Here are some of the apps and services I used this year in Japan. In case you're wondering, question marks mean I couldn't really evaluate, so maybe try it out yourself. This one says "at least a 2, maybe more": ★★???
Hyperdia ★★★★☆
THE train schedule app if you’re traveling in Japan. Gives you multiple times, approximate fares. Works all over the country. If you travel by train in Japan (and who doesn't) this is a must have.
NOTE: The Japan Official travel App below could be even better, but I didn't get around to trying it out. If you have multiple people traveling, do some side-by-sides and let me know how they compare.
Pros: Thoroughly covers all railroads. The interface is pretty simple.
Cons: Takes a little getting used to. Picky about station names. No maps.
Android and iPhone
THE train schedule app if you’re traveling in Japan. Gives you multiple times, approximate fares. Works all over the country. If you travel by train in Japan (and who doesn't) this is a must have.
NOTE: The Japan Official travel App below could be even better, but I didn't get around to trying it out. If you have multiple people traveling, do some side-by-sides and let me know how they compare.
Pros: Thoroughly covers all railroads. The interface is pretty simple.
Cons: Takes a little getting used to. Picky about station names. No maps.
Android and iPhone
JR Rail ★★★★★
Especially Shinkansen. In general, mass transit in Japan is pretty amazing. The Shinkansen is the poster child for the JR Rail Group.
Pros: Easy to use once you get the hang of it.
Cons: The trains are TOO prompt… (not really a problem, but lesson to be learned here) We thought we were running late and jumped on the Shinkansen just before it left at 6:26. If I had read the electronic board on the side of the train I would have seen "Nozomi" and know it wasn't ours. We should have waited the extra minute for our train which would leave promptly at 6:29. Fortunately, we simply got off the next station and caught our train.
Can't use JR Passes on Nozomi or Mizuho trains. So if you're planning using Hyperdia, those won't be available to you when you get to the JR Office.
Especially Shinkansen. In general, mass transit in Japan is pretty amazing. The Shinkansen is the poster child for the JR Rail Group.
Pros: Easy to use once you get the hang of it.
Cons: The trains are TOO prompt… (not really a problem, but lesson to be learned here) We thought we were running late and jumped on the Shinkansen just before it left at 6:26. If I had read the electronic board on the side of the train I would have seen "Nozomi" and know it wasn't ours. We should have waited the extra minute for our train which would leave promptly at 6:29. Fortunately, we simply got off the next station and caught our train.
Can't use JR Passes on Nozomi or Mizuho trains. So if you're planning using Hyperdia, those won't be available to you when you get to the JR Office.
JR Rail Pass ★★★★☆
For temporary visitors, available for 7, 14 & 21 days. If you travel between prefectures, it can save you quite a bit. Calculators like this one to help you decide if it's worth the money. The passes are larger than a passport; this year they handed out transparent pouches with neck straps to carry them; considerate touch but usefulness depends on your personal preference.
Don’t bother to get the vouchers sent to your hotel unless you’re booking last minute. You should be able to get it in a few days (certainly less than 2 weeks) shipped to you in the US.
When we landed at Narita, we had to transfer to Haneda for our flight to Osaka. We went to the JR office, converted the vouchers into passes, then used them immediately to take the trains for our transfer to Haneda. Saved us about $90 for the three of us.
You need the vouchers and the passports for each person to pick up your rail passes, but only one person has to stand in line to get them.
Pros: Easy to use JR trains and Shinkansen
Cons: Some limitations on which Shinkansen, ferries and buses you can ride. Click here and scroll to the section "Scope of Validity".
For temporary visitors, available for 7, 14 & 21 days. If you travel between prefectures, it can save you quite a bit. Calculators like this one to help you decide if it's worth the money. The passes are larger than a passport; this year they handed out transparent pouches with neck straps to carry them; considerate touch but usefulness depends on your personal preference.
Don’t bother to get the vouchers sent to your hotel unless you’re booking last minute. You should be able to get it in a few days (certainly less than 2 weeks) shipped to you in the US.
When we landed at Narita, we had to transfer to Haneda for our flight to Osaka. We went to the JR office, converted the vouchers into passes, then used them immediately to take the trains for our transfer to Haneda. Saved us about $90 for the three of us.
You need the vouchers and the passports for each person to pick up your rail passes, but only one person has to stand in line to get them.
Pros: Easy to use JR trains and Shinkansen
Cons: Some limitations on which Shinkansen, ferries and buses you can ride. Click here and scroll to the section "Scope of Validity".
Line ★★★★☆
First introduced to me in 2015 by my family living in Japan.... It’s a blast to use for group chats, doesn’t have all the baggage that Facebook Messenger comes with.
