These 22 handy travel apps will make your time in Japan easier, that I can guarantee, they saved me on several occasions on my first trip to this fantastic country!
I have hand picked the best apps on offer for us tourists, to save you time, whether it’s navigation challenges, language barriers or ensuring you get a great meal, my collection will have you covered!
I am not saying that you NEED all of these by any means, you can get by with Google maps, Google Translate and a Digital SUICA card, but they will definitely make your life easier and ensure you focus your energy and effort on having an amazing vacation.
The best bit? They are all free! So you can pick and choose what appeals to you and try them out without any strings attached!
Table of Contents
The best apps for travelling in Japan
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Your hand picked travel apps for Japan
Google Maps
Most people will have at least heard of, if not used, Google Maps, but it deserves it’s place on this list. The app helps you find your way around using GPS and detailed maps. In Japan, it’s invaluable for navigating complex city layouts and extensive public transit systems.
You can get directions for walking, driving, or public transport. It suggests the right exits to take from major stations (very handy when you find yourself somewhere like Shinjuku station with over 200 exits!) and the correct platform for trains and subway. We used it in every Japanese city we visited and it was a life saver.
The app also shows nearby points of interest (restaurants, shops, ATMs) with reviews and opening hours, making it a handy local guide.
Useful tips: Before your trip, download offline maps of areas you’ll visit, so you can navigate even without mobile data. Also, save the names and addresses of your hotel and destinations in Japanese (copy from Google Maps or hotel confirmation) – this can help when showing locals or if you need assistance.
Google Maps is generally reliable in Japan’s cities and towns, but in very rural areas or for hiking trails you might supplement with offline map apps, like Maps.me
Google Translate
Another of my best apps for travel in Japan, Google Translate is a translation app that converts text, voice, or images from one language to another. You can type or speak English phrases and get them translated to Japanese (and vice versa) almost instantly.
Special features like camera translation let you point your camera at Japanese signs or menus and see them in English, which is a lifesaver when deciphering restaurant menus or train schedules.
Useful tips: The app supports over 100 languages and even has an offline mode – you can download the Japanese language pack in advance to use it without internet.
SUICA Virtual Card (Mobile IC Card)
This is not strictly an app, so i’m cheating a little, but you can have it on your phone and it is my final absolute MUST HAVE for your travels in Japan.
A Suica is a rechargeable contactless card for transit fares in Japan, and you can now have it virtually on your phone instead of a physical card.
You just tap your phone to pay for trains, subways, buses, and even in convenience stores or vending machines.No more fussing with ticket machines or carrying heaps of coins.
On iPhone, you don’t need any separate app – simply add a Suica card in the Apple Wallet. Open the Wallet app, tap “+”, choose Transit Card, and select Suica. You can top it up with your usual Apple Pay payment method whenever needed. It works seamlessly.
Useful tips: Top ups are instant, so you don’t need to worry about putting lots of money on at one time, your balance is shared live, so when you’re running low, you can just add a bit more Yen.
If you don’t have an iPhone dont despair, you can get a physical card from the airports, any JR east station and some tourist information booths. Here is an in depth guide to how the card works
Michelin Guide
I have not see this mentioned anywhere, but is one of my absolute favourites. As a big foodie, my meals when I am on holiday are even more important to me, this app ensures you don’t have a bad one!
Don’t think because it’s Michelin that it’s only expensive meals, we had everything from street food to Michelin starred restaurants and you can filter by price, so this app is for everyone. we didn’t have one bad meal using it.
You can search for Michelin-recommended restaurants nearby, using your location, or in any city, read about their ratings and even reserve tables if available.
Useful tips: The app lets you filter restaurants by various criteria (cuisine type, price, whether they offer online reservations, etc.). You can also save your favourites and create lists – handy for planning a foodie itinerary.
Keep in mind that some high-end restaurants in Japan require reservations well in advance, so get checking this app before you leave if you are hoping for a really special restaurant visit.
Klook
Klook is a popular travel booking app that connects you with a huge variety of activities, tours, tickets, and services, particularly across Asia (and very much so in Japan).
Through Klook, you can book everything from theme park tickets and museum passes to guided tours, airport transfers, pocket WiFi rental, and even rail passes.
Klook’s interface is user-friendly – you can filter activities by destination, date, category, and see reviews from other users.
