which reads both romaji and kanji, so a mixed address (romaji with some kanji kept) still delivers. Stamps and airmail markings go top-right as usual; there is no special Japanese layout requirement for mail sent from abroad.