Comparison

Shinkansen smartEX App vs Docent

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

▼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.

About

Docent

Explore museums and galleries worldwide with this comprehensive guide. Discover nearby venues, follow curated tours, and connect with friends to share your cultural experiences. Learn about art and history through interactive features.

Highlights
  • Discover 100+ museums globally
  • Curated walking tours with directions
  • Host and join museum groups
  • Rate and review venues and exhibits
  • Follow friends and see their activity
  • Learn about art history with tooltips
  • Track visited museums and tours
Features
Read full description

Docent is your personal guide to the world's museums, galleries, and exhibits. Discover venues near you, follow curated walking tours, write reviews, and share your journey with friends. DISCOVER Browse 100+ museums and galleries across cities worldwide—from the Met and Tate Modern to the de Young and Albertina. Sort by distance or rating, filter by city, and explore upcoming exhibits with opening and closing dates. GROUPS Host and join groups to attend museums together. Invite friends through Docent and share discussion posts, a photo album, and more with this feature. Record your group trips to museums through Docent, all in one place. TOURS Follow curated walking tours through museum collections. Each tour includes stop-by-stop directions, activities, and discussion prompts. Go at your own pace — pause and resume anytime. Upload photos and take notes along the way. REVIEWS & PHOTOS Rate and review museums, galleries, exhibits, and tours. Add photos with captions to share what you saw. Browse visitor photo collages on exhibit pages for a real look at what's on display. SOCIAL Follow friends to see their latest reviews in your feed. Discover what venues your friends are visiting and how they rated them. Friend reviews are always highlighted first. LEARN Tap highlighted keywords in venue descriptions to learn about art movements, architectural styles, and historic figures through contextual tooltips. TRACK YOUR JOURNEY Save your favorite venues and exhibits. Track which museums you've visited, tours you've completed, and see a visual breakdown of your activity on your profile. NOTIFICATIONS Save exhibits to get notified when they're opening soon or about to close. Never miss a limited-time show.

Screenshots

Shinkansen smartEX App4 screens
Docent4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Docent at 100% against Shinkansen smartEX App's 17%. Docent also leads on rating (5.0 vs 1.7) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Shinkansen smartEX App's advantage is ratings volume (601 vs 5) and chart position (#117 vs unranked). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Docent 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 601 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 17% of Shinkansen smartEX App's written reviews are positive against 100% of Docent's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shinkansen smartEX App ships an update every 6 weeks, Docent every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Shinkansen smartEX App versus Docent: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShinkansen smartEX AppDocent
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.7 (601 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews16.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings601 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 11 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#117 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCentral Japan Railway CompanySky Jung

Customer experience

Shinkansen smartEX App

All ratings599 ratings
Positive16.5%
Neutral2.0%
Negative81.5%
Written reviews372 reviews
Positive16.7%
Neutral3.5%
Negative79.8%

Docent

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Shinkansen smartEX App

No in-app purchases

None

Docent

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shinkansen smartEX App free?
Shinkansen smartEX App is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Docent free?
Docent is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Shinkansen smartEX App or Docent?
Docent is rated higher. Shinkansen smartEX App averages 1.7 out of 5 from 601 ratings, while Docent averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Shinkansen smartEX App or Docent have ads?
Neither Shinkansen smartEX App nor Docent shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shinkansen smartEX App or Docent?
Shinkansen smartEX App ships an update every 6 weeks, and Docent every 11 days. Most recently, Shinkansen smartEX App was updated on October 26, 2026 and Docent on October 24, 2026.

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