Naviu launches AI travel guide for Japan in 29 languages

A new AI-powered travel companion for Japan, called Naviu, launches on iPhone and Android on Sunday, 1 November. It is made by Tokyo-based TANGLE Inc., the company behind the tour operators TOMOGO! and Untold Japan.

Naviu combines an AI guide with augmented reality — digital directions and information layered over the real world through the phone camera. Travellers can ask it about anything around them and get answers in any of 29 languages, based on their exact location. A semi-transparent AR path on the screen gives turn-by-turn directions, while an AI companion walks with the traveller and points out side-street cafes, local landmarks and other places that guidebooks may miss.

The app can also recognise places from a photo. Travellers point the camera at a temple, a sign or a shopfront and ask what it is. It can build trip plans around dietary needs, interests, accessibility and the time available, and an optional storytelling mode narrates local history and stories street by street. TANGLE says its location technology is patent-pending and works across whole cities without needing a visual positioning system.

AR experiences are already live at five well-known Tokyo landmarks: Senso-ji, Tokyo Skytree, Tokyo Tower, Meiji Jingu and Tokyo Station. “The hard part of traveling in Japan isn’t getting lost. It’s standing in front of something remarkable with no idea what it is,” said Jack Mead, head of Naviu and chief executive of Ashita Co. “Naviu answers that question in your own language, right where you’re standing.”

Why it matters

Naviu is aimed at a familiar problem for visitors to Japan: standing in front of something remarkable with no idea what it is, as the company’s head of Naviu, Jack Mead, put it. An app that answers questions in the traveller’s own language and shows directions on the street itself could make it easier to explore beyond the famous sights. It also shows how AI and augmented reality are moving from demonstrations into everyday travel tools.

What happens next

TANGLE says Naviu is available on the App Store and Google Play from today, 1 November, with more information on its official site, naviu.app. The company also plans to let brands, cities and creators place their own interactive 3D and AR content in the real world through the app.

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.

Sources

• https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/a-new-way-to-explore-japan-with-ai-naviu-ar-travel-companion-for-japan-launches-november-1-2026-302925556.html (PR Newswire, 1 November 2026)
• https://www.morningstar.com/news/pr-newswire/20261031cn85526/a-new-way-to-explore-japan-with-ai-naviu-ar-travel-companion-for-japan-launches-november-1-2026 (Morningstar, 31 October 2026)
• https://naviu.app (Naviu official site, accessed 1 November 2026)