Top 5 Japan-related iPhone Apps

February 19, 2010 · 19 comments

This post is a Japan Blog Matsuri submission. The theme of February 2010′s Matsuri is Japan Top Lists, hosted by Muza-chan. Check out this page to participate, the deadline is Tuesday, February 23rd.

I’ve ranked this list by usage rather than how much I like an app to eliminate apps that are cool but will end up collecting “dust” in no time.

MiraiClock, the official dannychoo.com clock app.

This is by far my most-used app, seeing as it’s pretty much always on when I’m at home. I like how you can customize it with either a black or white background, different images of Mirai and Haruka and the ability to use both 12 and 24-hour clocks. I tend to use a picture of Mirai with a 12-hour clock in landscape mode.
Smart.fm

This is an everyday app for me, especially when I work or have other business I can’t do from home. It makes my life so much easier. When I work I can do short instances on breaks so I don’t have to come home and do 100 reviews every day late at night. If you use Smart.fm but don’t have an iPhone or iPod Touch, this app is reason enough to get one.
Kotoba!

Kotoba is a really good free dictionary app. I don’t really use it on a daily basis, but when I was in Japan it came in handy a few times. It’s very good to have when you go out or travel somewhere. It gives you everything I’ve ever needed from a dictionary app, such as kanji readings and meanings, sentence examples and even detailed kanji information such as stroke order (animated).
Crunchyroll

It’s a new app that definitely could use a few upgrades, but just being able to use Crunchyroll on my iPhone is really nice. When I’m sitting in front of the computer I often want to have something on in the background that I can just take a look at for 2 minutes, when I can’t think of what to write. Crunchyroll comes in very handy for situations when I want to watch something but multitask at the same time.
NHK World

This is a new app to me but the other Japanese apps I have are used very seldom, I was choosing between NHK World and Sushipedia. NHK World basically lets you stream their channel to your iPhone. I’ve already written a post about it, so you can check it out here.

So that’s my top 5, what’s yours?

Tagged as: apple, apps, crunchyroll, iphone, japan blog matsuri, kotoba!, miraiclock, nhk, nhk world, smart.fm, top list

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{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }

Jamaipanese February 19, 2010 at 4:48 pm

A couple off this list would be real useful if I had an iPhone

TicTaek February 19, 2010 at 8:09 pm: Yup! Makes me want to buy an iPhone even more.

Sprckt February 19, 2010 at 8:07 pm

For the ultimate Japanese dictionary on the the iPhone look at the app Japanese, costs about $20 but well worth it. Preview here and official site

yonasu February 19, 2010 at 8:22 pm: I’ve heard of this app, but I don’t think it’s worth it (for me), since Kotoba has done the job well every time. I don’t really have a reason to buy a dictionary app.
Brad F. February 19, 2010 at 9:10 pm: Why buy what you can get for free?

Brad F. February 19, 2010 at 9:08 pm

I went ahead and snagged Kotoba! and Crunchyroll. I already have the other ones. Well, except for the Mirai clock. I’m short on power outlets so I have to juggle what’s plugged in at any given time.

Is there any time limit as to how much you can watch on Crunchyroll via the iPhone app? I remember trying to watch on their site once and it told me that I’d already watched 45 minutes worth for the day, which was even more confusing since it was the first time I’d opened the site in months.

yonasu February 19, 2010 at 9:48 pm: I don’t know of any time limit, I’m a paying anime member^^

Birger February 20, 2010 at 10:12 am

Är det sant att de säljer svensk pyttipanna i Tokyo nu för tiden?
http://svenskbladet.se/utrikes/index.php?alias=svensk_pyttipanna_en_succe_i_japan.html

janggs February 20, 2010 at 5:53 pm

wow thanks for the app suggestions ill be getting this smart fm ill be needing this if i want to survive in this country haha just got here in japan about last yr jan 21 still learning so this would be really helpful thanks:D

ShiningStar February 20, 2010 at 11:50 pm

You should have put the app “Sugar Doll” Koharus’s photobook to number one.
Also there are a few Miu Nakamura applications relevant to my interest.
I got kotoba but barely use it. Smart.FM is great and I love to learn Japanese on the trains when I’m heading to London.
I can reccomend iPuff for males who like to study anatomy of Japanese females.
Bijin Tokei, and Kiss fm tokei are great to.
To learn Japanese I boght:
Kana Strokes, JLPT N5, JPhrases, Idoms, WriteKana, and a nintendo DS emulator for weaboo’s. :D

yonasu February 22, 2010 at 2:13 am: That’s a lot of apps :P Koharu’s PB wouldn’t make the top 50! xD I don’t use a dictionary too often, but when I do, Kotoba does the job. iPuff is cool though^^

janggs February 21, 2010 at 6:32 pm

is there an app where i can listen to jap am??? radio shows???

yonasu February 22, 2010 at 2:10 am: If you mean live radio, not that I know of. There’s plenty of Japanese podcasts available on the iTunes Store though (for free).
janggs February 22, 2010 at 2:16 am: will you suggest a good one? if it includes nippon broadcasting system radio station on the line it will be also great but if not its ok.

Shining Star February 22, 2010 at 9:58 am

There are a few Japanese radio app’s on iTunes, but it’s basically just a bookmark to the websites that streams it, so not worth paying for. And since the distance you need wifi or very strong 3G to be able to enjoy. Just make a search for Japanese radio on itunes, a few apps will pop up.

janggs February 22, 2010 at 10:11 am: thanks for some infos im in osaka so i guess i have no problem on signals im using softbank 3G and i guess its good enough right?

ShiningStar February 23, 2010 at 8:58 am