# About Tokyo Glance

Tokyo Glance is an independent iPhone app that shows Tokyo's public transport moving live on one map.

## Why it exists

Tokyo Glance started with a fascination for watching Tokyo's railway network move as one connected system, inspired by the open-source project Mini Tokyo 3D. Much of Japan's public transport data is openly available, and that discovery turned fascination into a project: build a polished, native iPhone experience around it.

## What it does

Most navigation apps calculate one journey from A to B. Tokyo Glance is built for orientation instead: it shows the whole network, live, so you can see what is moving around you, follow a train to its destination, and check station departures, complete timetables, and first and last trains. The map distinguishes genuinely live positions from scheduled movement.

## Who it is for

Most Tokyo Glance users live in Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures and use it as a practical way to check the network around them. The app is also made for international visitors, who use it to understand Tokyo's scale, see how areas connect, and judge what fits in a day.

## Where the data comes from

Transit data comes from the Public Transportation Open Data Center (ODPT) and participating operators. Airport data comes from OurAirports, weather from Apple Weather, and map data from Apple Maps. Times use Japan Standard Time.

## Who makes it

Tokyo Glance is built by Ruben Aalders, an independent iOS developer in the Netherlands who has visited Japan three times in the past year and a half and keeps coming back to its railways. Press materials are available on the [press page](/press/).

## Related

- [Press kit](/press/)
- [Support](/support)