Overseas Subway Game: Learn Station Names Before You Travel

Pick a Line to Match Your Destination Among 4 Countries

Besides Korea, K-Subway also has lines in Japan (Tokyo, Osaka), the US (New York), and Taiwan (Taipei). Once your destination is set, picking that city and practicing the line you’ll actually ride first is the most efficient approach. On the city selection screen, pick the country and city you want, and you can then choose one line among several in that city. If you’re not sure where to start when you first open it, we’d recommend tapping your destination first.

Tokyo has 14 to 38 stations per line, Osaka 10 to 26, New York 21 to 38, and Taipei 19 to 27 — line length varies by city. If your trip is short, starting with a line that has fewer stations helps ease the pressure. You can also split lines into Beginner (20 stations or fewer), Intermediate (21–35), and Advanced (36 or more) and compare the four cities on that basis.

If your itinerary covers several cities, it’s also a good approach to get a little exposure to all four. Both PC and mobile work the same way, so it’s easy to practice briefly while on the move. Practicing one line at a time on mobile during short spare moments before you fly out helps with trip prep. Splitting short pockets of time to practice several cities’ lines a little at a time also works without any pressure.

• Tokyo: 14–38 stations
• Osaka: 10–26 stations
• New York: 21–38 stations
• Taipei: 19–27 stations

Step 1: Learn Pronunciation First in Korean Mode

Overseas lines support Korean mode, displaying station names transliterated into Hangul. Tokyo’s 東京 shows up as its Hangul transliteration, and 上野 as Ueno’s; Osaka’s 新大阪 as Shin-Osaka’s and 江坂 as Esaka’s. You can check the pronunciation first even without knowing kanji or romaji. The current, previous, and next stations are all shown together, so you can check pronunciation without losing track of the overall flow.

Taipei lines work the same way — a kanji name like 淡水 also shows up as its Hangul transliteration, Tamsui. Type it a few times in this mode before your trip and the pronunciation you hear in local announcements or read on signage won’t feel unfamiliar. All four cities support Hangul transliteration the same way, so however you start, the approach is the same.

Because it’s typed in Hangul, you can start comfortably no matter which of the four countries’ lines you pick. At this stage, it’s better to focus on getting the pronunciation into your eyes and mouth rather than on finishing speed. Reading it out loud as you type helps the pronunciation stick in memory much longer.

Step 2: Learn Romanized Spelling in English Mode

Once you’re comfortable with pronunciation in Korean mode, switch to English (romanized) mode. Tokyo’s 東京 shows as Tokyo, 上野 as Ueno, and Osaka’s 新大阪 as Shin-Osaka. This is spelling commonly seen on local signage and maps, so you can put it to use directly on your trip. You can switch languages anytime from the line selection screen or the top of the game screen, making it easy to move between steps.

New York’s local language is already English, so there’s no separate romanized mode — you type names like Times Square–42nd Street or Union Square exactly as they’re originally written. For New York, this step is effectively practicing local-language spelling right after Korean mode. It skips one step compared to the other three cities, but that also means you can focus specifically on the English words themselves. If you’re confident in English, trying a New York line first is also a good choice.

Romanized spelling uses only the alphabet, making it easier on the eyes than kanji or kana. Practicing this step thoroughly also helps when you’re searching for station names in a local map app later. Once you’re comfortable with romanized spelling, reading English signage locally will also feel much more manageable.

Step 3: Finish Up in Local Language Mode

Tokyo and Osaka support Local language mode in kanji and kana, and Taipei in kanji. Move to Local language mode after getting comfortable with station names through Korean and English mode, and you’ll follow along much more easily than if you’d tried to memorize the kanji from scratch. New York’s local language is already English, so you effectively already practiced its local-language spelling back in step 2. Tokyo, Osaka, and Taipei, on the other hand, are where you’ll meet kanji for the first time at this third step.

In Local language mode, the reading is shown below the current station, so you can keep going even without knowing the kanji. Go through all three steps and, once you’re at your destination, neither the pronunciation nor the spelling on a real station sign will feel unfamiliar. Kanji that felt unfamiliar at first gradually gets easier on the eyes the more you repeat it. A line you’ve been through all three steps for will become the one you can navigate with the most confidence during your trip.

It’s also fine to stop at Korean or English mode without going through all three steps. What matters most is practicing without pressure, only as far as you personally need. If your schedule is tight, Korean mode alone is enough as a minimal way to learn the pronunciation. If you have time to spare, keep adding one more step at a time and take your practice further at a relaxed pace.

