Shinkansen smartEX App vs Ikuzo
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.
Ikuzo
Organize your travel spots and plan explorations with a personalized map editor. This app complements existing map services by allowing you to manage an unlimited number of pins and points of interest.
- Organize travel spots
- Plan explorations
- Manage unlimited pins
- Complementary to Google Maps
- Web app integration
- Read-only iOS access
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Are you are a traveler, a photographer, an explorer? Do you feel frustrated with the Google Maps because you have way too many little icons all over it, and you can't seem to organize them nicely? Then, you will love Ikuzo! This Map Editor has been carefully crafted especially for you. The Ikuzo Web App (https://ikuzo.app) is extremely powerful, and will let you organize your spots when you are at home, on a computer or a tablet (preferably a large screen). Then when you are on the go, Ikuzo for iOS is the one you should use! With Ikuzo, managing your spots will become much easier, you will be also able to plan your travels and explorations in a much better way. Ikuzo doesn't replace Google Maps; Google Maps is perfect for looking for places and getting directions! They work hands in hands, Ikuzo is where you should keep your spots, as the number of pins/spots you have on Google Maps should be limited to the places you regularly visit or have a temporary interest in. Ikuzo for iOS and the web app work hand in hand: create and edit your spots wherever you are, and everything stays in sync. Contact me, let me know your feedback, I will do my best.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Ikuzo at 5.0 against Shinkansen smartEX App's 1.7. Ikuzo also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly). Shinkansen smartEX App's advantage is ratings volume (607 vs 2) and chart position (#131 vs unranked). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Ikuzo holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shinkansen smartEX App has 607 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Shinkansen smartEX App ships an update monthly, Ikuzo every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Shinkansen smartEX App | Ikuzo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.7 (607 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 16.6% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 607 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #131 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 51 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Central Japan Railway Company | Meow Arts KK |
Customer experience
Shinkansen smartEX App
Ikuzo
In-app purchases
Shinkansen smartEX App
No in-app purchases
Ikuzo
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Shinkansen smartEX App free?
Is Ikuzo free?
Which has better reviews, Shinkansen smartEX App or Ikuzo?
Do Shinkansen smartEX App or Ikuzo have ads?
Which is updated more often, Shinkansen smartEX App or Ikuzo?
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