Focus timer for iPhone and Android
Grow a bonsai, one focus session at a time.
Shimpaku is a quiet, Pomodoro-style focus timer set in a hand-drawn Japanese garden. Every session you finish waters your tree, and it grows in six stages.
- Free to start
- No account
- No ads
How it works
How long can you stay with one thing?
Pick a length, press Start, and give those minutes to a single task. When the timer ends, your tree gets its water.
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Choose a length
Anywhere from 5 to 60 minutes. Twenty-five is a good place to begin.
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Finish the session
The timer keeps going if you switch apps or lock your phone. When it ends, take a short break, or add ten more minutes.
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Watch your tree grow
Every session you finish waters it. My Garden shows how far each tree has come.
Six stages
The same tree, a little fuller each time.
Your bonsai grows with the sessions you finish, not the minutes you put in. Fifteen finished sessions take it from a young tree to a mature one.
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Young tree
Where every tree begins
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Developing
After 1 session
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Filling in
After 3 sessions
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Taking shape
After 6 sessions
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Established
After 10 sessions
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Mature
After 15 sessions
Your first visit
“Seventy years I have tended this garden.”
The first time you open Shimpaku, an old gardener welcomes you, shows you his trees, and gives you a spot of your own. You choose a tree and plant it there. From then on, every session you finish waters it.
Three trees
Which one calls to you?
Each tree keeps its own growth, so you can switch whenever you like.
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Shimpaku
Juniper
Free
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Momiji
Japanese maple
Shimpaku Pro
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Kuromatsu
Black pine
Shimpaku Pro
Shimpaku is free to grow. Momiji and Kuromatsu come with Shimpaku Pro, an optional annual subscription that also includes every tree we add later.
Your record
A stamp for every day you showed up.
The calendar keeps a hanko seal under each day you finished a session, like a stamp card. Stats show your sessions and focus time for the week, the month, or all time.
Quiet by design
Made to stay out of your way.
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No account
Open the app and begin. There is nothing to sign up for.
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No ads
No ads and no feed to scroll. Just the timer and your garden.
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Works offline
Timers, your garden, and your history all work without a connection.
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Stays on your phone
Your garden and session history are stored on your device, not on a server.
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Gentle endings
A soft sound and an optional notification when a session ends. Both can be turned off.
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Your pace
Breaks between sessions, a count-up mode, and a reduced motion setting.
Questions
Before you plant your first tree.
More help, including notifications and moving to a new phone, is on the support page.
Is Shimpaku free? What does Shimpaku Pro add?
Yes. The timer, the calendar, your stats, and the Shimpaku tree are free, with no ads, and the free version doesn't expire. Shimpaku Pro is an optional annual subscription that adds two more trees, Momiji and Kuromatsu, and every tree added later. The App Store or Google Play shows the price before you confirm.
Is Shimpaku a Pomodoro timer?
It follows the same rhythm: a focus session, then a short break. The default is 25 minutes of focus and 5 minutes of break, and you can change both. What Shimpaku adds is the garden: every session you finish waters a bonsai.
How long are the sessions?
Anywhere from 5 to 60 minutes, in 5-minute steps, with 25 minutes as the default. Breaks can be 5, 10, or 15 minutes and can start on their own. If you are in the middle of something when a session ends, you can add 10 more minutes.
What happens if I leave the app during a session?
The session keeps going. You can switch apps or lock your phone, and if you allow notifications, Shimpaku lets you know when the session ends. When you come back, the finished session counts and your tree is watered. A session you end yourself in its first 20 seconds doesn't count.
Does Shimpaku work offline?
Yes. Timers, your garden, and your history all work without a connection. You only need one to buy or restore Shimpaku Pro.
Is Shimpaku on iPhone and Android?
Yes. It is on the App Store for iPhone and on Google Play for Android phones.
What data does Shimpaku keep?
Your settings, trees, and session history stay on your phone. There is no account and no analytics. If you buy Shimpaku Pro, Apple or Google and RevenueCat keep an anonymous purchase record so it can be restored. The privacy policy has the details.
Your spot in the garden is waiting.
Shimpaku is free to start, on iPhone and Android.