Messaging, calls and video chat work great internationally. Big issue I ran into with international SMS last two trips is the lag: I could send an SMS to family back in the US and it could take hours to go through.
Pros: Easy to use. Group and individual messaging. Group and individual voice and video calls.
Cons: Not well known in the US. Need to have friends install it and then connect to them to use it. Need a good data or WiFi connection to use calls and video.
Android and iPhone
First introduced to me in 2015 by my family living in Japan.... It’s a blast to use for group chats, doesn’t have all the baggage that Facebook Messenger comes with.
Messaging, calls and video chat work great internationally. Big issue I ran into with international SMS last two trips is the lag: I could send an SMS to family back in the US and it could take hours to go through.
Pros: Easy to use. Group and individual messaging. Group and individual voice and video calls.
Cons: Not well known in the US. Need to have friends install it and then connect to them to use it. Need a good data or WiFi connection to use calls and video.
Android and iPhone
Odigo.jp ★★★☆☆
Odigo is a free travel planner, I already wrote about it here.
Pros: Let me plan each day, arrange destinations in order so I had some idea what stops would be near each other. Can print your itinerary or save to a mobile formatted PDF for your phone.
Cons: No mobile app; would be great if I could bring up my day and it would plan transportation and let me check off, add or delete destinations. Some of the quirky internal workings could be improved.
Odigo is a free travel planner, I already wrote about it here.
Pros: Let me plan each day, arrange destinations in order so I had some idea what stops would be near each other. Can print your itinerary or save to a mobile formatted PDF for your phone.
Cons: No mobile app; would be great if I could bring up my day and it would plan transportation and let me check off, add or delete destinations. Some of the quirky internal workings could be improved.
Google Maps (with caveats) ★★★☆☆
Generally invaluable. Not sure what was up with the GPS, but on a drizzly day in Tokyo, Google Maps kept sending us in circles. We were looking for store in Chiyoda, GM told us to take the train from Shinjiku to Yoyogi then walk 5 minutes (if I had looked at my map I quickly would have noticed an issue). We got off at Yoyogi, and GM tells us to start walking south, then past Shinjiku station. Still isn’t clear to me why it was sending us in the wrong direction, no big skyscrapers in Yoyogi. Finally took a taxi. Turns out our destination was a 5 minute walk from Tokyo station.
That was the most egregious mistake, but all day, it was mostly useless.
Pros: When it works, it works great: Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto and the first day in Tokyo.
Cons: When it fails, it does so badly: rainy second day in Tokyo.
Android and iPhone
Generally invaluable. Not sure what was up with the GPS, but on a drizzly day in Tokyo, Google Maps kept sending us in circles. We were looking for store in Chiyoda, GM told us to take the train from Shinjiku to Yoyogi then walk 5 minutes (if I had looked at my map I quickly would have noticed an issue). We got off at Yoyogi, and GM tells us to start walking south, then past Shinjiku station. Still isn’t clear to me why it was sending us in the wrong direction, no big skyscrapers in Yoyogi. Finally took a taxi. Turns out our destination was a 5 minute walk from Tokyo station.
That was the most egregious mistake, but all day, it was mostly useless.
Pros: When it works, it works great: Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto and the first day in Tokyo.
Cons: When it fails, it does so badly: rainy second day in Tokyo.
Android and iPhone
Paper Maps ★★★★☆
Can be hard to find them. Subways will have maps of the routes and stations, and sometimes a street map for specific neighborhoods. I found an entire city map at the Ueno Station .
This particular map is put out by the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau, and you can find these at Tokyo Tourist Information Centers at the Shinjiku Bus Terminal, Haneda International, Keisei Ueno Station and the Tokyo Metropolitan Main Building (which also has two free observatories: one in the north tower, the other in the south tower).
Pros: No GPS or quirky AI to worry about. Easy to see where you are and where you’re going. really useful when you're in your room and planning the day's (or next day's) destinations.
Cons: If you didn’t grow up reading maps. If it’s raining. If you can’t find one.
Can be hard to find them. Subways will have maps of the routes and stations, and sometimes a street map for specific neighborhoods. I found an entire city map at the Ueno Station .
This particular map is put out by the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau, and you can find these at Tokyo Tourist Information Centers at the Shinjiku Bus Terminal, Haneda International, Keisei Ueno Station and the Tokyo Metropolitan Main Building (which also has two free observatories: one in the north tower, the other in the south tower).
Pros: No GPS or quirky AI to worry about. Easy to see where you are and where you’re going. really useful when you're in your room and planning the day's (or next day's) destinations.
Cons: If you didn’t grow up reading maps. If it’s raining. If you can’t find one.
Japan Official Travel App ★????
