Understand your Japanese mail. Know exactly what to do next.
Upload a Japanese letter and MailGuide explains what it means, whether you need to act, what you need to do and when you need to do it.
Free to try — no payment required.
Built for foreign residents in Japan · English explanations · Privacy-conscious processing
See how it works ↓National Health Insurance Payment Notice
From: Nagasaki City
Example amount: ¥XX,XXX
What you need to do
Pay the stated amount using the payment slip included with the notice before the deadline.
How it works
Scan your letter
Take a photograph or upload the pages of your Japanese correspondence.
Understand what matters
MailGuide identifies the document, sender, amount, deadline and whether action is required.
Know what to do next
Receive a plain-English explanation and practical step-by-step guidance.
Why MailGuide
No prompting required
You do not need to know which questions to ask.
Important details highlighted
Quickly find amounts, deadlines, senders and required actions.
Practical next steps
Go beyond translation with clear instructions on what to do.
Honest about uncertainty
When MailGuide cannot verify something, it tells you instead of pretending to know.
Made for life in Japan
Designed to help foreign residents understand important Japanese mail and know what to do next.
Who MailGuide helps
- International students
- Foreign employees
- Spouses and families
- New residents
- Anyone who finds formal Japanese difficult
Your privacy matters
Your mail may contain sensitive information. We treat it that way.
- Original document images are not saved to your account or MailGuide's document database.
- Do not upload My Number, passwords, PINs or complete banking credentials.
- Results may vary. Always verify important amounts, deadlines and instructions against the original document.
- MailGuide is not a government office and does not provide legal, medical or financial advice.
MailGuide is currently in pilot testing.
Your feedback will help us measure accuracy, improve the experience and identify the types of Japanese correspondence that are most difficult for foreign residents.
Why we built MailGuide
MailGuide is being developed by people who believe language should never prevent someone from understanding important information or taking action on time.
John Olaide
Developer
Living in Japan showed me how stressful an ordinary letter can become when you cannot confidently understand what it requires. I developed MailGuide to help foreign residents move from confusion to clear action.
Olabisi Racheal
Co-developer and Product Designer
We designed MailGuide to feel calm, simple and reassuring—helping users quickly understand what matters without overwhelming them with complicated translations.
Stop guessing what your Japanese mail means.
Scan a letter and turn confusing correspondence into a clear next step.