In this article, we'll set up the Japan Transit app so live Toei train or bus departures display on your OptiSigns screens.
- What You'll Need
- Which Stations and Stops Are Covered
- How It Works
- Create a Japan Transit App
- Reading the Board
- Deploying a Japan Transit App
- Troubleshooting
- Data Source and Attribution
If your venue is in Tokyo, a departure board in the lobby answers the question every visitor is already asking: when is the next one? The Japan Transit app pulls live Toei subway and Toei bus departures from the Public Transportation Open Data Center (ODPT) and puts them on your screens in Japanese, English, or both.
Here's how to set it up.
What You'll Need
- An OptiSigns account - Standard Plan or higher
- An OptiSigns-enabled device
- A screen, set up and paired with OptiSigns
- A venue near a Toei station or bus stop - see the coverage note below
Which Stations and Stops Are Covered
The app covers the Toei network operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation:
- Subway Services: Asakusa Line, Mita Line, Shinjuku Line, Oedo Line
- Bus Services: All Toei-operated routes and stops
IMPORTANT |
| Tokyo Metro, JR East, and private railways are not included. If your nearest station is served by both Toei and another operator, the board shows only the Toei lines at that station. Choosing a station with no Toei service leaves the board empty. We intend to add additional operators as time goes on. |
How It Works
Each Japan Transit asset shows a single station or bus stop, and lists every Toei line or route that serves it. Departure times come from the published Toei timetable, refreshed daily, with live running information layered on top so a train that is late shows as delayed rather than on time. When a station has more departures than fit on one page, the board pages through them at the speed you choose.
Create a Japan Transit App
To set up a Japan Transit app, go to the Files/Assets tab, then click Apps on the left side of the screen:
| English / 英語 | Japanese / 日本語 |
|---|---|
Search for Japan, then click 周辺交通情報 / Japan Transit.
| English / 英語 | Japanese / 日本語 |
|---|---|
Enter the details for your Transit app. The panel on the right previews the board as you work - before you pick a station it shows sample data, so you can see the layout immediately.
- Name - This is the name of your asset. It is for internal OptiSigns use and will not display on your screens.
- Transit Type - Choose whether this screen shows Train departures or Bus departures. One asset shows one or the other, never both. To show both, create two assets and put them in a Split Screen or a playlist.
- Station (Train) - The station whose departures you want to show. Every Toei line serving that station appears on the board.
- Bus Stop (Bus) - The stop whose arrivals you want to show. Every Toei route serving that stop appears on the board.
- Language - Japanese, English, or Bilingual. Bilingual shows Japanese first with English underneath, which is the usual choice for hotels and offices with international visitors.
The station and bus stop lists are long, so both fields are searchable - start typing and the list filters as you go.
Under Display Options you'll find two more settings:
- Theme - Light or Dark. Dark reads better on a screen in a dim lobby or at night.
- Speed - How long each page of departures stays on screen, from 3 to 30 seconds (Fast 6s, Normal 10s, Slow 20s). If all the departures fit on one page, the board doesn't page at all and this setting has no effect.
To show bus arrivals instead, set Transit Type to Bus and pick a Bus Stop:
When you're happy with the preview, click Save.
Reading the Board
The train and bus boards use standard Japanese departure-board wording, with English alongside it in Bilingual mode. The two boards show different columns.
- Line / Service (路線・種別) - The line, with its official Toei line color.
- Destination (行き先) - Where the service terminates.
- Next Stop (次の停車駅) - The next station it calls at. If the line ends, it will read 終点 / Terminus.
- Train Type (種別) - Local, express, etc.
- Departure (発車時刻) - Scheduled departure time, in a 24-hour format.
-
Status (状況) - Shows the train status, which will read one of the following:
- On Time (定刻) - Running on schedule.
- Delayed (遅延 +X分) - Running late, by the number of minutes shown.
- Cancelled (運休) - This service was scheduled, but is no longer running.
- Schedule Only (時刻表のみ) - The timetable entry, with no live running information available yet.
NOTE |
| Schedule only is normal, not an error. Live running information isn't published for every service at every moment, and the board falls back to the published timetable rather than showing nothing. |
The bus board shows different columns:
- Route (系統) - The Toei route number.
- Destination (行き先) - Where the route terminates.
- Next Stop (次の停留所) - The next stop it calls at.
- Boarding (のりば) - Which stand the bus leaves from.
- Arrival (到着予定) - Expected arrival time.
The bus board has no separate status column. The expected arrival time carries the status by its colour, and when a bus is running late the original scheduled time appears struck through just beneath it, so you can see both what was planned and what to expect. A row marked 翌日 / Tomorrow is the first service of the next day, shown once the current day's timetable for that route has run out.
Times follow the Japanese convention of counting past midnight, so a 12:10 am departure appears as 24:10 on the last trains of the day.
Deploying a Japan Transit App
You can deploy your new Japan Transit app as an individual asset, or as part of a Split Screen.
To get your new asset to a screen, go to the Screens tab, find the screen you want, and click Edit. Set Content Type to Asset, then browse or search for your Japan Transit asset and click Select.
| English / 英語 | Japanese / 日本語 |
|---|---|
Back on the Edit Screen dialog, click Save. Your transit board will now display on screen.
It can also be shown in a Playlist or a Schedule - handy if you want the board up during commuting hours and other content the rest of the day.
Troubleshooting
The board is empty.
Check that the station or stop you picked is actually served by Toei - Tokyo Metro and JR stations have no Toei departures to show. It's also normal for a train board to be empty overnight, between the last train and the first one of the next morning.
A new board takes a few seconds to fill.
The first time you select a station or stop, the departures for it are prepared in the background. The board shows 運行情報を取得しています / Loading departures… while that happens, and fills in within a few seconds.
Every row says 時刻表のみ / Schedule only.
Live running information isn't available for that station or stop at the moment, so the board is showing the published timetable. Departure times are still correct.
Only some of the lines at my station appear.
Only the Toei lines are shown. Lines run by other operators at the same station are outside the app's coverage.
Departures scroll past too quickly, or sit too long.
Adjust Speed under Display Options in the asset's settings.
Data Source and Attribution
Departure information comes from the Public Transportation Open Data Center (ODPT). The board shows the required source and licence attribution on screen. The data is provided by the transport operators and ODPT, and is not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.
That’s all!
OptiSigns is the leader in digital signage software. If you have any additional questions, concerns or any feedback about OptiSigns, feel free to reach out to our support team at support@optisigns.com.