Independent Walking Apps in Japan: Earn Points and Miles with Every Step
Japan’s independent walking apps offer a flexible way to earn points and miles—without airline or shopping platform affiliation. Free to use and powered by Dot Money, these apps reward users for walking, playing games, scanning receipts, and more. With smart strategy, you can convert points into shopping credits or airline miles for ANA, JAL, and beyond. Learn how to navigate the Japanese interface, compare exchange rates, and turn your everyday steps into travel rewards. Your walk to the station just got more rewarding.
Not all walking apps in Japan are tied to airlines or shopping platforms. In fact, some of the most flexible point-earning apps are developed by independent companies—and they’re worth a closer look.
These apps aren’t affiliated with ANA, JAL, Rakuten, or Ponta, but they still allow you to earn points that can be exchanged for airline miles or shopping points. That means your steps, receipts, and even in-app activities can help fund your next flight.
What These Apps Have in Common: Most of these independent walking apps are free to download and use, and they typically don’t require a paid subscription. However, like many free apps, they do come with ads—expect a few pop-ups when tapping through menus or claiming rewards.
Nearly all of them use the Dot Money platform to process point exchanges. While you don’t need a subscription to use Dot Money, we highly recommend opening a free account to consolidate and manage your earned points more efficiently. We’ll walk you through that setup in a future article.
How They Differ: Each app has its own reward structure. Some give points based on step count, others on distance walked, and a few reward both. Beyond walking, many apps offer points for playing in-app games, taking photos of receipts, or buying specific products at partner stores.
Another key difference is the exchange rate and minimum redemption threshold. Some apps offer better value than others, so it pays to compare. In general, converting these app points to shopping points first—then transferring to airline miles—yields better returns than converting directly to miles.
Language and Usability: Most of these apps are in Japanese by default, though some may adjust to your phone’s OS language. If you’re not fluent, expect a learning curve at first. But once you get the hang of it, you’ll be surprised how quickly the points add up—even with just a few steps a day.
In upcoming posts, we’ll review individual apps in detail, highlight their pros and cons, and share strategies to optimize your setup for maximum point and mile accumulation.
Your daily walk could be your next travel hack.