Writing a letter to a 日本人の友達 (Japanese friend)！

[oddseverinyourfavor9574]

こんにちは！Hello! I would love some help!!

I would like to send a letter to my friend in Japan but I am unsure about how to write his address on the envelope^^;
This is what he gave me (using "#" in the place of the numbers so as not to give out his full address)..

Japanese:postal code # # # - # # # # address 神奈川県横浜市金沢区六浦 # - # - # ウィスタリア # # #

English:Wistaria # # #, # - # # - # #, Mutsura, Kanazawa-ku Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, # # # - # # # #, Japan

I looked at this website -> http://www.wikihow.com/Address-Envelopes-to-Japan but it confused me a little because it seems like he gave me more information than what that site says to write.
Some of my questions are..
*Should I only write his address in English?
*Should I write his name Western style or Japanese style?
*Should I write "VIA AIR MAIL" somewhere on the envelope?
*Where should I write my return address?
*And, would someone mind showing be step by step how would I write his address?
I would really love some help on how to write his address correctly as soon as possible so I can get this letter sent out quickly!!!!^^

Also, I'd really like to be able to say,"I'm really happy that I met you." in Japanese! Could anyone also help me figure out how I would write that? He is a really kind friend so I'd like to be able to at least say that part in his native language(*^^*)

ありがとうございます！Thank you so much!!

[thegooseking]

oddseverinyourfavorさん,

It's been a while since I sent a postal letter to Japan. Actually, it's been a while since I sent a postal letter at all, but here's what I remember:-

You can write his address in English or Japanese. As long as you write 'JAPAN' in English, either way is good (although, not knowing how good your Japanese writing is, it's probably more reliable if you write in English).

The same goes for the name, although you can try writing this in Japanese if you want. Your friend might appreciate the effort, and it won't affect whether the letter reaches its destination. However, if you do write it in English, it's good practice to write the family name all in capitals, just to clear up the confusion about the order of family name and given name.

There's no need to write 'VIA AIR MAIL' on the envelope. The post office will mark it for air mail anyway if that's what you ask for.

I tend to write my return address on the back of the envelope. And write "Return address:-" above it, just so there's no confusion.

For "I'm really happy that I met you," I would say:-
[his name]に会ってとてもうれしいです。
(Literally this means, "I meet you, and then I am really glad." but it is implied that you are glad because of meeting him.)
You can also say 会えて instead of 会って. In that case, it means "I'm really glad I was able to meet you." It's a bit less direct: a bit more... Japanese.

I hope that helps,
小狼

[oddseverinyourfavor9574]

小狼さん、

ありがとうございます！！Thank you so so so much! Your explination did help me^^

I guess I'm still wondering though..do I just write his address exactly the way that he gave it to me?

-> His name "Wistaria # # #, # - # # - # #, Mutsura, Kanazawa-ku Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, # # # - # # # #, Japan"
In that order?
Also, where would one line end and the next one begin?

I'm so sorry^^; I get confused easliy^^* And I'm a little paranoid^^;; I just want to do everthing correctly!!

I also need to put it into the format below..for a form.

So I think I know the obvious ones..
*Name
? *ADDRESS
*City: Yokohama-shi
? *STATE/PROVINCE
*Post Code: # # # - # # # #
*Country: Japan
*His phone number

But what about the state/province and the address? What of the left over information would I put in those sections?

I think I will go with "[his name]に会えてとてもうれしいです。" then because I'd like to be very polite!

Thank you again so much! I really really appreciate it!!:)
夏恋

[thegooseking]

From the largest to smallest:-
Japan and the postcode are obvious.
Kanagawa is the prefecture.
Yokohama is the city.
Kanazawa is the ward.
Mutsuura is the district.
# - # # - # # is the town, block, and building number, respectively.
Wistaria # # # is the specific address, including the apartment number.

When you're writing the address in Roman characters, the recommended format would be:-
[Name]
Wistaria [apartment number],
[block number]-[building number], Mutsuura [town number]-chōme,
Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken [Postcode]
JAPAN

Take care with that third line: In English our instinct would be to put building number before block number, but that's not how it's done in Japan, even if you are writing in Roman characters. An alternative way to write the third line (the way your friend did it) would be:-
[town number]-[block number]-[building number], Mutsuura
This is kind of more casual, but it's what a lot of people use in practice, so there's no danger of Japan Post being confused by it.

For the form, the address would be:-
Wistaria [apartment], [town]-[block]-[building], Mutsuura, Kanazawa
And the province would be Kanagawa.

Hope that helps,
小狼

[girlwithpaintedwings]

Thank you soooo much! I really appreciate all of the information that you've given me!! Because of your help, I am planning on sending the letter out tomorrow(*^^*) ありがとうございます！I am very excited^^