How to find a guidance robot in a Tokyo station (and what to do when there isn’t one)

Tokyo’s stations are famously vast, and a few of them have trialled something children find genuinely thrilling: an AI “concierge” or guide robot that you can walk up to and ask for directions. For a tired kid who’s just been told to walk down yet another corridor, being pointed the right way by a talking robot can turn a low moment into the story of the day.

Two honest things to know before you go hunting for one. First, these are showcases and pilots, not permanent station furniture — they get introduced for an event or a “smart station” trial, moved, paused for maintenance, or quietly retired. So treat a robot as a lovely bonus, never as your navigation plan. Second, where they do run, they’re there to help: multilingual directions, transfer advice and nearby-area tips. Below is where they’ve appeared, how to use one with kids, and — most importantly — the human fallback that always works.

What these station robots actually do

The useful ones are information robots, not ticket machines. You approach, greet the robot (a tap on the screen or a spoken “hello” usually wakes it), and ask a simple question: which exit for a landmark, where the lifts or toilets are, how to transfer to another line, or what’s worth seeing nearby. They answer with voice plus a screen map or arrows, which is perfect when a word gets lost in a busy concourse.

They handle short, clear questions best. “Where is the Yamanote Line?” or “Where is exit A2?” works far better than a rambling sentence — which, happily, is also exactly how you’d coach a child to ask.

Where you’ll find them (when they’re running)

These three are the ones consistently reported by the operators and Tokyo’s city government. You may also stumble on robots elsewhere — hotels, airports (Haneda and Narita have used guidance and cleaning robots), and department stores — but the station examples above are the ones worth seeking out.

• Takanawa Gateway Station (JR East, Yamanote Line) — the flagship “smart station”, opened in 2020 as a showcase for new technology. It has trialled AI-based passenger-guidance robots and large digital signage, with voice and on-screen guidance reported in four languages (Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean). It’s the most likely place to meet a guide robot, but because it began as a trial, don’t assume the robot is on duty on any given day.
• Shimbashi Station (Toei Asakusa Line) — home to an AI robot concierge (nicknamed “Sota”) introduced around 2020 ahead of the Tokyo Games. It makes small talk and gives station and local guidance through voice interaction, in Japanese, English and Chinese.
• Shinjuku-Nishiguchi Station (Toei Oedo Line) — a companion deployment (nicknamed “Arisa”), a humanoid concierge offering the same multilingual guidance with human-like gestures.

How to use one with kids

• Let the child ask. Coach a short question first (“Where is the Ginza Line?”) — robots parse simple phrasing best, and the child gets the win.
• Pick English on the screen if the robot doesn’t detect it. Most offer a language button.
• Keep expectations light. It may mishear a name or not know a very specific shop — that’s normal. Treat a wrong answer as part of the fun, then check with a person.
• Mind the flow. These sit in busy concourses; step to the side so you’re not blocking commuters while the kids have their turn.
• Grab the photo, then move. It’s a great trip memory — take it and clear the space.

The fallback that always works

Because a robot might not be there, build your navigation on things that are. Every staffed station has a ticket-window or gate office with staff who will point you the right way — the universal move is to show them your destination written down or on your phone. Station signage in central Tokyo is bilingual, exits are numbered, and the coloured line letters-and-numbers system (e.g. G for Ginza, exit A2) makes directions easy to give and follow.

For door-to-door confidence, a maps app with live train times does the job a robot can’t: Google Maps and Japan-specific apps like Navitime give platform-level, step-by-step transfers. Load everyone onto an IC card (Suica/PASMO/ICOCA, or a mobile Suica) so gates are tap-through, and screenshot your route before you head underground where signal can drop. Our getting-around guide has the full, kid-tested version of this.

While you’re in the station: collect a stamp

Robot or not, give the kids one more reason to love the metro: “eki stamps” (駅スタンプ). Most Tokyo Metro stations — and many JR and Toei ones — have their own free, unique inked stamp near the ticket gates or station office, showing a local landmark. Pack a small notebook and let children collect one at each station; it turns every transfer into a mini treasure hunt and sends them home with a hand-stamped record of the trip. Ask staff if you can’t find where it lives.

So: hunt for a robot at Takanawa Gateway, Shimbashi or Shinjuku-Nishiguchi for the novelty — it’s a small, delightful bit of Tokyo that kids love — but keep a written destination, a maps app and the station staff window as your real safety net. That combination gets your family pointed in the right direction every time, robot or no robot.