📝 Japan Address Formatter (〒 Format & Honorifics)

Japanese addresses are written largest to smallest, the opposite of Western addresses: postal code → prefecture (都道府県) → city (市区町村) → town name → block/building number (丁目-番-号) → building name → room number → recipient. Understanding this order is the single most common hurdle for foreigners sending mail in Japan or filling Japanese forms.

The prefecture part has one of four suffixes, which are fixed per place:

Every envelope also needs an honorific (敬称) after the recipient's name: 様 for an individual, 御中 for a company or organisation. Using the wrong one is considered impolite, and omitting it is simply incorrect on formal mail.

This formatter assembles the parts you type into a clean, complete address with the 〒 symbol, offers a vertical (縦書き) view, and - for international or romanized use - converts the prefecture to its standard English name. If you also need the postal code for the address, start from our postal code lookup, and when it is time to mail, check the postage calculator for the correct rate. A complete result reads naturally from top to bottom, exactly as a Japanese letter carrier expects.

The formatter collects up to eight parts: postal code, prefecture (from a 47-item dropdown), city/ward, town & block, building name, room number, recipient name, and honorific. It then assembles them in the correct Japanese order and applies the 〒 prefix.

The honorific selector offers 様 (individual), 御中 (company), 行 (used when the recipient name is unknown, written diagonally by the sender), and none. The vertical view renders the address top-to-bottom using CSS writing-mode, which is the format used on formal Japanese envelopes. The romanized output converts the selected prefecture to its English name (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Osaka...) and keeps the rest as you typed it. Line breaks in the result follow the envelope convention: the postcode line, then the address line, then the recipient line with honorific. For the correct prefecture code behind a city, see our municipality lookup.

1. Enter the postal code (7 digits, hyphen optional) and pick the prefecture from the dropdown.
2. Fill in city/ward, town/block/number, building name and room number.
3. Enter the recipient name and choose the honorific: 様, 御中, 行, or none.
4. Click Format to get the assembled address with 〒 and the recipient line.
5. Switch between horizontal, vertical and romanized views as needed.

When do I use 様 and when 御中?

様 is for individuals. 御中 is for companies and organisations, written after the company name. On formal mail to a person inside a company you write the company name + 御中 on one line and the person's name + 様 on the next.

Why is the Japanese address order reversed compared to mine?

Japanese addresses go from largest area to smallest: prefecture, city, town, block, building, recipient. The postcode and 〒 go first on the envelope. This is the standard order used by Japan Post.

What does 行 (gyō) mean on an envelope?

行 means 'to the addressee' and is used when the recipient's name is not known yet. The sender crosses it out with a diagonal line and replaces it with 様 before posting.

Can the formatter produce a romanized (English) address?

Yes - it converts the selected prefecture to its standard English name and keeps the other fields as you typed them. This is useful as a base for international mail.

How do I write building and room numbers?

Use the form ビル名 + space + floor, e.g. MUビル 5階, and include the room number if present. Japanese addresses rely heavily on building names because street names are rarely used.

Does the tool know the town name for a postal code?

No - it formats what you type. For the reverse direction (code to address), use the official Japan Post search or our postal code lookup tool.

On a Japanese envelope the postal code goes in the top-right area with the 〒 mark, and the addressee’s name is the largest text on the page - bigger than the address itself. For business mail to a company, address it to the company name with 御中; if you know the department and person, write department, then person 様, with the company name and 御中 on its own line. The honorific 行 is a placeholder for unnamed recipients; the sender crosses it out with a diagonal line and writes 様 above it before sending. In vertical writing, numerals stay as kanji or full-width digits (一丁目二番地, not 1-2-3) on formal documents. Apartment mail: always include the building name and room number, e.g. 5階 (5F), because block numbers alone often repeat across nearby buildings. If you send internationally, the romanized output is a good base for an English address, and the postal code lookup will confirm the 7-digit code.