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. It even tells you when to skip the JR Pass. Works offline, in 8 languages.
In review now, launching shortly on both stores. Free, no account.
After the 2023 price rise, the pass rarely pays off for a first Golden Route trip. Every other calculator is run by a reseller, so it always says buy. NipponGo does the maths on your actual journeys and gives you the real answer, even when that means saving your money.
Enter the trips you will actually take. NipponGo compares pay-as-you-go against the 50,000 yen pass and tells you plainly which is cheaper, with the numbers shown.
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 Narita and Haneda airports, with exact fares, transfers and the trains a pass can and cannot use.
Guides, fares, sample routes and the pass advisor all live on your phone. No signal, no roaming, no problem when you land.
English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional and Korean, across the whole app and the long-form guides.
No account, no sign-up wall, no clutter. Your trip stays on your device. Tip only if it saved you money.
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.
Tap in your real trips and get the honest skip-or-buy verdict, with the fares and the pass price laid side by side.
Pick a route and see every leg with its line colour, its fare, 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.
The honest skip-or-buy verdict
Suica and JR Pass badges per leg
The system, explained calmly
For most first-time visitors on the Golden Route, no. After the 2023 rise the 7-day ordinary pass costs about 50,000 yen, and a typical Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka trip works out cheaper if you pay as you go with a Suica card. NipponGo runs the maths on your actual trips and gives the honest answer, including when that answer is skip it.
Yes. The guides, fares, sample routes and the JR Pass advisor all run on your phone, so you can check them on the plane or underground with no connection and no roaming.
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.
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, Osaka, and Hiroshima across to Miyajima including the ferry. 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.
