The adorable breed of dogs introduces the Internet to its home in Japan’s northern Akita Prefecture.
Google’s Street View is a technological marvel that allows us to navigate, or even virtually experience walking, the roads of just about any city on the planet. But what about when you run out of roads?
If you’re in the town of Odate in Japan’s northern Akita Prefecture, you take those omnidirectional cameras off of Google’s cars, and strap them to the back of some adorable Akita Inu dogs.
It’s no coincidence that Akita is both the name of a Japanese prefecture and a breed of dog, as the Akita Inu traces its roots to the region, with Odate commonly considered “the home of the Akita Inu.” So to help promote tourism to the town, Google Japan initiated its “Dog View” project, applying its Street View technology to a pooch protocol.
▼ Hachiko, the dog that faithfully waited for his master for years after his death in Tokyo, was born in Odate, which has its own statue of the loyal Akita Inu.
For selected points of interest in Odate, bringing up their Google Street View images will show you the surroundings from a dog’s-back perspective, with the back of an Akita Inu in the frame that looks so soft and fluffy you’ll want to reach out and start petting your monitor. And if you think the results are cute, rest assured that the making-of video is just as adorable.
▼ English subtitles can be enabled by clicking the caption button.
▼ Odate’s open-air hot spring foot bath
Naturally, the Dog View project highlights a number of canine-related tourist attractions, such as the Akita Inu Museum, which is managed by the Akita Inu Preservation Society, the organization that recently gifted an Akita Inu to Russian gold medalist figure skater Alina Zagitova.
There’s also the Akita Inu Fureaidokoro, adjacent to Odate Station, where visitors can meet the city’s official goodwill ambassador dogs, Asuka and Ako.
▼ Ako
And finally, for those willing to traipse off into the hills, there’s Roken (“Old Dog”) Shrine.
While the landscapes shown in the Akita Inu Street View images are chillingly wintery, it’s hard not to feel your heart warmed by the project’s four-legged contributors, and if you really can’t bear the thought of visiting Odate when it’s covered in snow, keep in mind that Akita Prefecture also has some of the mildest, least humid summers in Japan.
Source: Google Japan via IT Media
Featured image: Google Japan
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