Stop 01 · Landmark
Nezu Shrine
2:00
Narration arrives with launch
Get early access →Tokyo first · cherry blossom 2027
See something?
Hear its story.
Curio is an audio guide for people without a plan. Tap whatever is in front of you and hear a short story about it, written by someone who actually lives there. No route to plan and nothing to look up. Start walking.
A free premium weekend in your first city. We email about the launch and nothing else.
Audio-first Just walk Works offline
GPS
Explore
Kraków · early sample
The Other Capital
0:000:00
A real Curio story from Kraków, where we tested it first. This is the whole thing.
Stop 02 · Landmark
Yanaka Ginza
2:00
Narration arrives with launch
Get early access →
Stop 03 · Landmark
Yanaka Cemetery
2:00
Narration arrives with launch
Get early access →
Stop 04 · Quiet one
Asakura Museum
2:00
Narration arrives with launch
Get early access →
Stop 05 · Quiet one
Daimyo Clock Museum
2:00
Narration arrives with launch
Get early access →Explore mode
You're not lost.
You're just curious.
A gate at the end of a side street. A tree everyone is photographing. A building older than everything around it. Normally you shrug and walk past. With Curio you tap it, and someone tells you.
Try it. Tap a pin on the map: five real stops in Yanaka.
Example position, not your real location
Yanaka is Tokyo's old quarter. Five real stops; the full story map arrives with launch. The blue dot is an example position, not your location. This page never asks for it. Photos: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY‑SA / CC0, credited in ASSETS.md.
Your pace
Two ways to use it.
Most of the time
Just wander
Open Explore mode and walk wherever you feel like. Curio notices what's around you and offers a story when there's one worth hearing. Tap it or ignore it. You can stop whenever you want.
When you want one
Follow a journey
Some days you want something to follow. Pick a journey (a neighbourhood, a theme, an afternoon) and Curio sets the pace to how fast you actually walk.
Why Curio
Not a map. A narrator.
Curio turns the city into something you listen to.
Made for wandering
Turn down whichever street looks better. Curio keeps up.
Ears, not eyes
Put the phone in your pocket and actually look at the city you came for.
Written by locals
People with strong opinions about the streets they live on.
Follows what you like
Architecture, food, dark history, or just the atmosphere. You choose.
Works with no signal
Download the city before you head out. It keeps working in the metro, and your roaming bill doesn't move.
Get curious,
get lost on purpose.
Every place gets a story.
Who tells you
Stories from people
who live there.
Every story is written by someone who lives in the city, about their own streets. Not the same five facts a search result gives you.
The person who tells you about the bar on the corner has probably been thrown out of it. That kind of detail doesn't survive a rewrite.
How we'd describe it
More like a walking podcast than a guided tour.
First city
Tokyo, while
the blossom lasts.
Curio launches in Tokyo in spring 2027, timed to sakura. Cherry blossom season is the best case we could ask for: for two weeks the whole city is worth stopping for, and the best spots are rarely the ones on anyone's list.
- Stories across the city, not just the famous parks
- Works fully offline, including underground and without a local SIM
- Written by people who live in the neighbourhoods you'll walk through
More cities follow, and early-access members help pick them.
Spring 2027
Walk Tokyo first, spring 2027.
Get early accessQuestions.
Do I need to plan a route before I go out?
No. That's the whole point. Open Explore mode, start walking, and tap anything that catches your eye. There are planned journeys too, for when you want one, but you never have to use them.
How long is a single story?
Around two minutes. Long enough to be worth stopping for, short enough that you can listen while you keep walking.
What language are the stories in?
English, at launch. The writers live in the city they're writing about, and they write in English so any visitor can use it. We'd like to add more languages, and early-access members are the first people we'll ask which.
Does Curio work without mobile data?
Yes. Download the city before you head out, and the maps and audio both work with no signal. Handy in Tokyo, where the metro runs deep underground and visitor SIMs can be patchy.
Who writes the stories?
People who live in the city. Not rewritten guidebook copy and not the same five facts you'd find in a search result. Local writers with opinions about their own neighbourhoods.
Who's behind Curio?
A small independent team that got tired of walking past good stories. We're building Curio city by city, with local writers in each one. Questions, ideas, or you write about your city? Say hello at hello@curio.guide.
What will it cost?
There'll be a free tier you can use without paying. We're still working out the rest, and early-access members will hear it from us first.
When does Curio launch?
Tokyo comes first, in time for cherry blossom season in spring 2027. More cities follow, and early-access members help decide which.
Want to walk
first?
Be in the first group walking Tokyo with Curio. Tell us where you'd want it next, and we'll let you know the moment it's live.
A free premium weekend in your first city. We email about the launch and nothing else.