Aruki: Japanese Walking

Three minutes easy, three minutes brisk, repeat — the Japanese walking method, coached start to finish. A real coach's voice tells you when to switch. It never cuts off your podcast. And you don't need an Apple Watch.

Most training plans fail the same way: you quit them. This one is built to be kept. In the original Shinshu University research, interval walkers gained real fitness, stronger legs, and lower blood pressure in five months — and nearly everyone stuck with the program, because every brisk push is followed by three easy minutes. It never stops feeling like a walk.

Aruki is that method, made calm.

The method is simple: walk briskly for three minutes, then ease off for three, and repeat five times. Researchers call it interval walking training. You'll just call it the best part of your day.

Aruki guides every interval so you never watch the clock. A soft chime and a warm, natural voice — recorded in your own language, free for everyone — tell you when to ease off and when to push. Eyes up, phone in your pocket. Your music or podcast keeps playing the whole time; the cue just ducks under it for a second. When you're done, your walk becomes a quiet card worth keeping.

• A real coach's voice in your language — free, not an upsell
• Keeps your music and podcasts playing — the cue ducks, then your audio returns
• No Apple Watch — coached entirely from your phone, in your pocket
• A lock-screen Live Activity shows the phase and countdown at a glance
• Spoken cues and gentle chimes — calm, not beeping — and it works on silent
• Timed slow–fast intervals, coached start to finish
• Live pace coaching — see your steps-per-minute and get nudged when you drift (Pro)
• Cadence metronome to hold your pace, screen on or off (Pro)
• Custom protocols — tune your minutes and sets (Pro)
• Full history of every walk (Pro; free keeps your last 7 days)
• Optional Apple Health sync
• A washi-paper design that stays out of your way

No subscription. Japanese Walking Pro is a single, lifetime purchase.

Walk fast. Walk slow. Repeat.