18 Japanese iPhone Apps [available in english]

The local developer community has noticed and produced a slew of apps aimed at a global audience. What follows is my subjective selection of the “best” of these made-in-Japan apps, all of which are at least available in English. (I left out iPhone games released by big companies such as Capcom, Konami, Sega or Namco to focus on apps created by startups or individuals based in Japan instead.)

My personal favorite is a free (and fantastic) GPS-based photo sharing app called Memory Tree (just like all the apps in the following list, it works worldwide). But here’s a round-up of all the 32 apps I chose, grouped in six categories (games, productivity, tools, photography and art, music, and everything else).

1. Gang Street Wars by DigiDock (iTunes links: $1.99 for a limited time / free version)
Addictive mix between real-time strategy and (side-scrolling) tower defense game with cartoon graphics and random gore effects. You play a gang leader whose mission is to conquer bases of rivals by sending out gang members with different combat skills.

2. Broadway Cafe by Artscape and Istpika ($4.99)
Pretty deep and professionally designed restaurant simulation game that lets you assume the roles of a waiter, manager and owner. Dash around taking customer orders, serving meals in time or doing the dishes. But you also take care of the interior design of the restaurant, its personnel, finances etc. (the app contains more action elements than it sounds). Broadway Cafe also connects to its Facebook counterpart from where you can recruit Facebook friends to join the game (demo video).

3. iYamato by Geppetto ($0.99 / free version)
2D shooting game in which you defend legendary battleship Yamato against aerial attacks. Not really a deep game, but it’s action-packed and ideal to kill 10 minutes from time to time (demo video).

4. LightBike by Pankaku ($2.99 / free version)
LightBike, which made it to the No. 1 in Apple USA’s app sales ranking a few months ago, is a 3D motorcycle racing/action game whose design resembles the setting of the Sci-Fi movie Tron. Up to 4 people can battle it out by using just two iPhones and Wi-Fi (demo video).

5. newtonica2 by Field System ($ 0.99/ free version)
The sequel to newtonica is a mix between action and puzzle game, cheaper than the first one and better gameplay-wise. The game’s 36 stages will keep you busy for a while (demo video). There’s also newtonica2 resort, an add-on or remake of sorts (available for $0.99).

6. iNinja by Geppetto ($1.99 / free version)
One of the few Ninja-themed action games actually made by a Japanese company. Deflect oncoming Ninja attacks with shuriken (throwing stars), eliminate enemies with knives, land combo kills or set booby traps in 28 levels. There’s also a two-player Wi-Fi mode.

7. Zeptoliner by Ubiquitous Entertainment ($6.99 / free version)
This “outliner” app helps you to arrange your ideas in a systematic way. You can jot down thoughts and then use a number of functions to structure them hierarchically. It’s also possible to import OMPL files to edit documents you created on your computer (demo video). 13. ZeptoPad 3.0 by Ubiquitous Entertainment ($19.99)
This note and whiteboard app isn’t cheap, but it’s an extremely versatile, vector-based illustration program. It lets you stream what you do on your iPhone to a computer screen or projector in real-time and has simply too many functions to mention here (click here for details and make sure to check out the video below).

8. TapNext by Conit ($3.99 / free version)
This app turns your iPhone into a remote control for presentations. Maker Conit says it’s the only software of its kind that’s compatible to Powerpoint, Keynote and OpenOffice Impress and can be used via Wi-Fi or 3G. You can theoretically use a PC located in Europe to deliver a presentation in the USA with TapNext through Skype (details and demo video).

9. ServersMan by FreeBit (free)
Launched in February, this app, which turns your iPhone into a personal web server, is still one of the most popular apps in the Japanese App Store. And it has become even more useful with OS 3.0b, adding a number of functions to the already impressive list of features (read more here). And the best app of its kind is free, too.

10. PlayPix 3 snaps by LivingImage ($2.99 for a limited time)
PlayPix is like a lighter version of Animoto’s iPhone app. Select three pictures from your photo album, choose a graphical theme and the app will create a slide show with background music for you. You can save the slide show on your iPhone, upload it to YouTube or Facebook and share it via Twitter or Email. During my test, PlayPix actually worked faster than Animoto’s iPhone app (demo video).

11. Memory Tree by XeNN (free)
A GPS-based photo sharing app with a fantastic big idea: Take a picture anywhere in the world, “drop” it on the spot you took it at (simply by shaking your iPhone) and add a text to it. This geo-tagged picture can later be “caught” by other Memory Tree users who are in the same area by swinging the iPhone “like a butterfly net” (”Same Place” function).

12. Koredoko (free)
This app lets you shuffle through geo-tagged photos in the camera roll and shows a Google map of where (and when) you took them (demo video).

13. TiltShift Generator by Takayuki Fukatsu ($0.99 for a limited time)
Takayuki Fukatsu is offering seven different photo apps that proved to be so popular that some of the pictures created with them were used in a real-world exhibition [JP]. TiltShift Generator is Fukatsu’s newest app, and it lets you shoot miniature pictures in retro style (samples). But you should check out his other apps, too.

14. Art Remix by Appliya Studio (free)
This app is based on a pretty cool idea: Tokyo-based iPhone app publisher Appliya is providing a platform called Appliya Studio [JP] that turns the creative work of artists and photographers into iPhone apps that are then distributed worldwide through the App Store. One of the many apps already available is called Art Remix. It lets you modify a total of 23 artworks with a set of customizable icons and then save and share the remixes with friends.

15. PocketGuitar by Shinya Kasatani ($0.99)
Already a major global success, this app displays a set of virtual guitar strings that you can strum and press with your fingers. Users can choose between six virtual guitars (even a Ukulele is available) and modify the sound with a number of different parameters (demo videos).

16. iShakuhachi by GClue ($0.99)
The Shakuhachi is a traditional bamboo flute that’s unknown even to many Japanese people. Users can play it by blowing into the iPhone mic, tilting it and covering the five holes with their fingers. GClue offers an iKoto (Japanese Harp) app, too.

17. Bijin Tokei by PHIRIA ($2.99)
This clock app brings 1,440 pictures of Japanese girls to your iPhone (Bijin Tokei means Hot Girl Clock in Japanese). The pictures fade in and out every minute, and each of them is showing a different girl who holds up a sign displaying the current time (to be exact, the models themselves change just every few minutes).

18. Wikiamo by Satoshi Nakagawa (free)
Wikiamo is better than the official app for Wikipedia (iTunes link) that launched just a few days ago simply because it makes Wikipedia pages much easier to read. The app also appears to be faster, lets you browse through certain articles when you’re offline (via page-caching) and has some other functions the official app doesn’t offer. [TechCrunch]

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