• Step 1: check pronunciation in Korean mode
• Step 2: check spelling in English (romanized) mode
• Step 3: finish in Local language mode (kanji/kana)

For a Tokyo Trip, Start With the Yamanote Line

Tokyo’s loop line, the Yamanote Line, is its best-known line with 30 stations. Type names running from Tokyo through Kanda, Akihabara, and Ueno, and you get an early feel for the flow of the line that circles central Tokyo. If 30 stations feels like a lot, it’s fine to practice about half first and pick up the rest later. Since it’s a loop, you can experience the whole flow going around no matter where you start.

Tokyo has many other lines too, like the Ginza and Marunouchi lines, so if you have a specific line you’ll actually be using, it’s more helpful to practice that one directly. Tokyo has a lot of lines, so it’s also fine to pick two or three to practice based on your itinerary. Since station count and kanji difficulty vary by line, there’s also some fun in finding the one that suits you.

If your hotel or sightseeing spots cluster around the Yamanote Line, it’s efficient to practice this line first. Also keep in mind that, being a loop, the station order changes depending on your direction of travel.

Osaka Is Easy to Start With via the Midosuji Line

Osaka’s representative line is the Midosuji Line, with 20 stations. Typing names like Shin-Osaka and Esaka lets you practice alternating between short and long kanji place names. It has fewer stations than Tokyo’s Yamanote Line, so it puts less pressure on someone meeting Japanese lines for the first time. If you’re visiting Osaka first, it’s also a natural choice to practice this line before Tokyo’s.

Osaka lines run from a relatively short 10 to 26 stations, so you can practice a whole line to the end even in a short amount of time before your trip. Finish the Midosuji Line and move to another Osaka line, and you’ll meet more new kanji and kana.

Learning a name like Shin-Osaka, which connects to the Shinkansen, ahead of time can also make an itinerary that moves from Tokyo to Osaka feel less unfamiliar. Once you finish the Midosuji Line, moving to another Osaka line naturally widens the range of your practice.

New York and Taipei: Two Different Ways of Typing

New York’s local language is English, so you type station names as they are, mixing in words like Street and Avenue with ordinal numbers. Names like Times Square–42nd Street, joining two place names together, also make for a different kind of practice than Tokyo or Osaka. Scoring ignores case, so you can focus purely on spelling itself.

Taipei has kanji names like 淡水, which you can type in Local language mode, or as Tamsui in English mode, romanized. It’s a kanji-using culture, but the kanji are different from Japan’s, so you encounter a whole different vocabulary. Taipei lines run 19 to 27 stations, a length you can practice fully even in a short amount of time before your trip.

The two cities have completely different language systems, so New York lets you focus on English words themselves, while Taipei has you learn kanji and romanized spelling together. Visit both cities and you’ll be well prepared through these two different kinds of practice.

How to Pick Lines to Match Your Itinerary

If your trip crosses several cities, it helps memory to practice lines in the order you’ll visit them. Traveling Tokyo and Osaka together, for example, try finishing Tokyo’s lines first before moving on to Osaka’s. Matching your visit order to your practice order makes memories feel much more vivid once you’re actually riding that line during the trip.

If your trip involves a lot of transfers, pick a line with more stations to practice a wide range of names at once; if it’s a short trip, pick a shorter line that includes just the handful of stations you’ll actually pass through, to ease the pressure. Picking the line closest to your hotel or the airport first helps from day one of the trip. Practicing the line you’ll use on your first day first can also ease some of the unfamiliarity you’ll feel right after you land.

If your itinerary isn’t set yet, it’s fine to start lightly with whichever city interests you. Once your itinerary is confirmed, you can go back and practice again in visit order — it’s not too late. Getting a little exposure to several cities ahead of time also means you won’t be caught off guard if your plans change. Any city you’ve skimmed through once will help when you actually visit it later.

Practice Is Just Preparation — Check Local Guidance Too

This game is a tool for getting station names into your eyes and hands, and it doesn’t provide actual transfer routes, operating timetables, or fare information. Even once you’re comfortable with station names through practice, you still need to check the local line map and announcements during your actual trip. Already knowing the station names also means you can check local guidance faster. Recognizing the letters on a sign in one glance alone can noticeably ease the tension of being in an unfamiliar city.

Practice in your spare moments before you fly out, going through Korean mode first, then English, then Local language mode in order, and neither the pronunciation nor the spelling on local signage will feel unfamiliar once you’re there. After your trip, you can keep the practice going with a different city’s lines to prepare for your next one. The same practice order you’ve learned carries over directly to other cities’ lines too, making prep for your next trip that much easier. Even if your destination changes, the same method — stepping up through Korean, English, and Local language mode — still applies the same way.

Learning station names ahead of time doesn’t mean transfers or fares come along automatically, so it’s important to treat practice and actual travel preparation as two separate things.