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Anglicized map shows what Japan’s prefectures might be named if they were part of England

Yeetstead is quite beautiful this time of year.

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Megane, hitostuma, and muchi muchi all make the list.

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Japan to add first new symbol to maps in 13 years, can you guess what it means?

It’s not for labeling popsicle stands, or caves, or tongues, or…

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Tokyo accessory maker turns Japan’s prefectures into pieces of art to wear around your neck

Beautiful silver series is a subtle way to show off your favorite part of Japan.

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Citizens filled with pride in their country, anger at Mercator projection as distance from Hokkaido to Okinawa is shown to equal Denmark to Spain.

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Twitter user makes mind-blowing discovery playing around with puzzle pieces of Japan’s 47 prefectures.

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How safe is Japan? New interactive map reveals reports of crime around the country

Now you can find out if there are any upskirt photographers, bag-snatchers, swindlers, or burglars in your area.

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New app lets you traverse the streets of modern Tokyo and ancient Edo at the same time

The Edo Past and Present Wanderings app appeals not only to old map buffs, but to anyone with a sense of adventure. 

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Pyeongchang Olympics group wipes Japan off the map

It looks like some graphic designer was aiming for the gold medal in passive-aggressiveness.

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Hike from the sea to the peak of Mt. Fuji with new bilingual English/Japanese guide map series

New maps let you experience all 3,776 meters (12,389 feet) of Japan’s tallest mountain.

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Whether you’re a backpacker looking to clean yourself up or just want to experience this aspect of traditional Japanese culture, hundreds of options are at your fingertips.

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Japan’s government reconsiders plan to change country’s iconic hot spring symbol after backlash

Two prefectures, both famous for their onsen, are particularly opposed to the switch.

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Japan’s Cat Street View is back with another virtual meet-and-greet with beautiful town’s kitties

Part navigation tool, part feline photo safari, and entirely adorable.

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Hang a Japanese city on your wall with these amazingly detailed 3-D printed maps

These beautiful scaled dioramas let you walk the streets of Tokyo or Hiroshima again and again.

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Japanese government recommends changing Buddhist temple mark on maps to avoid Nazi connotations

Use of Swastika-like maji symbol deemed “inappropriate” for maps for foreign users.

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Japanese Twitter has its collective mind blown by “map of Europe” illusion

There’s more going on here than meets the eye.

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Dedicated railroad otaku creates the digital swiss army knife of Tokyo Metro maps

This past year the Tokyo Metro has been brought to life in many different ways, ranging from a spaghetti-alien map to, well, a 3-D spaghetti-alien map. But it’s the latest re-imagining of the Tokyo Metro in the highly versatile SVG format that’s currently causing a lot of commotion online.

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Scope out which love hotel to take your next date to right now in Google Street View

Love hotels in Japan provide a service that is very unique in the world. They play a convenient role for those passionate one-night stands, which is exactly the sort of business you’d expect at a place called a “love hotel”. But they are also a place where married couples can go who are being pressured from their parents to give them some grandchildren. That’s kind of hard to do with mom and dad in the room next door. One quick glance in any city shows that these love hotels are a dime a dozen, which is probably why there are so many random and fun hotels with different styles of rooms and designs.

And now, with the convenience of the Internet, choosing a love hotel is easier than ever. Why should we settle with those “flattering” pictures they provide when we can take a tour of it ourselves with the help of Google Street View!

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Travel through time with these old maps from the Zenrin Virtual Museum

While the average human has not yet come unstuck in time, it doesn’t mean we’re completely at a loss when it comes to time travel. Yes, we may only move in a singular direction, but at least have artifacts from the past to help us look back! Everything from old photos to old pottery help us dig through our murky cultural memory to see how things used to be.

And, thanks to Zenrin, a Japanese mapping company based in Oita Prefecture, now you can travel internationally with their collection of digital maps from the Edo and Meiji periods. Whether you think England is a conspiracy of cartographers or you know the name of every mapmaker since Babylonia, there’s something here for everyone!

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South Korean design company turns subway maps into beautiful artwork you can hang on your wall

The first time I went to Tokyo alone, I got lost within the first five minutes of arriving at Shinjuku Station, unable to comprehend why there were so many transfers to different lines going in different directions. Without mobile data on my phone, I was basically one of the ‘internet-less lost gaijin’ crippled by the lack of Google Maps who ended up befriending the station master at every transfer station because, without them, I would probably have had to spend the night hanging out with the buskers on the streets.

The maps in Japanese subway stations are not only confusing, they also look like multi-colored spaghetti or weird roller coasters, and I can clearly recall thinking how nice it would be to have a better-looking representation of the city’s train lines. Thankfully, it looks like South Korean design company Zero per Zero has fulfilled my wish with their subway map designs, which are becoming a hot topic on Reddit.

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