What are the must-have apps for traveling in Japan?

The essential apps for Japan are Suica / Welcome Suica, Japan Travel by Navitime, Google Maps, GO Taxi, PayPay.

How many travel apps does Japan have?

We've curated 10 apps across 7 categories for traveling in Japan, including 6 essential apps.

🇯🇵

Japan

Q: What is the best transit app in Japan?

Suica / Welcome Suica is the top-rated transit app in Japan. Japan's essential IC card for trains, subways, buses, and purchases at convenience stores and vending machines.

Navigate the land of the rising sun with confidence

Curated by travelers, verified by locals

Heads up

Japan has a cash-friendly culture in transition . PayPay is widely accepted at convenience stores and restaurants, but rural areas still prefer cash. Get a Suica card immediately upon arrival as it works on virtually all transit and at convenience stores nationwide.

10 apps6 essentialEast Asia

Last updated: March 2026

Suica / Welcome Suica

Essential

Japan's essential IC card for trains, subways, buses, and purchases at convenience stores and vending machines.

Pro tip: Add Suica to Apple Pay or Google Pay for tap-and-go on virtually every transit system in Japan.

Japan Travel by Navitime

Essential

The most comprehensive transit navigation app for Japan, showing train and bus routes with departure times, fares, and platform numbers.

Pro tip: Use the offline mode after downloading maps . Navitime works even in subway stations with no signal.

View Transit guide →

Google Maps

Essential

The go-to navigation app for Japan, offering accurate walking, driving, and transit directions including train platform numbers.

Pro tip: Download the offline map for your destination region before your trip . Japan's subway stations often have spotty signal.

View Navigation guide →

GO Taxi

Essential

Japan's dominant taxi app, aggregating over 100,000 cabs from local taxi companies. Available in English and works across major cities.

Pro tip: Save your hotel address in Japanese characters inside the app . showing the driver a Japanese address avoids language confusion.

S.RIDE

Nice to have

A popular Tokyo-based taxi hailing app with full English support, offering quick booking, fare estimates, and cashless payment.

View Ride Hailing guide →

View Food Delivery guide →

View Payments guide →

View Messaging guide →

View Language guide →

See something wrong? Suggest an edit

Need data to use these apps? Get an eSIM before you go.