Travel to Japan: These Apps Can Help
- Kevin Warren
- Apr 16, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 22
Your trip to visit Japan is booked. Now, you need to understand how to make life easier for you when you get there with apps. Japan is a unique culture that still uses cash as a predominant method of payment outside of major cities like Tokyo as well as many places in big cities. Trains are a primary form of transportation. Subways in the worlds most populated city can be especially crowded during peak times without accounting for tourists.
One of the apps I find most beneficial when getting around Japan from Tokyo to Mutso in the North of Honshu island is Suica. Suica comes in two forms, an IC card and app. Personally I recommend having the app on your iPhone. Suica can have cash added to it direct from the wallet on your iPhone while carrying the Suica card requires using an ATM or other means to add cash. Suica allows you to tap and go on subways, trains, taxi’s, convenience stores and more. Even if you have Suica in either card or app form, remember to always have some cash, yen, in your pocket.
Next up on the recommended list is Klook. Klook is an app that allows you to buy train tickets, Shinkansen Tickets, make reservations, get tickets for venues in addition to various special deals for attractions or events. It’s much easier to make a booking on Klook and bypass the lines at a ticket machine in the train station or avoid the line at say Tokyo Sky Tree.
Japan Travel by NAVITIME is a free iPhone app on the Apple App Store, designed to make Japan’s transit system feel as dependable as the country’s own daily rhythm. Built around a powerful route search, it can plan trips across public transportation types, from JR and subway lines to flights, taxis, and ferries, while also surfacing practical details like platform numbers, station lists, and timetables, so you spend less time second‑guessing signs and more time keeping your day on track. It goes beyond navigation with travel guides and recommended itineraries, plus an offline map search that can point you toward essentials like WiFi hotspots, ATMs, and train stations. You may find Japan Travel offers similar features found in Klook. The choice is yours.
In Japan, where some of the most memorable meals are hidden behind noren curtains and modest doorways, the Tablelog app helps travelers find the right restaurant without guesswork. Drawing on 800,000+ restaurant listings nationwide and 82+ million ratings and reviews, Tablelog lets you search near your current location or plan ahead for stops in cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. When tables are available, you can also book with real-time availability, and the app highlights useful visitor-friendly details such as multilingual menus and cashless payment options. Keep in mind that online booking through Tabelog’s reservation service requires registering a payment card and includes a system usage fee (listed as JPY 440 per person) charged when the reservation is confirmed, while the meal itself is paid at the restaurant.
My final must have when I’m in Japan is the GO Taxi App. The GO app allows you to order a taxi, see where your driver is at enroute to you, how long until your taxi arrives and pay for your ride. As a photographer and world traveler, I really like seeing the world around me rather than the walls of a subway tunnel. I’m also mindful that locals everywhere are unhappy with tourists overburdening local infrastructure. In Japan, UBER isn’t a car service its a taxi hailing app. Put away your UBER and get on GO Taxi, you’ll be glad you did and save money.
I hope you find this information useful on your journey. These are only some of the many apps available so do search and see if others work better for you than these do for me.