I wish I had opened this earlier in my trip. I didn’t even think to try it until the last day. Similar to Hyperdia, includes maps and options for many modes of transport including airplanes, taxis, ferries, etc. The other useful setting is to prioritize JR Rail routes, which is great if you have a JR Rail Pass.
Android and iPhone
I wish I had opened this earlier in my trip. I didn’t even think to try it until the last day. Similar to Hyperdia, includes maps and options for many modes of transport including airplanes, taxis, ferries, etc. The other useful setting is to prioritize JR Rail routes, which is great if you have a JR Rail Pass.
Android and iPhone
JapanTaxi ★★???
Live map shows taxis near you, and you can hail a cab. Looks useful, but didn’t use this either as it was pretty easy to find a cab in Tokyo. Almost used it in Kyoto, then a taxi showed up. Might be handy to install this just in case.
Android and iPhone
Live map shows taxis near you, and you can hail a cab. Looks useful, but didn’t use this either as it was pretty easy to find a cab in Tokyo. Almost used it in Kyoto, then a taxi showed up. Might be handy to install this just in case.
Android and iPhone
Google Translate ★★☆☆☆
If you’re studying Japanese and want some entertainment, try talking to Google Translate. It is not very good at phrases, expressions or long chats.
That being said, it’s useful if you need a word or short phrase, a common phrase (where’s the train station?) or to read a sign.
Again, using the camera feature to live-translate a sign or menu can be hilarious, but you might be able to tease out the basic meaning of the sign in front of a shrine or exhibit; at least enough to Google it. Works better with simple signs for directions, buses, etc.
Pros: Can be helpful if used judiciously.
Cons: Limited.
Android and iPhone
If you’re studying Japanese and want some entertainment, try talking to Google Translate. It is not very good at phrases, expressions or long chats.
That being said, it’s useful if you need a word or short phrase, a common phrase (where’s the train station?) or to read a sign.
Again, using the camera feature to live-translate a sign or menu can be hilarious, but you might be able to tease out the basic meaning of the sign in front of a shrine or exhibit; at least enough to Google it. Works better with simple signs for directions, buses, etc.
Pros: Can be helpful if used judiciously.
Cons: Limited.
Android and iPhone
Tokyo Subway ★★???
Potentially useful. Didn't use it much, except to look at the Tokyo subway map. If you are specifically riding the subways in Tokyo, this could be easier to use than Hyperdia. For the right traveler this might be ★★★★★.
Pros: Built in map came in handy at least once.
Cons: Tokyo only.
Android and iPhone
Potentially useful. Didn't use it much, except to look at the Tokyo subway map. If you are specifically riding the subways in Tokyo, this could be easier to use than Hyperdia. For the right traveler this might be ★★★★★.
Pros: Built in map came in handy at least once.
Cons: Tokyo only.
Android and iPhone
Japan Connected-free Wi-Fi ☆☆☆☆☆
I had hope for this app, being released by a broadband company in Japan. The promise is similar to AT&T's Global WiFi App (which we found to be a useless, battery sucking cpu hog). The app registers your device and installs a certificate on your phone (I think, I read the description weeks ago) which allows you to connect to WiFi hot spots partnered with NTT Broadband.
The two biggest differences between this app and AT&T's were, this one sometimes worked, and you had to manually try to connect each time (AT&T's you leave running in the background).
To the best of my recollection:
Not sure why I'm putting the links here, but it doesn't cost anything to try it out.
Android and iPhone
I had hope for this app, being released by a broadband company in Japan. The promise is similar to AT&T's Global WiFi App (which we found to be a useless, battery sucking cpu hog). The app registers your device and installs a certificate on your phone (I think, I read the description weeks ago) which allows you to connect to WiFi hot spots partnered with NTT Broadband.
The two biggest differences between this app and AT&T's were, this one sometimes worked, and you had to manually try to connect each time (AT&T's you leave running in the background).
To the best of my recollection:
- Narita airport: Failed
- Haneda airport (Day 1): Connected but no internet
- Kobe, about 5 or 6 attempts in and around downtown: Failed
- Osaka, about 4 attempts: Failed
- Kyoto, about three attempts: Failed
- Tokyo, at least 10 attempts: Connected AND internet twice
- Haneda airport (Day 7): Connected and internet
Not sure why I'm putting the links here, but it doesn't cost anything to try it out.
Android and iPhone
Uber ?????
I can't really speak to this one at all...only mention it here because it is available in Tokyo. My understanding is Uber works more like a taxi hailing app than the ride sharing app in the US.
I don't know if its the same app, or if it's geographically specific in the app store and you need to load it once you're in Japan.
I can't really speak to this one at all...only mention it here because it is available in Tokyo. My understanding is Uber works more like a taxi hailing app than the ride sharing app in the US.
I don't know if its the same app, or if it's geographically specific in the app store and you need to load it once you're in Japan.