Navigating in Japan

Japan has some of the best public transportation in the world. But its only useful if you can figure out how to get where you're going !

I have found a very helpful app that has made my travels on public transportation a breeze, here in Japan. I highly recommend it. Go to your App Store and search "Japan Travel,"(by NAVITIME) and look for the app that looks like the picture below. I am planning on adding a video tutorial of how to use it, but for now I have a written guide of how to use the app below.

Once it is downloaded, open it:

1) on the bottom icons click on "Route"

2) in your "From" box click on that and enter the station you will be leaving from (or you can use your current location)

3) in your "To" box open that and enter your desired station destination (it can be a bus, a train station, a ferry station, or an airport)

• *Note make sure the "Transit & Walk" option is highlighted in navy blue and you can also change the time you are leaving or just click on "Leave Now" to show the current routes

• * "Customize Options" will allow you to Sort By "Cheapest Fare" or "Fastest Route" while also accommodating for "Wheelchair Accessible" or "Avoid Rain" under Preferred Route, and under Means of Transportation check mark which means of transportation you want to see in your results, make sure you click "Done" that is the top right corner after making your customizations

4) Hit Search (See example below)

A list of results will pop up as seen in the image below

• *Note each option will show you the cost in yen and also how much it will be if you have and IC card (ie passmo or suica card), it is always a little cheaper with an IC card and it will also tell you how many transfers you will need to make

In this image I selected "Route1" that shows the time it will take and how many transfers and how much it will cost, you can compare routes by choosing which route heading you would like to take

• *If you click on the darker shaded area in between stations it will tell you how many stops until your transfer/destination station

• *For larger stations under the name of the station it will even note the platform you need to be to make your connecting train

• If you miss any of your trains click on "timetable" for the location you are at and it will show you the time schedule for that station so you can figure out the next train you should get on (or you can just redo the search with the current time and the new station you are at)

Thanks so much for reading! If you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them via messages. I hope this app helps make your travels smoother.