Terms of Use
Last updated: 19 August 2026
In brief: NipponGo is free and needs no account. Fares, JR Pass prices and routes are travel guidance, not a booking or ticketing service, so confirm anything time critical or money critical at the station or with the operator. Tipping is optional and billed by the App Store or Google Play. Some links to travel services earn us a commission. Installing or using the app means you accept the terms below.
1. Acceptance of terms
These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern your use of NipponGo ("the App"), a Japan transit and travel guide published by IOCODO LLC ("we", "our", "us"). By downloading, installing or using the App you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not install or use the App.
If you obtained the App from the Apple App Store, the Apple Standard End User License Agreement also applies. Where these Terms and the Apple Standard EULA conflict, the Apple Standard EULA governs for installations obtained through the App Store.
2. License
We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to install and use the App on devices you own or control, for personal, non-commercial travel planning.
You may not:
- Reverse engineer, decompile or attempt to extract the source code, except where local law expressly permits it
- Modify, redistribute, sublicense, rent, lease or sell the App or any part of it
- Remove or obscure copyright, trademark or other proprietary notices
- Scrape, resell or systematically extract the guides, fares, routes or phrasebook content shown in the App
- Use the App in a way that violates applicable law or these Terms
3. Travel information and its limits
The App shows curated reference content: route guides along the Golden Route, per-leg IC card and Japan Rail Pass validity, fare estimates, station and line names, area guides and a phrasebook. It is a planning aid written in advance, not a live journey planner, and it does not query railway operators in real time.
Fares and JR Pass prices are estimates. They refresh from our own price file when your device is online, so they can improve without an app update, but timetables change, services are cancelled, platforms are reassigned and prices are set by the operators. Confirm the final price at the ticket counter or machine, and confirm the current official pass price with the Japan Rail Pass official site before you buy.
The JR Pass calculator, in the App and on this site, compares an estimated total of point-to-point fares against the pass price for the trips you enter. Its verdict is an arithmetic comparison of estimates, not financial advice and not a guarantee of a saving.
We are not a carrier and we do not sell tickets. NipponGo is an independent guide and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by JR Group, Japan Railways, any of its member companies, or any other rail, metro or bus operator. Tickets, passes, reservations and the transport service itself are the responsibility of the operator or seller you buy from.
4. No account
The App does not require you to create an account or to sign in. Saved items, language, currency and settings are stored on your device. Because there is no account, that data cannot be recovered by us if you delete the App or lose the device. Our Privacy Policy describes what the App handles and why.
5. Tips and in-app purchases
Every feature of the App is free. If you want to support development, you can leave an optional one-off tip from the settings icon on the Guide tab. There is no subscription, no paid tier and no feature that a tip unlocks.
- Tips are billed by the Apple App Store or Google Play, in your local currency, at the price shown before you confirm.
- A tip is a voluntary contribution. It buys no goods, no service, no content and no ongoing entitlement.
- Refunds are handled by the platform you paid through, under Apple's or Google's respective policies. We do not process payments and cannot issue platform refunds directly.
6. Third-party links and affiliate commissions
The App and this site link to independent travel services, for example eSIM and pocket WiFi providers, tour and activity marketplaces, travel insurance and rail pass sellers. Those services are operated by third parties under their own terms and privacy policies, and we are not a party to any contract you enter with them.
Some of those links are affiliate links: if you buy through one, we may receive a commission from that partner. The commission is paid by the partner and does not change what you pay. We do not sell placement, and a link is included because we judged it useful, but we do not audit, endorse or guarantee any third-party service, price or availability. Disputes about a third-party purchase are between you and that provider.
7. Notifications
The App can send optional notifications, for example about a significant update. You choose whether to allow them when the App asks, and you can turn them off at any time in your device notification settings.
8. Intellectual property
The App, including its code, interface, artwork, illustrations and written guides, is owned by IOCODO LLC and protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. All rights not expressly granted in these Terms are reserved. Operator names, line names, line colours, logos and station names belong to their respective owners and are used only to identify services.
9. Updates
We may release updates that fix bugs, add features and change how the App works. Updates are delivered through the App Store or Google Play. Some updates may be required for the App to keep working correctly, for example when an external data format changes, and the App can ask you to update before continuing.
10. Disclaimer of warranties
The App is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. We do not guarantee that the App will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that the fares, prices, routes, translations or third-party information it displays will be accurate, complete, current or available.
11. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, IOCODO LLC shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special or exemplary damages arising out of or in connection with your use of the App, including a missed train or connection, a missed flight or appointment, a rail pass that turned out not to save you money, or costs incurred because displayed information differed from actual fares or operations. Our total liability shall not exceed the amount you paid us, if any, in the twelve months preceding the claim.
12. Termination
These Terms remain in effect while you use the App. You may end them at any time by uninstalling the App. We may suspend or terminate your license if you breach these Terms. Sections 8, 10, 11 and 14 survive termination.
13. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of the App after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.
14. Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the jurisdiction in which IOCODO LLC is established, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. Where local consumer-protection law grants you rights that cannot be waived by agreement, those rights continue to apply.
15. Contact
Questions about these Terms: support@iocodo.com