Welcome to all foreigners living in Japan.
Here, we have some suggestions on useful apps and websites to help you with your life in Japan.
Go ahead and download the ones that might be useful for you!
Translation
VoiceTra：Multilingual Speech Translation App
This app translates your spoken words into different languages.
It supports 31 languages.
Furigana
This app automatically assigns Furigana to the text you have entered or copied.
You can switch the input text to “Kanji only”, “Hiragana only”, or “with Furigana”, and you can also change the text orientation to horizontal or vertical.
Omotenashi Guide
This app translates announcements by simply playing them on your smartphone.
The area where this service can be used is expanding all over Japan.
The app also supports emergency broadcasts in the event of a disaster within the area, so you can get information quickly in case of an emergency.
Yubisashi
The app provides images that are associated with certain phrases. If you tap on the image of the message you want to convey, the app will provide audio output in the language of your choice. It is available in 22 languages.
Life
Japan Connected free Wi-Fi
Japan Wi-Fi auto-connect | Automatic Connection App For Free Wi-Fi (ntt-bp.net)
Wi-Fi access can be an issue in Japan compared to other countries. But you can search for free Wi-Fi using this app.
It is free to use and is available in 16 languages.
LINE
LINE is the most popular communication tool in Japan.
It is an application like WeChat or WhatsApp.
Disaster Prevention
Safety tips
Safety tips（English） | RC Solution Co (rcsc.co.jp)
This app notifies users of Earthquake Early Warning, Tsunami Warning, Volcanic Warnings, Weather Warnings, Heat illness Warnings and Civil Protection Information issued in Japan.
It is developed under the supervision of Japan Tourism Agency.
The app is available in 15 languages: Japanese, English, Chinese (traditional and simplified), Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, Tagalog, Nepali, Khmer, Burmese, and Mongolian.
Health Care
Multilingual Medical Questionnaire（Website）
Multilingual Medical Questionnaire
It is designed for foreigners who cannot speak Japanese to communicate their symptoms in their language to doctors and other healthcare professionals when they are ill or injured.
Tourist Information
Good Luck Trip Japan (Website)
This website provides useful information regarding tourist attractions, food and solutions to problems you may encounter while traveling.
The website is easy to understand with photos, and pages are linked to Google Maps, so there is no need to search for the directions separately.
DiG JAPAN!（Website）
DiGJAPAN! The Japan Travel Site You’ve Been Waiting For!
This app is for foreign visitors to search for tourist attractions and restaurants throughout Japan.
You can look up directions and information about sights even when you are not connected to Internet.
Japan Official Travel App
This app covers tourist attractions, restaurants, duty free shops, and Wi-Fi spots.
The information is provided by non-Japanese writers in English, Korean, Chinese, and other languages. Therefore, you can get various information in the view of non-Japanese.
Transportation
Japan Transit Planner
The app provides you with route options if you enter your departing station, destination, and time of your travel.
In addition to travel time and fares, platform and train numbers are also displayed in case transfers are required, which can become very handy.
Japan Travel
Japan Travel – Japan Tourism Guide and Travel Map
This app provides you with route options combining various means of transportation such as trains, buses, and on foot.
Transit routes can be searched in English.
Food
Halal Gourmet Japan
Halal Gourmet Japan – Restaurants for Muslim & Vegetarian
This app becomes extremely useful if you need to search for Halal food in Japan.
It is difficult to find a Muslim restaurant in Japan because there are not many and they are not usually listed in gourmet information magazines.
Gurunavi（Website）
You can search for restaurants near your current location or a tourist attraction. You can screen for cuisine types and facilities., etc.
Some restaurants provide translated menus on this website so you can check them out.
Tabelog（Website）
The website/app provides the largest restaurant listings in Japan, with over 800,000 restaurants.
You can search for restaurants by area, station, or current location.
The information contained in this article is based on the information available as of August 31, 2023.
