NAVIGATING TOKYO
The latest tech is making it easier to find your way around the Japanese capital
Using tech to find your way
Tokyo has always been notoriously difficult to get around, from its confusing address system (based on areas rather than streets) to a mind-boggling train network. Wifi hotspots and English-language apps have also typically been lacking. Short of a personal guide, a good GPS system used to be the only hope for foreigners. However, with the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games on the horizon, Tokyo is seeing a swathe of tech infrastructure and service industry upgrades that promise to make the city more accessible and easier to navigate for overseas visitors. App-ropriate solutions Tokyo has one of the most efficient public transport systems in the world – a train company’s recent apology for a 20-second-early departure made headlines – but its size and complexity can be confusing. This is especially true at major stations such as Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Shibuya or
Tokyo Station, where the crowds and vast number of exits and platforms are overwhelming.
Service providers are also upping their game to help people navigate Tokyo and beyond. The Japan National Tourism Organisation ( JNTO) recently launched the Japan Official Travel App ( jnto.go.jp/smartapp/eng) in Chinese, English and Korean, offering a mix of content such as travel articles with practical information on how to get around, route mapping and guides to customs.
Another new app useful for anyone aiming to get out of Tokyo is the Tokaido Sanyo Shinkansen Reservation App (smart-ex.jp/en/lp/app), which offers train bookings in English – in this case for the bullet train (shinkansen) – and also allows you to change bookings up to four minutes before departure. It’s currently available for download in the US, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia as well as in Japan, although the company hopes it will soon be rolled out in other countries. Getting connected Of course, apps aren’t much good if you can’t access them. Despite Japan’s high-tech reputation, wifi accessibility has long been extremely patchy in the capital. However, that appears to be changing. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Free Wi-Fi & Tokyo (wifi-tokyo.jp) delivers connectivity in an increasing number of locations. It still isn’t perfect, but it is a move in the right direction.
You will soon be able to pay for and access a range of services with the tap of a finger
If, however, you want guaranteed data during your stay, sort out pocket wifi when you arrive at Narita or Haneda airport, from the Japan Rail Pass counters. Pocket wifi uses the phone network to connect you. High-speed broadband and unlimited downloads are often part of the package. You can also book it in advance (at japan-railpass.co.uk/services/pocket-wifi). Prices vary, but around £7 per day is usual.
Alternatively, a free SIM card courtesy of new start-up Wamazing was rolled out in February 2017. Foreigners can pre-register for the service before arrival, and then pick up their free SIM from vending machines at Tokyo Narita airport. The SIM also comes with 500MB of data or usage for 15 days – whichever you hit first. Additional data can be bought through the Wamazing app (apps.wamazing. jp), plus access to services such as hotel reservations, taxis or booking activities. So far the app is only available in traditional Chinese (for visitors from Hong Kong and Taiwan), but Wamazing plans to offer English, simplified Chinese (for visitors from mainland China) and Korean in the future.
Finally, there is another app offering free wifi, called Travel Japan Wifi ( japanfreewifi.com) from Wire & Wireless Co. A recent partnership with flag carrier Japan Airlines ( JAL) has also seen the launch of an upgraded version, the JAL Explore Japan Wifi app, available for both Android and Apple devices (ar.jal.co.jp/world/
en/jalwifi/). With this app, travellers can automatically connect to more than 200,000 wifi hotspots operated by the company across Japan in public areas such as airports, major train stations, restaurants and key tourist locations. The app is specifically designed to cater to foreigners – residents in Japan are not even able to download the programme. It’s available in English, traditional and simplified Chinese, Korean and Thai, while Japanese is not supported. Future-tech Given Japan’s reputation for robotics, it comes as no surprise that Tokyo is also turning to automatons to help visitors. In November Tokyo’s governor, Yuriko Koike, unveiled five multilingual and anthropomorphic robots at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building as a test run before the 2020 Games. The five – all of which can communicate in Japanese and English, with some able to use Chinese and Korean, too – were in place until February 2018 to see how well they could assist visitors with such things as tourist information and directions.
Taking things even further into the future, you will soon be able to pay for and access a range of services with the tap of a finger. The new “Touch & Pay” authentication system is part of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s efforts to promote biometric identification services, and since October 2017 it is gradually being
Wifi access has long been extremely patchy in the capital
rolled out at hotels and tourist sites across Tokyo. By 2020, it should allow travellers (after registering passport, credit card and fingerprint data at the airport or a tourist office) to check in to hotels, buy tickets and use lockers across Tokyo using finger scans or e-passport scans. Plain sailing If trains, buses and taxis aren’t your thing, and you have spare time between meetings, Tokyo has another mode of transport: water buses. Aiming to offer an alternative to the city’s highly congested roads, a number of companies have launched services around Tokyo Bay, mainly operating routes around Odaiba and up the Sumida River to Asakusa. Tokyo Cruise Ship company (suijobus.co.jp/ en) offers the most frequent daily services, with scenic journeys lasting between 20 minutes and an hour, and starting at ¥780 (approximately £5).
If the schedules don’t suit, there’s also a flexible on-demand service. Tokyo Water Taxi (water-taxi.tokyo) began operating its first diesel-powered vessels in mid2016 around Tokyo Bay’s waterways and it plans to have a total of 60 iconic yellow boats operating by the time the 2020 Olympic Games roll around. Some landings welcome passengers who haven’t made a reservation, but it’s best to book just in case (there’s a maximum capacity of six people). Journeys cost around ¥2,000 (approximately £13).
Room for growth
The yen was relatively weak during 2016 and 2017, prompting headlines declaring Tokyo as the best-value long-haul destination. Tourism was on the increase even before this; Japan’s target of 20 million inbound travellers annually by 2020 was reached four years early in 2016. The Japanese government has revised that target to 40 million visitors in 2020. To cater to that growth, an additional 10,000 rooms are slated for the capital before the Games.
One of the best is from the Aman group, which has a sleek, relaxation-focused property in the prestigious Otemachi district: the Aman Tokyo. Looking at the newest offerings, Hoshino Resorts opened the Hoshinoya Tokyo early in 2017 in Otemachi, not far from Tokyo Station, offering a blend of high-end resort and traditional Japanese inn. Hoshino Resorts has also launched the new more lifestyle-oriented Omo brand in the outlying Otsuka district, designed to appeal to millennials.
In November 2017, Marriott introduced the group’s millennial-focused brand with the opening of Moxy Tokyo Kinshicho, and also has a pair of Marriott Edition properties scheduled for 2020, one in the Toranomon business district and another in the prestigious Ginza area. Luxury serviced residence Oakwood Apartments NishiShinjuku is scheduled to open in the summer.
Accorhotels will make a brand debut in the Japanese capital when it opens its 143-room Pullman Tokyo Tamachi in autumn 2018. A 190-room Four Seasons property is also planned to open in Otemachi by 2020.