Useful tips: As well as making bookings easier, Klook often offers discounts. For example travellers in Japan can snag a discounted Tokyo Disneyland ticket. Special features include occasional promo codes or discounts, a rewards program (earn credits on bookings), and e-vouchers in the app that you show on-site
It’s useful because it often offers good deals and the convenience of having bookings sorted before you even arrive.
GetYourGuide
GetYourGuide is another travel experiences app that lets you find and book tours, tickets, and activities worldwide. In Japan, GetYourGuide can be used to book things like guided tours of Tokyo, day trips to Mt. Fuji, tickets to attractions (e.g. teamLab Borderless digital art museum), food tasting experiences, and more.
It’s useful for travellers looking for vetted, guaranteed quality activities with an easy booking process and customer reviews to inform your choices. The app is quite straightforward: search for your destination or a specific attraction, and you’ll see what’s available, often with descriptions, photos, and ratings.
Useful tips: One benefit of GetYourGuide is the generous cancellation policy on many bookings (often you can cancel up to 24 hours before for a refund), which gives flexibility.
For Japan, this app shines for popular tourist sites – for example, skip-the-line tickets which are particularly popular.
MyMizu
MyMizu is a water refill spot app that helps you find free drinking water sources throughout Japan (and globally). It shows you where you can refill your reusable water bottle. Good for both your wallet and the planet!
Using MyMizu, you open the map and it pinpoints nearby refill stations; the database is crowd-sourced and covers over 12,000 locations in Japan.
Useful tips: You can track how many plastic bottles you’ve avoided by using refills (the app gives you a little statistic, which is fun and encouraging).
Ecbo Cloak
Ecbo Cloak is a sharing-economy luggage storage app that lets you store your bags in shops and cafes across Japan. Think of it as an alternative to coin lockers: through the app, you find a nearby business (cafes, bars, hotels, shops) that will hold your luggage for a fee (usually around ¥300-¥600 per day depending on size).
It’s super handy for travellers, because coin lockers at stations can often be full – especially in busy cities – or maybe not large enough for big suitcases.
With Ecbo Cloak, you can reserve space in advance via your phone and drop off your luggage at the designated location. This means you can wander luggage-free and pick up your bags later, even outside train stations .
Useful tips: The app is available in English, and it shows the location’s open hours, cost, and distance. Payment is done through the app via credit card, so it’s cashless and straightforward.
Omotenashi Guide
Omotenashi Guide is a unique app by Yamaha that helps non-Japanese speakers understand public audio announcements. Something I really wish I had on my first trip to Japan!
In places like train stations, airports, buses, or shopping centers in Japan, there are frequent spoken announcements (often only in Japanese). With Omotenashi Guide, you can hold up your phone when an announcement is made; the app “listens” through the microphone and then provides a translated text of that announcement in your preferred language.
Useful tips: Many public announcement systems in Japan are already set up to work with this app (that’s why it’s often advertised as “announcement translation service”). If you see an “Omotenashi Guide” logo at a venue, that means the announcements there can be picked up by the app easily.
This app isn’t super well-known, but those who use it swear by it for peace of mind, especially during travel on JR trains or in airports.
Airalo
Airalo is an eSIM app that provides affordable mobile data plans for travellers. Instead of buying a physical SIM card in Japan, you can use Airalo to purchase a digital data pack (eSIM) for Japan before you leave home, and activate it on your phone when you land.
This gives you instant internet access in Japan without hunting for a SIM vendor or dealing with SIM card swaps. It’s hugely useful for staying connected for maps, translations, messaging, etc.
Essentially, you get to “connect like a local” without paying roaming fees. I have personally used Airalo on multiple trips across 5 continents now and I swear by it. It has saved me a lot of money and i’ve never had connection issues.
Useful tips: Make sure your smartphone is unlocked and eSIM-compatible. Most newer phones are.
Airalo regularly offer discounts to customers, there are two good savings live at the moment:
- For 10% discount add the code AIRALOESIM10 at checkout
- New users can get a 15% discount by adding NEWTOAIRALO15
Ramen Beast
Ramen Beast is an app for hardcore ramen lovers on a quest to find Japan’s best bowls of ramen! It’s essentially a curated guide to top-tier ramen shops, created by ramen enthusiasts who’ve personally eaten thousands of bowls.
