Patent ID: 8909469

Claim:
A navigation apparatus comprising: a passage history storage unit that stores a history of route elements passed in the past and a user ID of a user who passed each route element in the history of route elements; a memory cost determination unit that determines memory costs indicative of how less likely the user still has in mind the route elements stored in the passage history storage unit based on the history stored in the passage history storage unit; a route search unit that searches for a route leading to a destination by combining the route elements to minimize a route cost of the entire route including the memory costs determined by the memory cost determination unit; and a navigation unit that performs a route guide in accordance with the route searched by the route search unit, wherein the determined memory costs are associated with the user ID, wherein a weight is provided to the history of the route elements stored in the passage history storage unit, and the memory cost determination unit takes the weight into account to determine the memory cost, and wherein the weight is provided based on presence or absence of a landmark near the route element.