Two weeks since the last update, and they were busy ones. 23 new lines opened around Tokyo, Yokohama and the Shonan coast, bringing the total to 125. There is a new listening mode that hides the station name and plays only the announcement. Daily quests now give every day three small goals, a stamp and a streak. And you can finally sign up with email instead of Google. Here's everything that shipped between 13 and 26 September.
23 new lines around Tokyo
The expansion came in three steps.
13 September — the Enoden. The Enoshima Electric Railway's 15 stations run from Fujisawa along the coast to Kamakura. It arrived with its own train mascot, announcements in both voices, and an illustrated coastal map for Pro members.
17 September — eleven lines through Tokyo and Yokohama. The Tokyu Oimachi, Ikegami and Setagaya lines, the Keikyu Airport Line, the Odakyu Enoshima Line, the Keisei Narita Sky Access Line, the Sotetsu Main and Izumino lines, the Yurikamome, the Yokohama Municipal Subway Blue Line and the Minatomirai Line.
19 September — eleven more. Most of these are the through-running links that were missing from the map. The Keisei Oshiage Line joins the Asakusa Line to the Keisei Main Line. The Hokuso Line has all 15 stations, including the ten the Sky Access trains pass without stopping. The Toyo Rapid Railway and Saitama Railway extend the Tozai and Namboku lines. The Tokyu and Sotetsu Shin-Yokohama lines tie Sotetsu to JR and Tokyu. The Keio Sagamihara and Odakyu Tama lines run into Tama New Town. Finally there are the Tokyu Tamagawa Line, the Yokohama Green Line and the Tobu Urban Park Line, 35 stations in an arc from Omiya to Funabashi.
Every new station has its announcement recorded in both voices. The route planner knows the real transfers: 有明 to 国際展示場, 山下 to 豪徳寺, 戸越銀座 to 戸越, and the Nambu Line's 武蔵溝ノ口 to Tokyu's 溝の口. It also keeps apart the stations that only share a name, such as the two 弘明寺. Take the new lines for a spin in the Tokyo line guides.
Finding what's new
Route maps and Line guides open with a Recently added lines strip that scrolls through the 15 newest lines, each dated and tagged NEW. The same NEW marker appears on those lines everywhere else in the lists. It pauses when you hover over or focus it, and it stays still if your system asks for reduced motion. Next to the operator filter, a ✦ Illustrated map toggle narrows the list to lines that have a Pro illustrated map: the Yamanote, the Ginza and now the Enoden. The pricing page shows a live preview of those maps, and the illustrated map guide explains how to turn one on.
Each line guide also has a new header. The line code, name, a short description, the operator, the station count and both termini sit at the top, with the train's portrait beside them and a Play button for the line right there, so you no longer scroll past the whole article to start a run.
Listening mode
On 21 September every Japanese line gained a fifth input mode, Listen 聞き取り. The station board goes blank, the announcer reads the next station, and you type what you heard. You get three lives, and every reveal costs one. A combo speeds the announcer up, and the mode has its own leaderboard. The full guide walks through a run.
The same release added a departure announcement over the countdown (ドアが閉まります) and a thank-you at the terminal on solo runs on Japanese lines.
Since 26 September, listening runs can also show your typing as kana. You still press the same romaji keys, but the answer fills in as かな instead of letters. Pick Romaji or Kana かな under Show my typing as on the setup page. The choice only changes the display, so both share one leaderboard.
Daily quests, streaks and a rank title
The biggest addition of the fortnight gives every day three quests, the same for everyone. Finish a run to stamp the day, clear more quests for a better stamp, and keep a streak going with up to two freezes. A rank title from Station Staff to President now appears beside your name on the leaderboards. The Stamp Book artwork was redrawn at the same time, so every line badge now shows its own route. The details are in Daily quests, streaks and rank titles.
Sign in with email
You no longer need Google to have an account. The sign-in page has an email sign-up alongside it: pick a password, confirm your address with a six-digit code, and you're in with the same 7 days of Pro. This post explains which mail providers are supported and why.
Announcements on by default
Station announcements used to start switched off. New players now hear the recorded arrival announcement from their very first run. If you turned it off before, it stays off. Basic announcements remain free.
Pro, gifts and the daily contest
- A welcome for new players. Signed-out visitors now see a banner on the home page explaining that signing in unlocks 7 days of Pro, and what Pro includes. It can be dismissed with one tap.
- Redeem codes. Pro days can now be handed out as single-use codes, for events and giveaways. Redeem one on the Billing tab of your profile, or open the link that comes with it.
- Prepaid passes in Chinese pricing. On the Simplified Chinese pricing page, Pro is now sold as one-off passes: ¥9.90 for a month, ¥29.90 for three months and ¥99.90 for a year. They never renew on their own, and WeChat Pay is supported. Other languages keep their existing plans.
- The daily contest's finisher day ends. Until now, everyone who finished the daily contest received a day of Pro. The 28 September contest is the last one to pay it. The podium prizes stay as they are: 7, 5 and 3 days for the three fastest.
Smaller things
- The language switcher is now a proper menu like Lines and Practice, and each language's name is set in a font for its own script.
- The practice tools were rebuilt on 13 September — see the practice tools post — and the kana charts no longer show a stray horizontal scrollbar.
- The profile page and the share dialog were redesigned, and your rank title now appears on shared result cards.
- Clearer feedback when your keyboard's input method doesn't match the mode you picked.
- The blog is now laid out as a timetable by month, and each article has a contents list, a reading time and related posts.
- The footer now links to our accounts on X, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Bilibili and Xiaohongshu.
What to try next
Stamp today's card on one of the new lines: the Yurikamome over the Rainbow Bridge, the Enoden along the sea, or the 35-station Tobu Urban Park Line if you have time for a long run.
