Japan Direct - route and train

Before I booked a trip and ordered a JR Pass, people recommended Hyperdia but I found it too cluttered and confusing. Japan Direct was simple and straight to the point. Just type in the name of the station you want to to go to, and pick a route. It offers you multiple options, and can search specifically for routes the Jr pass covers. The only nitpicks I have are minor and/or not completely the app’s fault: 1.) Osaka has 3 stations all called “Namba,” (subway, nankai and jr), and while the app does differentiate between them so you know which is which, only 2 of them will show up if you just type “Namba” in the search. This is because the third is recognized as JR-Namba, not Namba (JR). 2.) Sometimes the route you pick may not be the most efficient, telling you to make an extra train change. But I just realized that after days of eventually having the stations memorized. Once you get used to the sequence of stops and what lines intersect, you can be more flexible and figure out alternate routes on your own. But even then, I still used the app to tell me when and where to at least find a next train and get going. I made extensive use of this app. Truly a lifesaver.

So far, this is the best that I’ve found for actual scheduling your trips with timetables. Saving them as favorites is very good too, so you can plan ahead your journey, and recall each one as you are traveling. With this information, you can make all your seat reservations ahead of time on the JR website. Great app! Thanks!

You NEED to download this app! I was worried about getting lost in Japan with so many trains and different routes but this app made my life easier! It planned out everything, from changing train stations to the times of departure. This is a must needed app for your trip to Japan!

After a response and tip from the developer I was able to find the route I was looking for. Had to turn on “Private Railway” setting as it is defaulted to only search JR routes. Looked like the app will work as advertised! I feel that this should have been enabled by default though as others seem to be having the same issue.

Used this app extensively as we planned our travel through Japan. Very accurate and informative. Along with Google Maps, had no trouble navigating. I liked that we could filter down searches for JR routes.