Get around, sight-see and eat with lots of new information, data and features on the Japan Travel Navigator app for foreign visitors.
Visiting a new place on vacation is a great experience, and eating good food there makes it even better!
So, next time you go to Japan, take Miko along. Not only will it help you plan your trip, book hotels, and see the sights – she will also help you discover the best eating places and make reservations, just like many locals do every day.
Miko is a super-smart app chatbot, which is fueled by artificial intelligence (AI) and desig
ned to take the guesswork out of traveling and eating out. It is the star of the Japan Trip Navigator – a smartphone app created by Microsoft Japan in partnership with two companies that Japanese people have used for years to get around – travel agency, JTB Corp., and travel information firm NAVITIME JAPAN.
Since the app’s launch early last year, Miko has worked as a virtual travel concierge. Using Microsoft’s Cognitive Services AI platform, it continually learns about the latest on where to go and how to get there.
It answers questions by drawing on JTB’s extensive knowledge resources and absorbs the input of information and images from other travelers who use the app. It also taps into NAVITIME JAPAN’s extensive knowledge and data about train, bus, and ferry services along with navigation for driving and walking routes.
Many foreign vacation
ers use it to find and book accommodation and work out itineraries. Now Japan Trip Navigator has just been upgraded with a list of new features and the addition of wide new information resources that will help travelers get more out of their vacations.
Food lovers can use it to search for restaurants all over the country by linking to the popular Japan Foodie app. Bookings can now be made directly with Miko as your interface and guide.
It is also linked to the JTB E-Ticket Purchasing Service, which sells e-tickets via the app for extensive range of services and entertainment.
The Japan Trip Navigator’s user experience has been improved so foreign visitors can more easily conduct refined searches that match their needs, such as current locations and destinations, desired regions, or interests.
It has dramatically widened the range of advice it provides by tapping massive, detailed, and comprehensive travel guide resources from RURUBU, which Japanese people use all the time to get around their country’s 47 prefectures. Overall, JTB has added around 2,500 items (around 8,500 in total) from RURUBU and about 50 items (around 250 in total) of model plan information from each region.
The features and favorite tourist spots of each region are presented in a way that is easy for international travelers to understand even if they are visiting an area for the first time. The new and improved app is now operating in Traditional Chinese script as well as in its original English.