Eleven essential apps when in Japan

admin 2020年6月5日

Intermediate

science & technology, science & technology - intermediate

Pre-Reading Questions:

What are the best places to visit in Japan?
What country do you want to visit the most? Why?

Vocabulary:

delicious /dih-LISH-uhs/

[adjective] having a very pleasant taste
I really love the delicious cakes they sell! It’s really worth the price.

delight /dih-LAHYT/

[noun] great pleasure, satisfaction, or happiness
I couldn’t help but express my delight with his great performance.

accessibility /ak-SES-uh-buhl-i-tee/

[noun] the fact of being able to be reached or obtained easily
The new city Mayor proposed a new project to increase accessibility to the hospitals.

timetable /TAHYM-tey-buhl/

[noun] a list of the times when buses, trains, and planes leave and arrive
I need to know the bus timetable of the city I’m staying at.

specialize /SPESH-uh-lahyz-uhd/

[adjective] relating to one particular area or designed for a particular purpose
The company offers highly specialized products for the event.

interact /in-ter-AKT/

[verb] to communicate with or react to
I think she would become a great nursery teacher because she interacts well with children.

Japan is one of the top destinations for some people. The country stores plenty of surprises from delicious food to famous sightseeing spots in the city and its prefectures.

If you are planning to visit the Land of the Rising Sun, you would experience a real delight with your trip when you use these useful mobile applications to guide you to know the cinema or train schedules, checkout places to explore, talk to your friends or even locals.

1. Line
Line is an application that most Japanese use to connect with friends. Creating your own Line account is easy. Once you download the app, you can now add your friends by QR code, by their phone number, or by their ID. Aside from its accessibility, Line has cute Japanese stamps, points for users to earn and spend, news, coupons, and a lot more cool stuff.

2. YureKuru
YureKuru is a very helpful application that notifies you a few seconds before an earthquake happens. It will also give you some tips on what to do in case of emergency. Moreover, it shows a map of places where an earthquake happened during the day.

3. Google Maps
Google Maps provides detailed information about directions and geographical locations. It is used by many people not just in Japan but across the globe.

4. HyperDia
HyperDia is an application that shows the route and timetable of the railway and flight schedule in Japan.

5. Bus Navitime
Apart from flight and railway schedules application, there is a specialized app that is used to check bus schedules in a city.

6. Yelp
If you are looking for a place to sightsee or a restaurant to eat out, Yelp is the answer. It’s free, convenient to use and offers healthy food choices.

7. Visit a City
Visit a City is an application that can be used offline to plan your trip. You can create your own travel guide that will help you make your trip more exciting.

8. Showaround
This application suggests places that are popular among locals and helps you interact with people along the way.

9. PrintSmash
PrintSmash helps you have a copy of a document or a picture by simply printing it to a nearby convenience store.

10. Duolingo
Duolingo will help you learn basic Japanese words such as saying “thankyou” and “sorry” when conversing to a native speaker.

11. TDR Alert
This app suggests things to do in Tokyo Disneyland. It provides information about restaurants, attractions, activities, and a lot more.

Comprehension Questions:

What are the 11 mobile applications that might help a person in going to Japan?
What is the use of HyperDia?
What is the application that notifies a person a few seconds before an earthquake occurs?
What application offers healthy food choices?
In the article, what application to use when you want to learn basic Japanese words?

Discussion Questions:

What do you think is the most useful application among the given apps above? Why?
Do you think the article is convincing enough for people to download the apps? Why or why not?
Aside from the benefits that are mentioned in the article, what do you think are the bad effects of using these apps?
What applications do you often use? Why?
What springs to your mind when you hear the word “smartphone”? Explain your answer.