Navigating Without Addresses: what3words Now Available on NAVITIME
NAVITIME JAPAN (Tokyo, Japan) has announced today that what3words has been made available on its flagship navigation app, NAVITIME. It is the first Japanese consumer navigation app to adopt what3words. The iOS update was released on the 1st of February and the Android update will be available soon.
NAVITIME’s multimodal navigation/route search service has a database of over nine million Points-of-Interest (POI) across Japan which are updated daily. However, searching for a specific location that does not have an exact address – such as a spot on a beach, a specific entrance to a station, or a bench in a park – can require a long explanation with directions from other landmarks to that specific location.
what3words solves this problem by providing a simple way to communicate any precise location. It has divided the world into a grid of 3 metre squares and given each square a unique combination of three random words: a what3words address. This means that every building or station entrance, pop-up venue and meet-up spot in a park has its own unique address, allowing users to easily find, share and navigate to anywhere in the world. For example, ///tigers.grinning.wharfs will take you to a specific bench overlooking the Crane Fountain in Hibiya Park, Tokyo – the perfect spot for a picnic.
Users of NAVITIME can now share and find locations that do not have addresses, by just typing a simple what3words address. The three words provided by what3words are available in multiple languages including the Japanese hiragana, making it very easy to use.
Chris Sheldrick, co-founder and CEO of what3words, said: “what3words adds a layer of precision that is necessary for the way we live today and for the technology of tomorrow. We see huge potential for growth in Japan, and are excited to be working with NAVITIME to help millions of users across the country navigate with ease.”
what3words is already being used throughout Japan, with restaurants and hotels listing their what3words word addresses to help guests to find them. Anyone can discover three word addresses using the free what3words app or online map at what3words.com
NAVITIME app is available on iOS and Android devices.
