BILINGUAL SHOPIFY · BUILT IN JAPAN
Bilingual Shopify storefronts, built in Japan by a native-English developer
Legacy agencies build the slow, expensive way and pass you the bill. I ship the same quality in weeks at a solo rate. The English is mine. Every line of Japanese your customers read is reviewed by a native speaker before it goes live.
Nobody proofread the other half of your store
Japanese shoppers want keigo at the right level, an address form that matches how addresses actually work here, and a payment method they already trust. Western shoppers want English that sounds like a person wrote it. Most stores get one side right and lose the other, usually without ever finding out which sales it cost them.
Japan's established Shopify agencies build lovely Japanese stores and outsource the English, and it reads outsourced. Overseas agencies write great English and guess at Japanese checkout, logistics, and what makes a store here look legitimate. Both build the slow way. Both bill Plus-tier rates for it.
The fault is rarely the translation tool. It's that whatever came out of it shipped without a single native speaker reading it first. That's a process problem, and it's the cheapest thing on this page to fix.
One developer, a native speaker on each language
I'm a native-English developer based in Japan. I build the store end to end and write the English myself. The Japanese is drafted fast with the best models available, then goes to a native Japanese speaker who reviews and rewrites it before it reaches a customer. Nothing ships in a language nobody on the project speaks natively.
English written, not translated
Product pages, microcopy, and checkout wording written in natural, on-brand English by someone whose first language it is. It reads like a brand, not like a store that got processed through something on the way out.
Japanese reviewed by a native speaker
AI writes the first draft fast. A native Japanese speaker then reads every line your customers will see and rewrites what needs it: keigo pitched at the right level, name order and address fields that match how people here actually fill them in, and the small domestic UX conventions shoppers only notice when they are missing.
Japanese inquiries answered in Japanese
If you would rather run the project in Japanese, you can. Japanese-language inquiries are handled by a native speaker on my side, so nothing gets lost on its way between your team and the build.
A checkout Japan will actually use
Konbini payment, GMO and SoftBank Payment, JPY pricing through Shopify Markets, and shipping wired for Yamato, Sagawa, and Japan Post.
Cross-border, both directions
One Shopify Markets setup that sells cleanly into Japan and out to the West. The right currency, language, and tax per market, all from a single admin.
SEO that works in both languages
hreflang configured properly, fast pages, clean structure. Misconfigured hreflang is the most common fault I find on international Shopify stores, and it hands your Japanese traffic an English page.
Built for two kinds of brand
Japanese brands going global
You sell well at home and want Western customers. Or the English store already exists, reads like a translation, and you suspect that is costing you. I write that English myself, without flattening what already works in Japan.
Overseas brands entering Japan
You want to sell into Japan properly: local payments, real logistics, keigo at the right register, and the trust signals Japanese shoppers look for. Built by someone living here, with a native speaker on the language, instead of a remote team guessing at both.
Why this is faster and cheaper than an agency
Most Shopify agencies still build the way they did ten years ago. Layers of project managers and account handlers, hours billed for work that current models finish in a fraction of the time. You pay for the org chart, and then you wait.
I build AI-native. The models handle the repetitive engineering and the first draft of the copy, so a real build ships in weeks instead of months at a fraction of agency cost. Two things never go to a model: judgment, and language. I write and check the English. A native speaker reviews the Japanese. That split is the reason this holds up at this price.
One flat quote before anything starts. Builds typically run $2,500–$18,000 depending on scope, with monthly care plans from $490 once you are live.
Straight answers
What makes a 'bilingual' Shopify store different from just translating mine?
Translation swaps words. A bilingual store rebuilds trust in the second language: English that reads natively, Japanese keigo and address formats, per-market currency and payments through Shopify Markets, and hreflang so search engines serve the right version to the right person. I build that in from the start rather than bolting a translation app onto an English theme.
Do you use AI to build and translate my store?
Yes, and I would rather tell you than have you work it out. The models handle the heavy, repetitive work and the first draft of the Japanese, which is how you get agency-quality output in weeks at a fraction of agency cost. Then people check it. I review the build and the English. A native Japanese speaker reviews the Japanese. Nothing your customers read goes live without someone who speaks that language natively signing off on it.
How is the Japanese handled if you work in English?
It goes to a native speaker. Copy is drafted quickly with the best available models, then a native Japanese speaker reads it end to end and rewrites what needs rewriting: keigo, name and address handling, and the domestic UX conventions shoppers expect. The same person handles Japanese-language inquiries, so you can run the whole project in Japanese if that suits you better. I am not going to pretend the Japanese comes out of my head. It comes from someone whose first language it is, which is exactly why it reads properly.
Can AI really be trusted?
On its own, no, and neither can anything else you depend on. We already live inside mechanical and digital systems none of us can personally verify. They stay safe because people design them, check them, and answer for them when they break. Same here. AI does the fast, heavy work, and every build and every line a customer sees is approved by a person before it ships. You are trusting someone who uses the tools well and stands behind the result.
Do you work with brands outside Japan?
Yes, and it is roughly half the work. Overseas brands entering Japan need someone on the ground for payments, logistics, and cultural UX. Japanese brands heading out need English that nobody can tell was processed. Both directions, same shop.
Why are you cheaper than a Japanese Shopify agency?
No project managers, no account team, no Plus-tier minimum, and AI doing the work that used to be billed by the hour. You get the same build quality and direct access to the person doing it, at a solo rate. Builds typically run $2,500–$18,000 depending on scope.
How fast can a bilingual store launch?
Most go live in about four to six weeks depending on scope. The native-speaker review runs alongside the build rather than after it, so it adds a pass, not a month.
Let's build a store that sells in both languages
Tell me about your brand and where you want to sell. You will get a straight answer and one fixed quote. No discovery phase, no account manager.
Prefer to reach out in Japanese? Go ahead. Japanese inquiries are answered by a native speaker.