A consulate is an office in a foreign country that helps citizens who are traveling or living abroad. Think of it as your home country's helper headquarters in another nation. If an American family is visiting Japan and loses their passports, they can go to the American consulate in Tokyo for help. If a Canadian student gets seriously ill while studying in France, the Canadian consulate in Paris can contact their family and help them navigate the French healthcare system.

Consulates do more than help travelers in trouble. They issue visas to people who want to visit their country, help with legal paperwork, and answer questions about laws and regulations. The person in charge of a consulate is called a consul.

A consulate is different from an embassy. An embassy is in a country's capital city and handles important diplomatic relations between governments. Consulates are usually in major cities throughout a country and focus on helping regular citizens. The United States has one embassy in Japan (in Tokyo) but several consulates in other Japanese cities like Osaka and Sapporo, so Americans across Japan can get help when they need it.