Case study · Kobe Municipal Transportation Bureau
A municipal subway that warns you before the platform.
The Kobe Municipal Transportation Bureau (神戸市交通局 · KMTB) operates the municipal subway — Seishin-Yamate, Hokushin and Kaigan lines — and the City Bus network. Within Be Smart KOBE it integrates NaviLens at Sannomiya and on the Kaigan Line Misakikoen platform as a fall-prevention layer, together with NPO Ai-Collaboration Kobe, NEXT VISION and Shinohara Denki.
§ KMTB in pictures
From turnstile to platform — all in 42 languages.
Images of the KMTB rollout within Be Smart KOBE: Sannomiya subway, Kaigan Line Misakikoen platform, the Asahi vending machine at Iryō Center and the intermodal link with the Port Liner.
KMTB
Municipal operator: Seishin-Yamate · Hokushin · Kaigan · City Bus
Sannomiya (S03)
Intermodal hub with JR West, Hankyu, Hanshin and Port Liner
Misakikoen (K07)
Kaigan Line platform — fall prevention with NaviLens
30 m
Detection range of each NaviLens tag
The client
神戸市交通局
The Kobe Municipal Transportation Bureau (神戸市交通局 · KMTB) is the public transport operator of the City of Kobe. It runs the municipal subway (Seishin-Yamate, Hokushin and Kaigan lines) and the City Bus network that structures the city — over 30 metro stations and hundreds of urban buses.
Within the Be Smart KOBE programme, KMTB integrates NaviLens at Sannomiya and at Misakikoen on the Kaigan Line as part of a scheme run by NPO Ai-Collaboration Kobe, NEXT VISION (Kobe Eye Center) and Shinohara Denki.
§ The challenge
Let the subway walk you, not just inform you.
- 01
Making a central-island subway speak
Sannomiya subway (S03) is the gateway to the municipal subway and connects with JR, Hankyu, Hanshin and the Port Liner. The challenge: that a visually impaired person can find the right turnstiles, the right platform and connections on their own — without depending on staff.
- 02
Kaigan Line Misakikoen — zero falls
The Kaigan Line has platforms with tracks on both sides. NaviLens reads from cane in hand several metres away and announces «the platform has tracks on both sides — the train door is here». It is one of Japan's first documented uses of NaviLens as a platform safety layer (転落防止).
- 03
Fitting within Be Smart KOBE
The KMTB deployment is not an isolated pilot: it is part of the City's smart-city programme (Be Smart KOBE), operated by NPO Ai-Collaboration Kobe with NEXT VISION (Kobe Eye Center) and Shinohara Denki. That allows tags and processes to be reused at JR Sannomiya, Port Liner, vending and local commerce.
§ The solution
Tags that warn you before the tracks.
On the Kaigan Line Misakikoen platform, NaviLens reads from several metres away and announces by voice: «the platform has tracks on both sides — the train door is here». It works the same with cane in hand or with a guide dog: the app does not require focusing, only being within range (~30 m).
At Sannomiya subway, tags mark accesses, turnstiles and connections with JR, Hankyu, Hanshin and Port Liner — with the same app that already guides at MTA New York and TMB Barcelona.
§ Beyond wayfinding
Readable vending in-station.
Tags don't stay on the wall: NaviLens also reads the Asahi vending machine on the Iryō Center platform, announcing brand, flavour, price and exact position of each button. The same wayfinding principle applied to micro-commerce inside the station.
The deployment is open to local commerce («café 20 m to your left; konbini 16 m to your right») and can be linked to the KMTB GTFS feed to announce the next train on each platform.
§ Timeline
From Sannomiya to Misakikoen.
- Dec 2021
Official launch in the municipal subway
The Seishin-Yamate Sannomiya subway (KMTB) joins the Be Smart KOBE pilot alongside JR Sannomiya and Port Liner Sannomiya. Printed tags at accesses, turnstiles and tactile pavement; voice and multilingual via NaviLens and NaviLens GO.
- Jan–Mar 2022
Kaigan Line Misakikoen — fall-prevention trial
The City documents the use of tags on the Misakikoen platform to announce «tracks on both sides / train door position». Sessions with cane and guide-dog users, organised by Ai-Collaboration Kobe.
- 2023
Continuity and connection to Port Liner / airport
The municipal subway is connected to the intermodal Sannomiya rollout with Port Liner and the extension to Kobe Airport (Kansai Airports Kobe, 28 Sep 2023). November sees the world-first «airport-to-rail» trial linking KMTB-Port Liner-airport.
§ What they said
What the City of Kobe, Nikkei BP and Kobe Shimbun said.
“Guidance 2D-code tags are installed at JR Sannomiya, the Seishin-Yamate Sannomiya subway, Port Liner Sannomiya, … On the Kaigan Line Misakikoen platform they announce «tracks on both sides of the platform» and «position of the train doors».”
“The City of Kobe is running a trial of route guidance and visually-impaired support using colourful 2D-code tags through end of March 2022. … The tag is readable from within 12 metres.”
“A trial of street-walking support using a smartphone voice guidance system has started in Kobe so that visually impaired people can walk freely on their own.”
§ Results
An accessible and intermodal municipal subway.
Subway + Bus
Kobe's municipal operator (KMTB) adds NaviLens to its barrier-free policy
Anti-fall
Misakikoen as Japan's NaviLens platform reference
Intermodal
Same app, same codes for JR, Subway, Port Liner and airport
§ And your network?
Your next station can also speak.
Tell us about your network, your pain points and the KPIs you want to move. We’ll show you how NaviLens would fit —with comparable cases.
