Japan Official Travel App

Arrival times are sometimes incorrect, and even when I take the train recommended sometimes it turns out to be an Express which bypasses the station I want so I have to take another train back to the correct destination. I want a way of saving or sharing search results and there's no way of doing that as far as I know and I think that would be an important thing to add to this app, as well as correct train time information which so far has been patchy at best

A little slow at times but invaluable app to get around. Very useful.

This app was indispensable for getting around Japan. I had not really done any travel, when I had the opportunity to go to Japan for ten days. This app made it so much easier for me to figure out how to use the trains to get from one place to the next. From finding the right transfer to get to Kanagawa and tour so many beautiful historical sights, to booking trips on the bullet-fast Shinkansen, this app was my go to. Super reliable and easy to use! The only update I can think of would be for when the instructions include walking directions, to have a beacon similar to Google maps (which I found spotty to use, as was Waze), where a geographically challenged person like me can orient oneself and check progress. I ended up using Google Maps or Waze for walking (and, to be honest, asking for help frequently).

I love how the route search and spot search features work together. It's so well thought-out. The option to prioritize JR Pass-friendly routes is going to be crucial during my next visit. What I don't like is the mandatory survey that reappears every few times you use the app. Kinda annoying, to be honest. Will give five stars if that is fixed.

The app provides ample information on tourist spot's, travel time, and transport. It is very helpful in situations where one is not knowledgable in Japan's train routes. Countless times, I've been saved by just having this app. It also records (by history) your searches. The app is very convenient, but one must have internet to access it! But Japan has lots of free wifi zones so one can still get by.

This is the only app available (as of this time) that lets you sort the travel by JR Rail Pass first. It was the best app for me while traveling everywhere on my JR Rail pass. When I switched between Wi-Fi and mobile data, it would lose the ability to click on the details of my travel route, which was really annoying and time consuming, having to re-search my route and adjust the timetable back to when I started to be on the same route I was on, that's the main reason it lost a star for me. It was really helpful with knowing what platforms the train I needed would be on. It also gives alternative routes besides JR, and options so you can use both to figure out your best path there. Trying to search addresses as a destination never worked correctly for me and I tried multiple ways to enter the address in English. It only worked best by searching the name of a place, like a station, hotel, sightseeing place and using that. But in general, entering addresses in English doesn't translate well on any of the apps I've used in Japan. But honestly, it was the app I used the most in Japan since I had the JR Rail Pass.

The transportation search has an option to prioritize lines that are free with the JR pass. This feature alone makes it invaluable as Google Maps can't give you that. Sometimes has better results too. The tips and suggestions it gives are fine as well. An excellent app to have while in Japan. FOR THOSE BOTHERED BY THE PERSISTENT NOTIFICATION: Your phone's OS has options for controlling notifications. Use them. Same for GPS - don't let the app use it if you don't want it to.

Great essential. This is an app that'll help you navigate through the cities. Despite the instructions not being too clear; I'd revise some terms usage to be more comprehensive, this is a jewel! Another suggestion, is there a way for the pointer of the user on the map to be pointing forward/northward of the user. It causes confusion as to where to turn along the give route.

Very limited options when planning routes - if I don't want to take a 3 hour taxi ride, why can't I filter out taxis? Also, when sorting by different parameters (like shortest trip vs. fewest changes) it shows me different routes for no apparent reason. If you need to plan routes, and you know what you're looking for, Hyperdia is much more powerful, even if it's not smoothly designed. And I just discovered that this app is almost identical to the JapanTravel app - what's the point?

This is a great app with some poor decisions. First time I opened the app it asked me to fill out a survey which I obliged and submitted. However in the 2 weeks I visited Japan, this survey popped up 15 more times over the course of the trip and I cannot pass it without restarting the app. This is horrible when you're quickly trying to check train directions and are about to miss a train. I will say train directions are more accurate than Google Maps in a few cases I found.

It will bring up trains that google map doesnt display, specifically bullet trains that wre not Nozomi...and knows to prioritize JR pass trains that you can ride for free with the pass. It for whatever reason runs in the background. so be sure to enable automatic app sleeping for it. crashes occasionally (especially when data connection is...iffy) and also only has a short amount of favorites that you can add. Would definitely use again as a supplement to Google Maps.

It's better than google maps sometimes, but overall i would suggest using both at the same time. It's slow and has no correction, you need to get the name exactly right... Also, the suggestions completion are only for the closest stations, instead of an auto completion like google would have done.

Good, weather, routing for all public means of transport :) but sometimes hard to find the desired station. Better search it first on Google maps and then in the app. This app offers sometime cheaper alternatives to the route on maps. Like the highway express bus. Or you can see the calculated taxi fare for your trip, which is also handy.

TLDR; The Japan Official Travel App is a great guide for routing and discovering travel spots. I went to Japan during the month of January and had the benefit of using this app. While it takes a bit of practice, this app is a useful guide for finding the routes between stations and travel spots. Get this app for a Japan trip! I believe there are problems with some users which I also have too. I experience freezing when searching for spots and routing. I still give 3 Stars for the usefulness.

Dope, I use it no matter where I travel in Japan. Routes are tracked for me, directions, trains, platforms, attractions, hotspots. Everything I need in an app.

this app has saved a lot of time (and money)! it has everything a JR Railpass holder and others need - route planning we used all the time. the only thing we were missing were the bus lines, especially in Kyoto where busses are the means of transportation across the city. since we've finished our travel and phone space is limited, it's goodbye until next time.

Overall a very helpful app that provides detailed instructions and routes. Very useful for those with a JR pass since it indicates which suggested routes are JR only. One suggestion would be to improve how ticket prices are indicated; it can be confusing at times to figure out the exact fare required for a trip that requires transfers.

I used this app throughout my trip in Japan a few weeks ago. I only used it for a train guide so I knew what lines to get on/off of, and this worked flawlessly for me! I did notice that sometimes Google maps had other routes we could take that this didn't show, but if I needed to get somewhere this always did the job, and was very accurate about the time taken. I will use it again when I go back!

this app is very detailed the only thing that is keeping me from giving it five stars is the user interface I would really like it and appreciate it if whoever developed the app would make it so that you don't have to answer a survey 90 times while you're traveling in Japan it's really kind of inconvenient to have to do that every time you open up the app especially when you're putting in the same exact information every time. If they can change that it would easily be a 5 star app.

Excellent app which greatly helped us navigate through japan. Only 2 minor inconveniences, it would help to include in some way price + tax for the train and bus fares, as well as have a translation for bus stops. Otherwise the app is extremely helpful and easy to use.

By far the most amazing app if you are traveling to Japan. Our first visit to Japan went effortlessly smooth coz of this app. We were able to know all the timings of the train, bus etc and also which platform to catch the train and where to change and everything one needs to travel and explore Japan. Thank you so much for creating this app.

Looks amazing to use for my forthcoming trip in a few months time. I've plotted train routes easily and it has reassured me that I'll be able to navigate the trains using this. I've uninstalled until nearer the time though, based on the reviews stating it runs in the background!

I can't recommend this app. Allows good transport planning but insists on asking my origin and number of visits every single day. I have missed trains because of it. Also, emergency information is days out of date (typhoon warning appears after typhoon has completely passed) and notifications without value appear after use and cannot be removed.

Great app, but it eats up my battery. With all of the functions, i understand that. I wish there was a way to disable it with out deleting it. I know the emergency notifications wouldn't work while disabled, but eats too much power

Great app for finding public transport routes in Japan. Very accurate. However it constantly shows a persistent notification that cannot be dismissed, even when the app is closed. Have to restart the phone to get it to go away