The app focuses mostly on Tokyo (with hundreds of shop listings in the city) but also includes acclaimed ramen spots in other regions.
Each listing typically comes with an in-depth review, recommended dishes (which type of ramen to order), shop details like address and hours, and often some background on what makes that shop special.
Useful tips: The content is in English (with some Japanese provided for names), which is great because most Japanese food review apps are Japanese-only. Ramen Beast also categorizes shops (e.g., best tonkotsu ramen, best spicy ramen, late-night ramen, vegetarian ramen options, etc.), so you can filter based on your cravings.
TOP TIP! Make sure you are fully prepared with my “First time visitor to Japan starter kit”
BREAK DOWN THE LANGUAGE BARRIER: The key phrases to learn and technology to use to make your first trip to Japan easy
HOW TO STAY CONNECTED ON THE GO: The cheapest and easiest way to make sure you can access everything you need
HOW TO AVOID CURRENCY FEES LIKE A PRO: The best cards for travel and withdrawing cash
GO Taxi
GO Taxi (simply called “GO”) is Japan’s most widely used taxi-hailing app, covering rides in 45 of 47 prefectures.
It lets you summon a regular taxi to your location much like Uber, but it’s tailored for Japan’s taxi network. This app is a lifesaver in situations where you have lots of luggage, it’s late at night, or you’re in an area where hailing a cab on the street is difficult.
GO’s interface can be switched to English, and importantly, you can sign up with a non-Japanese phone number and credit card – meaning travellers can register using their usual mobile number (you’ll get an SMS code) and pay by card through the app. No cash needed at the end of the ride: the app will charge your card and even email you a receipt.
Useful tips: Ride-share services like Uber are limited in Japan, and taxis remain the main car transport. GO consolidates many local taxi companies into one app, so it has a huge fleet. It also helps overcome the language barrier – you can input your destination in English or on a map, so the driver already knows where to go.
NERV (Disaster Prevention App)
One of the apps for travelling Japan I hope you never need, but for those more restless travellers, peace of mind. NERV Disaster Prevention is an app that provides real-time alerts and information on natural disasters in Japan.
In a country prone to earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, and volcanic activity, this app can be a potential lifesaver or at least a stress-reducer. NERV (pronounced like “nerve”) functions as an early warning system – if there’s an earthquake nearby or approaching, you’ll get an alert often even before the shaking reaches you.
Similarly, it issues warnings for other emergencies (tsunami warnings, extreme weather, etc.) along with practical advice on what to do. The app pulls data from the Japan Meteorological Agency and other sources, and importantly it has full English support.
Japan Wi-Fi Auto-connect
Japan Wi-Fi Auto-connect is a free app that helps you locate and seamlessly connect to free Wi-Fi hotspots across Japan. It’s essentially a giant aggregator of various Wi-Fi networks (in cafes, train stations, airports, tourist spots, etc.) that normally each have their own login or sign-up.
The app lets you register just once and use all of them easily. For travellers, this is extremely useful if you don’t have constant mobile data.
You open the app, and it will show nearby Wi-Fi hotspots on a map; when you’re in range of one, you can tap to connect without needing to enter credentials each time. The service boasts over 170,000 Wi-Fi spots nationwide , so coverage is pretty good in cities and even many smaller towns.
Viator
Viator is a tour and activities booking app (owned by TripAdvisor) that offers a massive selection of experiences globally. In Japan, Viator provides access to hundreds of tours and tickets
It is very similar to Get Your Guide and which you use really comes down to personal preference
Useful tips: Like GYG, Viator can simplify planning because you can book in English and pay in your home currency (Viator handles the currency conversion).
HappyCow
HappyCow is a famous app/website for finding vegetarian and vegan food options worldwide, and it’s a godsend in Japan.
Note that the app is NOT FREE, but the website is.
The app shows you restaurants and cafes that are vegan, vegetarian, or veg-friendly (places with decent meat-free options), complete with reviews, ratings, and photos from the community.
In Japan, where many dishes include fish broth or meat by default, HappyCow helps you discover those hidden gem veggie ramen shops, vegan sushi places, or temple cuisine restaurants that you might otherwise miss. It’s basically crowd-sourced intelligence from fellow vegetarians/vegans.
Useful tips: As the app’s community would tell you, Japan isn’t the easiest place for vegetarians – even dishes that look meat-free might have bonito flakes or dashi.
