Comparison

Japan Transit Planner vs Mapcode Finder

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

Head to head
About

Japan Transit Planner

This app helps you navigate Japan's extensive public transportation system. It provides detailed route planning, fare information, and timetables for railways and airplanes, with options to consider rail passes and seat preferences. Premium features offer enhanced convenience for frequent travelers.

Highlights
  • Route and transfer planning
  • Fare and time calculation
  • Comprehensive station timetables
  • Japan Rail Pass consideration
  • Seat preference selection
  • Offline history access
  • Platform number information (Premium)
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Japan Transit Planner-Norikae Annai is a multilingual version of the navigation application "Norikae Annai", the most downloaded in Japan. It will show you the route or how to transfer by railways or airplanes in Japan. It can check the route, the fare, and the required time easily as long as you input the departure station and the destination station. Besides, you can caculate the accurate required time and the ride time since it contains the timetable of all the stations all over Japan (except for some sections). Route search. Comfortable movement supported. ・Calculating station name function, search easily with input history ・Search the nearest station from the current position ・When using IC card or ticket the fare can be switched with only one click ・Search the route after considering Japan Rail Pass and Tokyo Subway Ticket ・Input and display on the station numbering ・Timetable on the way stop station ・The weather in departure and destination area ・Set preferred area when input station name ・Specify seat (Specified seat/ Free seat/ Green train) ・Set display order (Less time/ Less fare/ fewer transfers) Timetable. Confirm the station timetable of Japan ・There are two types of display formats, list and station timetable, on the timetable viewing ・Switch easily between Weekdays, Saturdays, and Holidays ・Shinkansen displays the number of trains Share function. The search result share with family or friends. ・Share search results via email or calendar PREMIUM mode. A more convenient experience. ・Specify prefered train for Shinkansen/ Prefered search function for every stop station ・The convenient information of platform position (car number) when transfer ・Display the departure, arrival platform (platform number) History function. Travel with the route and the timetable ・Save up to 50 logs automatically ・Off-line available ********** ●Fare (Tax included) It's free to download. Plans are required to use all features. ・Continuous use for 1 month 360 Yen ・90-Day Plan 1,000 Yen ・365-Day Plan 3,780 Yen ●Terms of use https://touch.jorudan.co.jp/iphone/japantransit/en/terms.html ● Privacy policy https://touch.jorudan.co.jp/iphone/japantransit/en/privacy.html It's required to connect the internet when using this application. Sorry for troubling you, but please uninstall it and try install it again when it's fare to start after updating. This company do not guarantee that there is no error at all although every effort is made to it. Please use only as a reference. *Company names, product names and service names mentioned are each company's registered trademark or trademark.

About

Mapcode Finder

This app provides a short, universal code for any location on Earth, functioning like a worldwide postal code. It allows users to find locations by mapcode, coordinates, or address, and generate routes to them. Mapcodes are designed to be easily communicated and are recognized by major navigation systems.

Highlights
  • Generate short address codes for any location
  • Find locations using mapcodes, coordinates, or addresses
  • Get routes to locations via the Maps app
  • Mapcodes recognized by HERE and TomTom
  • Precise location identification
  • Useful for emergency services and utility companies
Features
Read full description

This app provides a short address for ANY location on Earth. Much like a postal code, except its a world-wide postal code. What are mapcodes? Mapcodes are a free and open way to make location on Earth addressable by a short code even if it has no "official" address. For instance, with nothing but your mapcode, a navigation system will bring you to within meters of your front door. This app allows you to get mapcodes for any location on Earth by finding the location on the map, entering its coordinates, or entering its address (if that exists). And, obviously, if you have a mapcode, this app will you show where the location is and allow you to get a route to it (using the Maps app). Mapcodes were designed to be short and easy to recognize, remember and communicate. Shorter than a regular address and simpler than latitude and longitude coordinates. Regular mapcodes are precise to a few meters, which is good enough for everyday use, but they can be extended to almost arbitrary precision. Mapcodes are supported by major map makers, such as HERE and TomTom. For example, the HERE and TomTom navigation apps (also in this AppStore) and millions of satnav devices recognize mapcodes out-of-the box. Just type it in as if it were your address. Who uses mapcodes? Here are some examples of using mapcodes in real life. Emergency services need to quickly reach the strangest places. Not only will a Mapcode get an ambulance to within meters of its target, no matter where, but the short mapcodes can also be communicated clearly even over bad connections (for example in Eastern Cape and South Africa). Many countries are currently considering mapcodes as a candidate for their national postcode. Most countries today only have "zone" codes, where thousands of dwellings share the same code. South Africa was the first to introduce mapcodes to officially support informal dwellings (such as slum dwellings). In countries without an effective addressing system, utility services can not readily come to aid of households or businesses when they are faced with power cuts or water leakages. In Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria, electricity and water meters bear mapcodes which aren't just their unique identifier, but acts as the address of that particular house or business. Archeological and botanical finds are (of course) registered very precisely. Many errors are made, however, both in writing down and in copying the unwieldy latitudes and longitudes. Mapcodes are now used to put a human face on coordinates by the Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Land or building ownership is a relevant and complicated, but vastly under-organized issue in many countries. Several land registry offices are looking into easily and unique identifying parcels of land by their central mapcode whilst others (South Africa, India, USA) have implemented mapcode down to a 1m2 accuracy for urban planning and asset management. Contact the Mapcode Foundation for more information on mapcodes or for questions or feedback on this app. You can reach us at http://mapcode.com and info@mapcode.com.

Screenshots

Japan Transit Planner4 screens
Mapcode Finder4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mapcode Finder at none against Japan Transit Planner's 8. Mapcode Finder also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.0). Japan Transit Planner's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 4 months) and review sentiment (75% vs 50%). On price 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. Japan Transit Planner sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Mapcode Finder asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Japan Transit Planner ships an update fortnightly, Mapcode Finder every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Japan Transit Planner versus Mapcode Finder: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJapan Transit PlannerMapcode Finder
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (2.1K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews75.3% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2.1K — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 4 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#195 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size100 MB12 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperJorudan Co.,Ltd.Rijn Buve

Customer experience

Japan Transit Planner

All ratings2,121 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral2.2%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews158 reviews
Positive75.3%
Neutral7.6%
Negative17.1%

Mapcode Finder

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

Japan Transit Planner

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashing or not opening
  • Incorrect route information or schedules
  • Difficulty finding nearby stations

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add English language support
  • Offline access to timetables and route planning
  • Improve search and routing algorithms
  • Provide more customization options

Mapcode Finder

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Japan Transit Planner

Subscriptions1
  • continuous use for 1 month1 Month trial$2.991 Month
One-time7
  • 3-Day Plan$0.49
  • Magical Mirai 2026 Theme1$2.99
  • Magical Mirai 2026 Theme2$2.99
Show 4 more
  • Magical Mirai 2026 Theme3$2.99
  • 90-Day Plan$5.99
  • Plus Mode (365 days)$17.99
  • 365-Day Plan$22.99
None

Mapcode Finder

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Japan Transit Planner free?
Japan Transit Planner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Mapcode Finder free?
Mapcode Finder is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Japan Transit Planner or Mapcode Finder have ads?
Japan Transit Planner shows ads; Mapcode Finder does not.
Which is updated more often, Japan Transit Planner or Mapcode Finder?
Japan Transit Planner ships an update fortnightly, and Mapcode Finder every 4 months. Most recently, Japan Transit Planner was updated on September 22, 2026 and Mapcode Finder on June 1, 2026.

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