Shinkansen smartEX App vs Timeshifter
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Shinkansen smartEX App
Easily reserve Shinkansen seats, hotels, and activities. Enjoy discounts for early bookings and flexible changes. Access station and train service information, and use QR tickets or designated IC cards for seamless travel.
- Reserve Shinkansen seats
- Book hotels and activities
- Early booking discounts
- Free reservation changes
- Select seats from map
- QR-Ticket and IC card boarding
- Fingerprint authentication login
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▼With the EX app, you can: - Reserve Shinkansen seats through the app easily - Discount for early booking - Reserve Shinkansen seats up to 1 year in advance - You can make as many changes as you need, free of charge, before getting on the train - Reserve a set of Shinkansen seats and hotel rooms! - Reserve activities, hotels and car rentals! - Select any seat from the seat map (*reserved seats only) - Information on services available in stations and trains - You can log in quickly by using fingerprint authentication. (only for compatible models) ▼ Main features - Membership registration - Purchase ticket/Reserve seats (time designation, train name designation, easy free seat reservation)) - Confirm reservation - Change and refund reservation (reducing the number of persons) - Display purchase history and receipt - Check, change member information - Display QR-Ticket for boarding - Designate or register IC card for boarding - Service status information (Link) ▼ Notes - Membership registration is required to use this app. For registration, personal information is required, such as member name, date of birth, and a valid credit card, etc. - Ticket purchase (reservation) payment will be taken from the credit card registered on the account. -- You need to register or designate IC card for public transportation (*) to travel ticketless with IC card. (*) Kitaca, PASMO, Suica, manaca, TOICA, PiTaPa, ICOCA, Hayakaken, nimoca, SUGOCA - You need the pickup code to pick up tickets from ticket vending machines, etc., at main stations of Tokaido Sanyo Kyushu Shinkansen, such as Tokyo, Kyoto, Shin-Osaka, Hiroshima, Hakata, Kumamoto etc. - Please do not use this app to make a seat reservation for Japan Rail Pass. - This service is available only in English. - For more details on this service, please see the website. *The email address below is for inquiries about application specifications. Please note that we cannnot answer inquiries about the service.
Timeshifter
This app provides personalized plans to combat jet lag based on circadian science. It offers practical advice for light exposure and avoidance to help you adjust to new time zones quickly and reduce symptoms like insomnia and sleepiness.
- Personalized jet lag plans
- Circadian Time™ advice
- Practicality Filter™
- Pre-travel adjustment advice
- Push notifications for advice
- Automatic detection of short trips
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Reduce jet lag with personalized plans based on the latest sleep and circadian science. Timeshifter creates a plan for every flight and time zone, tailored to your chronotype, sleep pattern, itinerary and personal preferences. Used by NASA astronauts, F1 teams, NBA players, Olympic athletes and frequent travelers - and rated "as good as it's going to get" by The New York Times. - The Wall Street Journal: "Indispensable" - Condé Nast Traveler: "Say goodbye to jet lag" - WIRED: "Will help reset your [circadian] clock" - Travel + Leisure: "Game-changer" WHAT YOU GET Jet lag plans that show exactly when to seek light, when to avoid it, when to sleep and when to nap, and how to use melatonin (optional) and caffeine correctly (optional) - hour by hour. PROVEN RESULTS Based on ~130,000 post-flight surveys: - 96.4% of travelers who followed their plan avoided severe jet lag entirely. - Travelers who ignored the advice were 6.2x more likely to experience severe jet lag - and 14.1x more likely to experience very severe jet lag. YOUR FIRST PLAN IS FREE Your first jet lag plan is free, with no commitment. After your free plan, you can buy plans as you go for US$9.99 per plan, or subscribe for unlimited plans at US$24.99. KEY FEATURES - Circadian Time™: advice timed to your circadian clock - Practicality Filter™: adjusts advice to the "real world" - Quick Turnaround®: automatically detects short trips - Pre-travel advice: start adjusting before departure - Push notifications: view advice without opening the app JET LAG MYTHS VS. CIRCADIAN SCIENCE Jet lag cannot be fixed with generic sleep advice, exercise, hydration, dietary supplements, special diets or fasting. None of these reset your circadian clock quickly to a new time zone. Light is the key time cue that resets your circadian clock. Individually-timed light exposure and light avoidance - based on your chronotype, your normal sleep pattern and your itinerary - is the only way to adjust to a new time zone quickly. Get the timing wrong and jet lag gets worse. Getting that timing right is complex and unintuitive, which is why generic advice fails. Timeshifter works as your jet lag calculator and planner, doing that timing for you. WHY WE MADE TIMESHIFTER We built Timeshifter to make circadian science accessible and help you apply it to reduce jet lag. It targets the underlying cause of jet lag - the disruption of your circadian clock - and reduces the symptoms that come with it, including insomnia, daytime sleepiness, fatigue and digestive discomfort. Timeshifter was developed with Dr. Steven W. Lockley, a Harvard Medical School faculty member for over 20 years and former neuroscientist at Brigham and Women's Hospital. He is an international authority on circadian rhythms and sleep, with more than 30 years of clinical research experience in humans, and works with NASA astronauts and mission controllers, F1 teams, NBA players, national soccer teams and Olympic athletes. Whether you are crossing one time zone or ten, on a long-haul flight or a quick turnaround, Timeshifter gives you a jet lag plan built for that trip. Download Timeshifter and make jet lag history on your next flight. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Timeshifter is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, and is intended for healthy adults 18 years of age or older. Timeshifter is not intended for pilots and flight crew on duty. Terms of Use: www.timeshifter.com/legal/terms-of-use Privacy Policy: www.timeshifter.com/legal/privacy-policy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Timeshifter at 92% against Shinkansen smartEX App's 17%. Timeshifter also leads on rating (4.7 vs 1.7) and update cadence (weekly vs monthly). Shinkansen smartEX App's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On price, ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Timeshifter sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $24.99 per year. Shinkansen smartEX App asks for nothing beyond the download.
Timeshifter holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 607 and 2.7K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 17% of Shinkansen smartEX App's written reviews are positive against 92% of Timeshifter's.
Shinkansen smartEX App ships an update monthly, Timeshifter weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Shinkansen smartEX App | Timeshifter |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.7 (607 ratings) | 4.7 (2.7K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 16.6% of reviews | 91.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 607 | 2.7K — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #140 | #29 — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 51 MB | 62 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Central Japan Railway Company | Timeshifter Inc. |
Customer experience
Shinkansen smartEX App
Timeshifter
Bugs and requests
Shinkansen smartEX App
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Timeshifter
Reported bugs
2 issues- App crashing or getting stuck on a white screen
- Issues with account login and data loss
Requested features
3 requests- Ability to adjust plan for unexpected schedule changes
- Integration with fitness trackers or sleep apps
- Recommendations for meal timing and nutrition
In-app purchases
Shinkansen smartEX App
No in-app purchases
Timeshifter
- Timeshifter$24.991 Year
- discounted jet lag plan$4.99
- jet lag plan$9.99
Questions
Is Shinkansen smartEX App free?
Is Timeshifter free?
Which has better reviews, Shinkansen smartEX App or Timeshifter?
Do Shinkansen smartEX App or Timeshifter have ads?
Which is updated more often, Shinkansen smartEX App or Timeshifter?
Which is more popular, Shinkansen smartEX App or Timeshifter?
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