What to ride, what to tap, and what to buy, before you land. NipponGo is a calm, honest guide to Japan's trains for first-time visitors, with the official JR Pass a tap away. Works offline, in 8 languages.
In review now, launching shortly on both stores. Free, no account.
NipponGo links you straight to the official Japan Rail Pass, then shows on every route leg whether it covers that train and whether a Suica card taps in. No surprises at the ticket gate.
The official Japan Rail Pass is one tap away, so you can buy it before you fly and have it ready the moment you land. The 7-day ordinary pass is about 50,000 yen.
See at a glance whether a Suica card taps in and whether the Japan Rail Pass covers that exact train. No guessing at the ticket gate.Suica OKJR Pass covers thisNot on JR Pass
Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and Miyajima, plus the airports and the Osaka subway, with exact fares, transfers and the kanji station names so you can match the signs on the platform.
Guides, fares, sample routes and the pass details all live on your phone. No signal, no roaming, no problem when you land. Fares and pass prices still refresh from a live source, so they stay current without an app update.
English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional and Korean, across the whole app and the long-form guides.
Miss the last train, buy the wrong ticket, need the right platform. An offline survival phrasebook has the station-rescue lines ready, no account and no signal required.
NipponGo answers the questions every first-timer asks, in the order you ask them.
JR versus Metro versus private lines, what a Suica card is, and how paying actually works. Plain language, no jargon.
Buy the official Japan Rail Pass before you fly, so it is ready the moment you land. NipponGo links you straight to it.
Pick a route and see every leg with its line colour, its fare, the kanji station names for the platform signs, and the Suica and JR Pass badges. Then just go.
Every screen is hand-drawn in a Tokyo Twilight palette, no stock photos. Crisp on every phone.
Suica and JR Pass badges per leg
eSIM, WiFi and Suica setup
The system, explained calmly
NipponGo links you straight to the official Japan Rail Pass, so you can buy it before you fly and have it ready the moment you land. The 7-day ordinary pass is about 50,000 yen and covers most Shinkansen and JR trains along the Golden Route between Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima, plus many city JR lines.
Yes. The guides, fares, sample routes and pass details all run on your phone, so you can check them on the plane or underground with no connection and no roaming. When you are online the fares and pass prices refresh from a live source, so they stay current without an app update. They are honest 2026 estimates, so confirm the final number at the station.
Every leg of every route shows a badge for whether an IC card such as Suica or Pasmo taps in, next to a second badge for whether the Japan Rail Pass covers that train. You see both at once, so you know how to pay before you reach the gate.
Yes, and there is no account to create and no subscription. If the app saves you money you can leave an optional tip, but nothing useful is locked away.
Eight: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional and Korean, across the whole app including the long-form guides.
NipponGo has an offline survival phrasebook with the station-rescue lines first-timers need: missing the last train, buying the wrong ticket, finding the right platform. The route timeline also shows the kanji station and line names, so you can match the Japanese on the signs with no data connection.
The Golden Route most first trips follow: Tokyo and its inner lines, the Narita and Haneda airports, the Shinkansen to Kyoto and Osaka, the Kyoto sights by JR, the Osaka subway, and Hiroshima across to Miyajima including the JR ferry. Every leg shows its line colour and the kanji station names for the platform signs. Live nationwide routing is planned for later.
NipponGo is in review now and launching shortly on both stores. Free, offline, in 8 languages, with no account.
Built by IOCODO, the studio behind Swiss Transport.
