Cross-border · Multilingual · Osaka
Selling overseas, designed language by language.
Adding a language to an existing site starts at ¥200,000. A new cross-border store starts at ¥800,000 (excl. tax). Japanese and English as standard, other languages case by case, with translation, hreflang, and the language switcher handled as one piece of work.
We have built a cross-border e-commerce platform for the Chinese market — a WeChat mini-program with its admin screen. Designing payment, shipping, and product management for cross-border sales in the same team that builds the site is our strength here.
Service overview
Cross-border e-commerce and multilingual sites covers everything needed to put Japanese products in front of buyers overseas: adding languages to an existing site, building a store with multi-currency and cross-border payment, and running it after launch.
- For
- Small and mid-sized businesses selling overseas or courting inbound visitors
- Price
- Adding a language ¥200,000–400,000 per language; new cross-border store ¥800,000–2,000,000
- Lead time
- Adding a language 1–2 weeks; cross-border store 5–10 weeks
- Languages
- Japanese, English (other languages case by case)
- Coverage
- Based in Osaka, working with clients across Japan
Problems this solves
The site exists only in Japanese, so it is awkward to send to an overseas partner. Someone ends up attaching a separately translated document every time an introduction goes out.
Languages were added by machine translation, but product names and material descriptions read oddly, so the pages never went live. Preferred phrasing and the explanations buyers need also differ by market.
There is interest in selling abroad, but no clear picture of how payment and shipping fit together. International shipping rates, currency handling, and answering buyer questions all have to be decided before anything can launch.
You want inbound bookings, but the site lists only a Japanese phone number. When the language changes, the order in which information needs to appear changes with it.
What is covered
Adding languages to an existing site means translation, hreflang configuration, and the language switcher, done together. If search engines are not told clearly which page serves which language, translated pages do not get credited — which is why we do not split translation from implementation.
A new cross-border store is built on Shopify multi-language and multi-currency, with cross-border payment and international shipping configured. Shipping cost and delivery time vary by country, so the priority is that a buyer never gets stuck near the end.
For inbound sites, the measure is whether a visitor from overseas can complete a booking or an application. Rather than translating the Japanese site line for line, we reorder it around what someone decides on before they travel.
We also run these sites after launch: product listings, translation, answering enquiries, and social channels, on a monthly basis. This is the option when there is nobody in-house who works in other languages.
This is merchandising, not translation
When a multilingual site underperforms, the cause is usually not translation accuracy. It is that the Japanese structure was carried over intact, so the information a buyer in that market needs is simply missing.
For cross-border sales, delivery time and how customs duty is handled weigh heavily on the decision. Neither field exists on a domestic Japanese page, so a straight translation cannot contain them. In the other direction, a courteous Japanese preamble can read as padding once translated.
Before any translation begins, we work out what a buyer in that language actually looks at. Fields absent from the Japanese version get added; paragraphs that no longer earn their place get cut. Each language version therefore does not end up as a mere copy of the Japanese one.
Because this happens in the same team that designs the site, structure and translation do not drift apart.
Price and lead time
Adding a language to an existing site is ¥200,000–400,000 per language over 1–2 weeks. A new cross-border store is ¥800,000–2,000,000 over 5–10 weeks. An inbound-focused site is ¥600,000–1,500,000 over 4–8 weeks. Ongoing operations run ¥100,000–300,000 a month. All listed prices exclude tax. Figures are indicative and vary with requirements.
In a first conversation we ask which market you want to sell into, what you sell, the state of the current site, and which languages you can already handle internally. The first consultation and quote are free.
Frequently asked questions
Can you work in languages other than Japanese and English?
Yes. Japanese and English are our base; for other languages we look at the target market and the project first, then propose how translation and review will be handled.
Can languages be added without rebuilding the current site?
Usually yes. We review the existing structure and how the site is updated, then add the language switcher and hreflang. If the structure itself lacks what an overseas buyer needs to decide, we will say so and propose what to add.
What do cross-border builds cost, and how long do they take?
A new cross-border store is ¥800,000–2,000,000 over 5–10 weeks. Adding languages to an existing site alone is ¥200,000–400,000 per language over 1–2 weeks. Product count, number of languages, and payment and shipping conditions all move the figure. All listed prices exclude tax.
Talk to us about selling abroad.
Even "we do not know which language to start with" is a fine place to begin. Tell us what you sell and where you want to sell it, and we will suggest an order of work. The first consultation and quote are free.