Can You Send a Nengajo Overseas?

Yes — New Year's cards cross borders in both directions every season, and the mechanics are straightforward once you know which rules apply. This guide covers both cases: sending from Japan to the United States, and sending from the United States to Japan.

From Japan to the US: the official greeting card service

Japan Post operates a dedicated service for mailing greeting cards — including New Year's cards — to overseas addresses. The official overseas greeting card page sets out the conditions: cards must fall within specified size and weight limits, and postage is charged by destination zone, with the Americas in their own zone. Because rates and limits are revised from time to time, check that page for current figures rather than trusting any number reprinted elsewhere.

A few practical notes for this direction:

• The coordinated January 1 delivery does not apply. The domestic system that holds nengajo for New Year's morning is domestic only. An international card is delivered whenever it arrives, so mail early — allow one to two weeks of transit, more during the holiday rush.
• Address in the destination format. A card to the US should carry a normally formatted US address in Roman letters. Writing "AIR MAIL" on the card is the traditional marking for airmail service.
• Lottery numbers still charm. If you send an official Japanese lottery postcard overseas, the number is still printed on it — a fun detail for recipients, though claiming a prize is only practical for someone who can deal with a Japanese post office. Our lottery guide explains how the drawing works.

From the US to Japan

There is no special New Year's channel from the American side; a card to Japan is ordinary international first-class mail at USPS rates. What you control is timing and presentation:

• Mail in early-to-mid December. You cannot hit January 1 precisely, but a card arriving in the first days of January lands within matsu no uchi, the customary grace window explained in our timing guide, and will be received as a proper New Year's greeting.
• Any card format works. Japanese recipients do not expect an American sender to source official nenga hagaki. A postcard or a card in an envelope is fine; a zodiac design or a Japanese greeting is a nice touch. See what the standard phrases mean if you want to include one.
• Address carefully. Japanese addresses can be written in Roman letters for mail from abroad. Include the seven-digit postal code, and add sama after the recipient's name if writing the name in Japanese — the conventions are in our addressing guide.

Which format should you actually use?

For a US-based sender, the honest comparison is between a mailed card (warmer, slower, arrives with the pleasant weight of paper) and a digital greeting sent on January 1 itself (instant, timed perfectly, but lighter in register — fine for friends, thin for formal relationships). The Nengajo Format Chooser lays the options side by side, and Nippon.com's overview of nengajo customs is good background on how digital greetings fit into the modern custom.