PAIYA: Japan Shopping Helper

Standing in a Japanese drugstore holding something you can't read? Scan the barcode or photograph the box — PAIYA tells you what it is and whether it's worth buying.

Free to download. No account, no sign-up — open it and scan.

Japan has the best shopping in the world and almost none of it is in English. PAIYA reads it for you: point your camera at any product and know what it is, whether it's worth buying, and what it costs in your own money.

TWO WAYS TO SCAN Point your camera at the barcode. No barcode, or it won't read? Photograph the package instead — PAIYA reads the label itself.

KNOW WHAT IT ACTUALLY IS What it's for. Who it suits. What to be careful of. Written like a friend who lives in Japan, not a machine translation.

SEE THE PRICE IN YOUR OWN MONEY Every product shows a reference price converted to your currency, so you know whether ¥3,850 is a bargain or a tourist tax before you reach the register.

WORTH IT, OR SKIP IT A clear verdict on every scan — not a wall of specifications to decode while a queue forms behind you.

ASK ANYTHING Nong Tiger, PAIYA's assistant, answers questions about products and about your spending. "What's the difference between these two?" "Am I over budget?"

ALLERGEN WARNINGS Tell PAIYA once what you react to. Every scan is checked against your own list, including ingredients outside Japan's eight labelled allergens.

TRACK THE WHOLE TRIP Set a budget and turn any scan into an expense. Daily spending, category breakdown, and what you'd already paid for before leaving — so a good shopping day doesn't become a bad month.

WHERE YOU CAN SCAN Japanese product barcodes in drugstores, supermarkets, convenience stores, Don Quijote, Bic Camera and ordinary shops. For store-brand goods PAIYA has the shop's own price: 2,400+ Seven Premium items at 7-Eleven, and TOPVALU at AEON and My Basket. A few shops' own labels aren't in the database yet — FamilyMart's Famimaru, Lawson's own brand, Don Quijote's Jonetsu Kakaku, MUJI. For those PAIYA says so plainly and reads the package photo instead.

IT SAYS WHEN IT DOESN'T KNOW If a photo is unreadable, PAIYA asks you to take it again rather than inventing an answer. For medicine and skincare a confident wrong answer is worse than none — so PAIYA doesn't guess.

FREE TO START, AND FREE TO KEEP USING Download free and scan 10 products every month at no cost. Your first questions to Nong Tiger are free too. No card, no trial countdown, no account. Upgrade only when you want unlimited scanning and the full trip-budget tools.

Your first scan takes about ten seconds. Try it in the next shop you walk into.

Prices shown are reference prices and may differ in store. PAIYA's product summaries are AI-generated and are not medical advice — always read the manufacturer's label and consult a pharmacist.