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Tuesday, 1st July 2014
In Japan Travel News,
New app helps Tokyo subway navigation
Visiting Tokyo can be a mind-boggling experience, especially when the enormously complex system of underground and overground railways is taken into account. Which is why a newly released smartphone application entitled Tokyo Subway Navigation for Tourists is likely to be a hit with those holidaying in this incredible city.
The software, which supports English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese languages, has been developed in response to the difficulties tourists often experience in trying to decrypt the limited English in metro stations across the capital.
Once the application has been downloaded, it can even be used in offline mode, which will certainly prove useful as visitors to Tokyo often find it difficult to obtain Wi-Fi access for their smartphones and tablets.
In order to obtain instructions on how to reach their destination, users simply key in their current position and desired location. Results are presented in an easy-to-understand format that offers information on the route, fare prices and the journey's length of time.
One particularly useful feature allows users to discern which exit they should use for certain tourist attractions - something that will prove very handy as the larger stations in Tokyo's railway system often resemble cities in themselves, with twenty or thirty ways in and out.
Tokyo's railway system is made up of the Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway services, both of which offer separate fares. This is without mentioning the myriad railways that serve the city's various wards, such as the Seibu Shinjuku Line and the Keio Railway.
With the application, tourists will no doubt find these much easier to navigate, although those who don't have smartphones will find the people working at the stations attentive and eager to solve problems.
The Tokyo subway recently made headlines when it was announced a new unlimited day-card would be introduced especially for tourists, with both domestic and international travellers able to take advantage of the bargain 800-yen ticket.
Written by Mark Smith
Inside Japan UK office
Inside Japan US office
Inside Japan Australia office
Inside Japan - Japan office