HappyCow not only lists fully vegan/vegetarian establishments, but also highlights regular restaurants that have vegetarian menus or the ability to cater to you
Booking.com
Booking.com is one of the world’s leading accommodation booking apps, and it’s very useful for arranging your stays in Japan. I personally use booking for all my hotels in Japan as I like their interface, guarantees and competitive pricing.
With this app, you can search for hotels, hostels, ryokans (traditional inns), apartments, and other lodging, read millions of guest reviews, and make reservations with instant confirmation.
Useful tips: It has extensive coverage and often includes useful info in English (like check-in details, policies) provided by the property.
Some smaller ryokans or guesthouses might not have English websites, but if they’re on Booking, you can book without needing to call in Japanese.
Agoda
Agoda is a hotel and flight booking app that’s particularly strong for Asia, and many travellers find it excellent for Japan.
Choosing between Agoda and Booking is a matter of personal preference (they’re part of the same parent company), you can’t go to wrong with either, both are fantastic apps for tourists.
Useful tips: Agoda has a reward system where you earn points on bookings which can be redeemed for discounts on future stays. They also offer “AgodaCash” and occasional coupons.
Japan Travel – Smart Transit by NAVITIME
I have already raved about Google maps, which is brilliant for in cities, whilst still good for longer journeys, in my opinion Japan Travel app Navitime trumps it as a navigation app for those longer journeys and connections.
I find Navitime is more detailed for Japan-specific quirks (like it will note if a route is covered by the Japan Rail Pass, or which car of the train to board for an easier transfer).
It also has a dedicated timetable feature so you can see schedules, which is helpful if you want to plan around less frequent rural trains.
Useful tips: There is an offline spot search and map transit planner, meaning you can download certain city maps to use even without data, which includes the locations of things like ATMs, Wi-Fi, and tourist attractions.
It even has articles and model itineraries if you need inspiration. For setup, when you first launch, it may ask for your travel dates, what regions you’re visiting, etc., to personalize info, fill in all the details and you will have an externs japan transit planner in your pocket.
If you have a Japan Rail Pass, go into settings and indicate that – the app can then prioritize JR lines to maximize your pass usage.
VoiceTra
VoiceTra is a voice translation app provided by Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT).
It’s designed to facilitate conversation between speakers of different languages by translating spoken phrases on the fly. In my opinion, It does a better job of this than Google Translate, which is why it’s on my list of Japan travel apps
Useful tips: It supports 31 languages and has an interface tuned for travel scenarios, with preset common phrases as well.
The special thing about VoiceTra is that it was developed with an eye towards foreign tourists in Japan, so it’s good at understanding different accents of English and translating them to natural Japanese (using proper polite forms, etc.).
Tabelog
Tabelog is Japan’s top restaurant review platform – essentially the Japanese equivalent of Yelp or TripAdvisor for restaurants, but arguably harsher in its ratings.
It’s not specifically a tourist app, but travellers use it to gauge where locals actually love to eat. Tabelog lists hundreds of thousands of restaurants across Japan with ratings, reviews (mostly in Japanese), photos, and details like menus or reservation links.
A key thing to know: Tabelog’s rating system is tough – even a 3.5 out of 5 is considered excellent (a 3.8+ means the place is probably phenomenal ). This is because Japanese users are discerning, and the volume of reviews is high.
Useful tips: You’ll find places on Tabelog that might not appear on English review sites. Also, popular tourist spots sometimes get overhyped on Google, whereas Tabelog reflects local opinions more.
Many travellers simply use the Tabelog website in a browser with auto-translate, getting round the language issues
Safety Tips
Safety Tips is a disaster alert app provided by the Japan Tourism Agency, aimed specifically at foreign tourists.
Like NERV, it provides real-time warnings for earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, typhoons, and extreme weather, but it’s a bit more simple and geared towards travellers.
When an incident occurs, the app will push an alert to your phone in multiple languages (English, Chinese, Korean, etc.) along with information on what to do. For example, if there’s a strong earthquake nearby, it will send an Earthquake Early Warning and then a notice of the intensity and any tsunami risk.
It also has advice for evacuation and links to emergency contacts. Essentially, it’s an essential app to have “just in case” while in Japan, to stay safe and informed.
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