GPS maps of Japan in English
Monday March 06, @06:54PM, by Tam
Subject : Travel
from the my-keitai-crashed-again-must-update-the-kernel dept.
Summary :

One of our readers has asked us by email if we know of any product or site providing GPS maps of Japan, in English. Not knowing anything special off hand, we thought it would be a good opportunity to ask the Zone81 community directly. Please reply to this topic to share any good pointer you may have. If we gather enough resources, we may compile them into a new section of the main Zone81 site!

I will kickstart this topic with some files that will interest owners of a Garmin GPS receiver and/or the associated MapSource software:

• Here is a map that covers all of Japan except Hokkaido: JapanRoads&Topo_v1.00_Setup.exe (44.92 Mb)
• And a more detailed one, of central Japan only: JapanMap142.exe (3.79 Mb)

Note that without said receiver or software, these two files will most likely be of no use to you, so you may want to save your bandwidth and avoid the download. Also, these are third-party executable files. I have done a quick sanity check for you and they seem virus-free as of now, but there is no guaranty. Install them at your own risk.

Also, for the gadget maniacs out there who happen to own said Garmin receiver, a PSP, a soldering iron, and time to spare, here is a crazy hack for you:

• GPS + PSP = GPSP

I guess that will be all the more interesting combined with:

• upcoming UMD-based mapping program (Looks like Japanese only though)

Your turn. What have you found? Any cool resource for gaijin you'd like to share?

• Re: GPS maps of Japan in English
  Sunday March 12, @10:00AM, by Tam
  The same reader wrote back to us with the following:
  
  """
  Thanks for the feedback.
  
  Here is a Japanese mapping co. that have supplied
  Japanese/English street level maps to JAL (as used
  on JAL's website). Although their site is only in
  Japanese so I can't track down this particular
  offering. http://www.alpsmap.co.jp/ I've mailed
  them too - see if these are available.
  
  Here are the best maps for Tokyo cities:
  http://superfuture.com/city/city/city.cfm?city=1
  
  Here are the best maps for most Japanese cities:
  http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/map/index_map.html
  
  Here are a couple of great subway mapping apps.
  for Palm PDA users:
  
  Tokyo only
  http://www.visualit.co.uk/Palm/palm_Tube2_tokyo.htm
  
  All Japanese city subway/rail networks
  http://www.palmgear.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=software.showsoftware&prodID=4869
  
  I read something that seemed to indicate Garmin
  had developed streetlevel maps of Japan for use
  with their GPS systems. They don't appear to be
  listed on their site but if I get postive feedback
  I'll let you guys know...
  
  Regards
  """
  Reply
  
  
• Re: GPS maps of Japan in English
  Sunday May 13, @06:25AM, by John
  

  > One of our readers has asked us by email if we know of any product or site providing GPS maps of Japan, in English. Not knowing anything special off hand, we thought it would be a good opportunity to ask the Zone81 community directly. Please reply to this topic to share any good pointer you may have. If we gather enough resources, we may compile them into a new section of the main Zone81 site! > Your turn. What have you found? Any cool resource for gaijin you'd like to share?

  I haven't used it personally, but the information on this site http://www.uud.info/en/ looks pretty good.

  
  Reply
  
  
• Re: GPS maps of Japan in English
  Sunday May 13, @10:35AM, by Tam
  

  > I haven't used it personally, but the information on this site http://www.uud.info/en/ looks pretty good.

  This is pretty awesome indeed! Thanks for sharing.

  
  Reply