How to get a website for your business in Japan
Written for people who run a shop, restaurant or small company in Japan and were not born here. No jargon, no sales pressure — just what actually matters, from someone who builds these sites every week.
1. Do you actually need a website?
If you already have Google Maps and Instagram, you might be wondering why you would need anything else. They do different jobs.
- Google Maps gets you found. It cannot hold your full price list, your story, or answers to the questions customers worry about.
- Instagram and Facebook show the mood of your place. Old posts sink out of sight, and prices and access are hard to find.
- A website is where someone checks "is this place right for me?" before they call or walk in.
There are also situations in Japan where not having a website costs you directly:
- Hiring. Almost everyone searches a company before applying. Nothing found often means no application.
- Corporate customers and banks. When a Japanese company or a bank checks you, a real website is part of how they judge whether you are a serious business.
- Losing your account. If a social media account is suspended, everything on it is gone. A website stays yours.
2. The three things every website is made of
Almost all the confusion about websites comes from these three words. They are simpler than they sound.
| Part | What it really is | Typical cost in Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Domain | Your address on the internet, like yourshop.com. You rent it by the year. | ¥1,000–5,000 per year |
| Server | The place your website lives. Think of it as rent for a small room. | ¥500–1,500 per month |
| The website itself | The pages, the design, the photos, the text. | This is where prices differ wildly |
One thing to be careful about: ask whose name the domain is registered in. If it is registered under the web company's name and you later move to someone else, you can lose the address you printed on your business cards and shop sign.
3. What a website really costs in Japan
Search for prices and you will see anything from free to three million yen. Here is a realistic picture.
| Where you order | Rough cost | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Large agency | ¥500,000–3,000,000 | Interviews, photo shoots, strategy. Several staff on your project. |
| Local web company | ¥200,000–800,000 | Face-to-face meetings. Quality varies a lot by company. |
| Freelancer | ¥50,000–300,000 | Cheaper, but support after launch depends entirely on the person. |
| Subscription service | ¥5,000–20,000 per month | Nothing to pay up front. Costs more if you keep it for many years. |
| Build it yourself | ¥0–2,000 per month | Free, but it costs you time — and some free services show their own ads. |
Expensive does not automatically mean better. Most of the price difference is page count and the number of meetings. For a shop or a small company, four solid pages — about us, prices, access, contact — do the job.
4. You do not need Japanese to get this done
This is the part that stops most people, and it should not. Here is how we work with customers who are not comfortable in Japanese:
- We talk with you in English, Chinese, Vietnamese or Tagalog — by email, phone, or message.
- We register the domain and sign the server contract for you. Those forms are all in Japanese; you never have to touch them.
- We can write your website in Japanese even though you cannot. You tell us about your business in your language, and we write the Japanese that Japanese customers will read. For most shops this is the whole point — your customers are Japanese, so the site needs to be in Japanese.
- If you want, the site can be in two languages, for example Japanese plus your own.
5. What you need to prepare
Less than you think. You do not need to have everything ready before you contact us.
- Photos. Pictures taken on your phone are fine. Shots of the inside, the outside, and your products or dishes.
- Basic information. Address, phone number, opening hours, days closed, parking, nearest station.
- Prices or a menu. A photo of your paper menu is enough — we will type it up.
- What makes you different. Just tell us in your own words. We turn it into the text.
No photos at all? Say so when you contact us and we will talk through the options.
6. Contracts and money — what to check before you sign
Whoever you decide to use, check these five points. They are the things people regret later.
- Whose name is the domain in? It should be possible to put it in yours.
- What happens if you cancel? With most monthly services the site disappears the day you stop paying. Ask whether you can take your data with you.
- Is there a minimum contract period, and a cancellation fee?
- Who updates the site after launch, and what does that cost? Some contracts charge per change.
- Are domain and server costs included, or billed separately? "¥300,000 to build" can still mean ¥20,000 a year on top.
You will also receive a proper Japanese invoice (seikyusho), so the cost can go through your books as a business expense.
7. How long it takes
With us, as little as three days from your first message to a live website — day 0 you contact us, day 1 we agree the content and price, day 2 we build it and you check it, day 3 it goes live. Bigger sites take longer, and we tell you the timing before we start.
8. Questions we get from customers who were not born in Japan
My Japanese is poor. Is that really okay?
Yes. Write to us in English, Chinese, Vietnamese or Tagalog. Nothing about the process requires you to use Japanese.
Can you write the Japanese text for my site?
Yes, and for most businesses that is what we recommend, because your customers read Japanese. You explain your business in your language and we write it properly in Japanese.
Do I need a registered company?
No. Sole proprietors and small shops are welcome.
Can the website be in two languages?
Yes. Japanese plus another language is a common request — this website you are reading is built the same way.
How much is it, in total?
¥9,800 per month, tax included. That covers building the site, the domain, and the server. There is no setup fee. Only large sites — many pages, an online shop, bookings or member accounts — cost extra, and we quote that before we start.
Ready when you are
Ask us anything, in whichever language is easiest for you. Consultation and quotes are free, and we do not chase people.
Talk to us about your website
Free consultation and quote. Write in English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog or Japanese.
Contact us → See pricing