Recent Japanese Innovations in Maps

Local advertising is hot. Revenue from advertising using local information (search queries or physical locations through GPS) are growing. Apps are being created everyday that use this info and serve these ads.

So what innovations does Japan have in store to make online maps more attractive? Here are some recent innovations.

Let's start with goo. This top 10 most visited site in Japan is a directory similar to Yahoo Japan. They recently revamped their maps service. Cosmetic changes include the modification of the tabs and changing the lay-out so the map is some 30% bigger than previously. Also, they added information like altitude.

I had never used goo's maps before, so I am in no position to compare it with the older version, but I do see some points of improvements.

• No auto-complete of search queries
• When I type in a certain location, I still need to click the right location (for example, typing in Shinjyuku brought me to a place with suggestions; Shinjyuku area in Sendai city? No thanks. There's a Shinjyuku in Yamagata-ken as well? Not interested!)
• Typing 'Shinjyuku Tokyo Metro' didn't return any results

But in any case, the maps do look very large indeed and, if you're used to the Japanese style of lay-outs, very informative. With a single click I can search for the nearest ATM, convenience stores and world heritage sites. Nice!

What about Yahoo maps, from Japan's favorite search engine? Earlier this month, Yahoo Japan merged 7 services into what is now called Yahoo Loco. The 7 separate services were 'maps', 'regional info', 'traffic info', 'gourmet (dining) info', 'coupons', 'phone directory' and 'local search' (this was called Machimoba and allowed searching based on the location of the phone user).

The maps look good and they're slightly bigger than Google's, but smaller than goo's. It includes all the info you need; it is clear that the merging of the services works.

Possibly more interestingly, Yahoo is working on a iPad app that has 3D maps. Nothing too exciting you may think since Google's Android has had a Street View app for a while, but as the maps are rendered rather than photographed, this may be a smoother and faster-loading alternative to Street View.

Also, as there are no people, dogs or cars to be seen in these maps, this may avoid privacy concerns. According to ITmedia News (Japanese), Yahoo is working on integrating other functions like directions, restaurant search and location tagging of photos.

So what is Google doing in the meantime? In India they are having trouble Street Viewing, and there is no recent news about innovations in Google maps.


In the UK (and I suspect in many other countries as well) Google maps are the preferred choice. The ease of use is probably the deciding factor, in my case it is anyway. In Japan however, user preferences may be different. This may become apparent when you compare the richness of information in the maps of goo, Yahoo and Google.

Should this be a sign for Google? Should they adapt the lay-out of Google maps in Japan?