Is there a preferred app you guys use for traveling in Japan for maps and translator or is Google good enough on both ends? For the maps I’m talking about showing the train lines and stuff if it’s too far to walk and for the translator I’m more concerned about using the camera to translate written things since I know a decent amount of Japanese can at least communicate at a low level in English. When I was in Korea last year I used an app called KakaoMap so I was just wondering if there’s anything that’s helpful like that for travel in Japan too or if Google maps and Google translate are good enough for both.
by Repulsive-Sense992
4 comments
For daily use yes, both are perfectly fine and should fulfill your necessities.
Google Maps shows relevant info in a very easy way (train lines, gates, transfers and such) and Translate have the Google Lens, which is a LOT better nowadays, comparing to some years ago (and the conversation mode works fairly well too).
Maybe the only other apps that could be more valuable than the Google ones are Japan Travel (to plan long-distance trips – you can check what routes certain passes covers) and Tabelog (for restaurant recommendations – it’s a website, not an app, but it’s more reliable than the reviews on Maps). Those should be better than Google Maps.
Google Maps and Translator should be good enough to get you trough the trip. You may also want to get JapanTravel by Navitime if you are travelling between cities to cross check with google.
It’s just Korea you have to use a different app. Korea is sensitive about military base locations
Google dis good enough for both.
For more filter options for public transport, I like Japan travel by Navitime, but if you just want whatever is the fastest and not play with filters, Google result are accurate too