'ALKOO by NAVITIME' Launches Time-Based Shaded Route Feature

NAVITIME JAPAN Co., Ltd. (President and CEO: Keisuke Onishi, Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo) will launch a new "Time-Based Shaded Route" feature on its walking app "ALKOO by NAVITIME" starting July 1, 2026 (Wed). This feature allows users to search and compare shaded routes based on the time of day.

This function enables users to search for a total of 11 shaded routes, one for each hour within the day's daylight hours (7:00 AM to 5:00 PM), and compare the shaded percentage of each route on a map. For routes starting from the current time onwards, weather and temperature forecasts will also be displayed.

This will enable proactive heatstroke prevention measures, such as determining "what time to leave to be the coolest" or "researching cool times and routes in advance for upcoming outings today."

Since 2023, NAVITIME JAPAN has offered "Shaded Routes" that allow users to walk while avoiding sunlight as much as possible, to support comfort and heat countermeasures during summer outings and walks. However, the previous function could only search for shaded routes from the current location at the current time. This presented a challenge for users who wanted to check routes in advance according to their schedule, such as "wanting to research a shaded route in advance for an afternoon outing" or "wanting to take a pet for a walk during the coolest time possible."

With this update, users can simply set their destination before their morning outing and check shaded routes for each time period, considering the constantly changing size and direction of shadows, and determine which route to take at which time to avoid sunlight. Additionally, with the introduction of this feature, route searches can now be performed not only from the current location but also from any specified starting point.

This feature will support proactive heatstroke prevention and comfortable walking for various outing scenarios, from business professionals visiting clients to daily shopping trips and evening pet walks.

This feature is available to paid members. Free members can compare a total of 3 routes, one hour before and one hour after the current time.

About "Shade Map" and "Shaded Route" Features

Shade Map

This feature calculates and displays the shade shapes of buildings on the map based on building shapes, heights, and solar altitude.

It reflects the season, time, latitude, and longitude, and can display the shape of the shade in real-time.

Shaded Route

Based on the location of shade for each hour, this feature presents priority routes to the destination that maximize the shaded percentage.

It also displays the "shaded percentage," allowing users to compare it with other routes (such as shorter routes).

Related Press Releases

・July 29, 2022: "Shade Map" launched on "ALKOO by NAVITIME"

・July 20, 2023: "Shaded Route" prioritizing shaded paths launched on "ALKOO by NAVITIME"

●About the Walking App "ALKOO by NAVITIME"

This app supports enjoyable daily walking for those who want to manage their health through walking and are interested in activities like walking and strolling. It automatically measures and graphs steps, distance traveled, and calories burned, and offers various features such as "Shade Map" and "Shaded Route."

It received the "2023 Good Design Award" and was a double winner at the 2026 "Tokyo Metropolitan Government Heat Countermeasure Goods Contest," receiving the Grand Prix in the Shade Creation Division and the Innovation Award.

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