Odawara city jointly with Mugensha, Inc. has released a free visitors guide app for iPhone, 小田原城ガイド(Odawara-jo Guide). It is an iBeacon app, which works with iBeacon, a technology that extends location services in iOS. Devices such as iPhone and iPad with iOS 7.0 or later with this app will detect the iBeacon signal transmitted at certain locations around and in the castle, and display information of the spot on the device.
Once downloaded, the content of the app can be viewed in Japanese, English, and Chinese (Traditional and Simplified). Odawara city hopes to attract more tourists from both home and abroad by providing this new type of guide to the symbol of their city, Odawara castle.
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Odawara Castle
Odawara castle was gradually expanded over a hundred years after the mid-15th century while the Hojo clan ruled the area for five subsequent generations. The Hojo controlled most of the Kanto region and Odawara castle was the center of their domain. The current donjon was reconstructed in 1960 to reproduce its appearance of the end of Edo period. Now they exhibit suits or armor, swords, and other historical materials inside. The top floor of donjon is an observatory that offers beautiful view of the city and Sagami bay.
About the app: Odawarajo Guide (Odawara castle guide)
Getting the app
The app is downloadable from the iTunes store page below.
Odawarajo Guide by MUGENSHA
If you’re going to search for the app from the app store, enter “odawara” or “mugensha” in the search field. The title of the app is only in Japanese but you can try to find “小田原城ガイド” from the results.
Once the app is downloaded, you will be able to select the language from the menu bar at the bottom of the screen. Available languages are Japanese, English, and Chinese (Traditional and Simplified).
How to use the app
When a device with the app gets near to iBeacon, a notification will appear on the screen. Open the app and available information will be listed.
A guide of the app in PDF (Japanese)
http://www.city.odawara.kanagawa.jp/global-image/Press/20150121-2.pdf
A guide of the app on YouTube (Currently in Japanese only)
http://youtu.be/ttkeyszX5vw
iBeacon spots
Odawara Castle Park:
Umadashi castle gate, Akagane castle gate, Tokiwagi castle gate, and 3 spots in the donjon.
Around Odawara Castle Park:
Odawara station tourist information center, Seikantei (Japanese architecture with a garden), and Kyodo Bunka-kan (Local culture museum).
*Bluetooth needs to be on to receive the iBeacon signal.
Get 10% off by showing the top page of the app!
You can get 10% off the admission ticket to the Castle and Rekishi-Kenbunkan museum.
Train
10 min walk from Odawara Station on JR, Shinkansen, and Odakyu Odawara line.
Websites
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