-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [amcircle] maps of japan
Date: Sun, 22 Jan 2006 11:34:46 +0200
From: Brendan Whyte <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask]
References: <[log in to unmask]>
Information on maps in Japan.
Bilingual or English maps are surprisingly difficult to find in-country. Nevertheless,
maps themselves are easy to find. Every convenience store (AM/PM, 7-11, etc) will have
a rack of pocket and not-so-pocket street directories, all in Japanese.
The best for the Tokyo region is by "Super Mapple", ISBN 4-398-62863-0
(see http://k.mapple.jp but in japanese only)
and costs 3800yen (under US$38) (they also do several smaller versions in terms of
coverage)
It is A4-sized paperback, with 256 2-page spreads.
As streets are generally not named in Japam, no massive street index is needed!
the volume features
3.5k-7k maps of major railway stations and surrounds,
15k&30k maps of the Tokyo region, as far as Hakone/Odawara in the SW and Narita in the
E,
100k and 200k maps for all of central Honshu
and a pile of 10k-30k maps of major towncentres in this area, ourtside Tokyo/Yokohama.
all maps show block numbers for almost all city blocks, schools, govt buildings, parks,
Macdonalds, 7-11, KFC, etc, one-way streets, temples, major traffic lights, ... quite
superb.
Only the major city names are given in English as well as Kanji.
Railway and freeway maps are also provided.
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Japan produces topographic maps in 200k, 50k, 25k and 10k scales. These cost about 300-
400Y each, amazingly cheap. Good bookstores (such as Yurindo in Yokohama) sell these
flat from banks of small mapcases. Sometimes they are shelved by name, sometimes by
number.
There is a large format atlas, like a DeLorme or Rand McNally atlas, opf Japan, which
has overprints of the sheet lines for all these series and their names. This is very
useful for ensuring you know which 10k map you need to cover a particular area in
Tokyo, for example, and is a decent atlas in its own right. 2000Y at any shop selling
maps.
I don't have a name/ISBN for it, sorry.
Otherwise the Japanese Survey dept has free sheet indexes, one for geological and one
for topo maps. Map sellers will have these and give them to you free also. But neither
of these indexes, nor the atlas index above, has sheet numbers... you have to work
these out yourself!
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Only the 10k maps have a sheet name in Roman letters as well as Kanji, but neither
index above gives these.
Central Yokohama is covered by sheet "Kannai". Central Tokyo by "Shinjuku" (contains
western edge of palace), "Nihonbashi" (contains Tokyo station, Ginbza, most of Imperial
palace), "Ueno" and "Ikebukuro".
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Of the 25k maps, three cover the three Volcano Islands, Japabn's most outlying
possessions:
NG-54-16-12-3.4 covers Kita (ie north) Iwo Jima island and is titled "Kita Iwo Jima"
(in Kanji, not Romanji!)
NG-54-17-12-1.3.4 covers the famous WW2-battleground island of Iwo Jima, and is
titled "Iwo Jima". Apparently the island is off-limits to visitiors still, due to
unexploded ordnance from WW2...
NG-54-18-11-2 covers Minami (ie South) Iwo Jima and has insets for Minami Tori Shima
(Marcus Island), and Okino-tori-shima [Parece Vela](a reef way SW of Iwo Jima) and
shows the concrete structures designed to keep the 'island' above water! The sheet is
titloed "Minami Iwo Jima"
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A very useful and excellently drawn free map of Tokyo is "Bilingual map of Greater
Tokyo" produced by the Japan Hotel Association, Tokyo Branch. I got mine at the tourist
info counter at Keisei Ueno railway station.
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The best map shop in Tokyo is the "Japan Map Center", a short walk (1km?) west from
Shinjuku station
http://www.jmc.or.jp/
(Japanese only)
The staff spoke no English when I visited, and they file the maps by name, not number,
but I had no problems buying maps. All the 200k, 50k and 25k maps are kept as samples
is large ringbinders held in a vertical rack, with an index on the cover. So just
locate what you want, show the staff and they will pull out a copy to sell you.
The shop has lots of plastic relief maps, geophysical maps, aerial photos, etc. It
sells only Japan maps, not foreign material, as far as I could see.
---------------
Dr Brendan Whyte
Geography Department
Faculty of Social Sciences
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Mt Scopus
Jerusalem 91905
ISRAEL
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