In Japan, the taxi's rear door opens before you touch it. Who is actually opening it? If you have ever wondered, this app is for you.
Why does the bullet train have a long, thin nose? Why does a convenience-store rice ball keep its seaweed crisp? Which prefecture owns the summit of Mount Fuji? Japan is full of things you see every day and cannot quite explain. This app turns them into three-choice quizzes: the Japan you thought you knew, one question at a time.
If you live in Japan, it is a way to finally explain the country around you to friends from abroad. If you are curious about Japan, it is a door into the parts no guidebook covers. Either way, the first question is already fun.
[1] Five questions per stop. One stop fits a red light.
The app is a journey around Japan. Every five questions make one stop, and clearing a stop takes you to the next. It fits a train ride or the minutes before sleep, and it always ends somewhere sensible.
[2] The story keeps going after you answer
Every question comes with an explanation. Right or wrong, what follows is the background: "and here is the part that makes it strange". That is the best bit, so try not to stop at the answer. You will want to tell someone tomorrow.
[3] Nine areas, evenly covered
Food and drink, daily life and customs, words and writing, geography and nature, history and tradition, pop culture, technology and inventions, Japan in the world, and how people in Japan tend to behave. Questions are drawn evenly across all nine, so it never becomes a parade of food facts. How conveyor-belt sushi was inspired by a beer factory, what "karaoke" originally meant, why the QR code is free for the whole world to use: the angle keeps changing.
[4] Traveler, Insider, Master
Three levels. Start at Traveler if Japan is new to you, at Insider if you live there, or at Master if you already know your trivia. Either way, you move one stop at a time.
[5] A stamp book keeps your travel log
Each stop records your score, so you can come back for a perfect run. Achievements collect in your stamp book.
[6] Works without a signal
Every question is stored in the app. Open it on the underground or on a plane without thinking about your connection.
[7] Twenty languages
Playable in twenty languages, including English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Thai. Reading the same question in another language shows you how to explain it to someone else.
For people from Japan
- Anyone who has been asked about Japan by a friend or colleague from abroad and had no answer
- Anyone who wants to be able to talk about their own country before a trip or study abroad
- Anyone who likes trivia and wants more to talk about
For everyone else
- Anyone planning a trip or study in Japan who wants to know the customs before arriving
- Anyone living in Japan who wants to understand what they see every day
- Anyone whose interest in Japan started with anime or food and wants to go further
Please note
This is a trivia quiz app. Where the origin of a custom is debated, the explanation says so and sticks to what is known.
Start with one stop, just five questions. Who opens the taxi door is waiting at the first one.
Why do Tokyo taxi doors open on their own? Japan in 3-choice trivia. Offline.