October 10, 2013
Manhole cover art
When you think of municipal support for the arts, a manhole cover is probably the last thing that would ever spring to mind. But "nearly 95 percent of the 1,780 municipalities in Japan sport their own specially-designed manhole covers." Explore the art of Japanese manhole covers here and here.
Labels: art, culture, japan, photo tour, politics
October 03, 2013
Unfamiliar Japan
While Danny Choo focuses more on the modern and postmodern side of Japan, Ojisanjake gets off the beaten track and travels back in time with his "Unfamiliar Japan" blog.
Labels: japan, photo tour
September 26, 2013
Japan photo tours
If you're looking for a higher-resolution Japan travel experience than Google Street View (short of actually being there), your best option is an ambling photo blogger with a decent camera. Danny Choo has assembled a generous collection of mostly Tokyo-based photo tours here and here.
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| Places to visit in Japan |
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| Tokyo Photo Walk |
Labels: google maps, japan, photo tour
September 19, 2013
Virtual disaster tourism
As xkcd points out, you can see the world these days without ever leaving home.
That now includes disaster tourism. Earlier this year, Google sent a Street View car through the town of Namie, next door to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The area's been evacuated because of radiation contamination.
It's Life After People, only for real.
That now includes disaster tourism. Earlier this year, Google sent a Street View car through the town of Namie, next door to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The area's been evacuated because of radiation contamination.
It's Life After People, only for real.
Labels: google maps, japan, photo tour
February 28, 2011
A Google Maps moment
I was translating the following passage from Demon City Shinjuku:
"Ten Street" is an elevated road, as are the plazas of the buildings along it. The problem was, I couldn't picture the geometry of the lower road level, but was pretty sure it ran under Ten Street at right angles, and continued on to Chuo Park, Kyoya's destination.
To the cloud! Well, not the Microsoft one. Google Maps and Street View to the rescue!
The triangular building is the Sumitomo Building. You can see the flight of stairs there on the left. The dark red line is the subway running from Shinjuku Station on the right under Chuo Park on the left. So I added for the benefit of those not familiar with the geography:
I don't play video games, but I can waste a whole lot of time cruising around Japan using Street View.
Ten Street ran between the Sumitomo and Mitsui buildings before intersecting with the old Koshu Highway. A hundred feet further on and to [Kyoya's] left rose the majestic Keio Plaza Hotel. A dozen yards behind him was a flight of stairs leading down to the lower road level.
"Ten Street" is an elevated road, as are the plazas of the buildings along it. The problem was, I couldn't picture the geometry of the lower road level, but was pretty sure it ran under Ten Street at right angles, and continued on to Chuo Park, Kyoya's destination.
To the cloud! Well, not the Microsoft one. Google Maps and Street View to the rescue!
The triangular building is the Sumitomo Building. You can see the flight of stairs there on the left. The dark red line is the subway running from Shinjuku Station on the right under Chuo Park on the left. So I added for the benefit of those not familiar with the geography:
It crossed beneath Ten Street at right angles, linking the west entrance of Shinjuku Station to Chuo Park.
I don't play video games, but I can waste a whole lot of time cruising around Japan using Street View.
Labels: demon city, google maps, japan, photo tour, translations
August 27, 2009
You can go home again (virtually)
Thanks to Google Maps, "googling yourself" takes on a whole new meaning, especially because most addresses in the U.S. have a "street view." It does feel a little creepy at first, but only because you recognize the view. After all, for most people, more relevant "personal" information is available in an online telephone book, not to mention a credit report.Looking at the house I grew up in reveals that the cul-de-sac has pretty much remained the same a quarter-century later. More interesting is what happened to the lot behind the house where the Mormon church used to be. As I document in a fictionalized account here, it burned down over a decade ago. Because the drainage had always been marginal for a structure that large, it wasn't rebuilt.
Two McMansions sit on the lot now. The woods are still there (again, thick shale and a high water table and upstate New York's long-depressed housing market discourage development). I spent a good portion of my childhood playing in those swamp-infested woods (this was before the present era of permanent parental paranoia), but never before had a good sense of their size (about a half-mile deep and a half-mile wide) or their relationship to the surrounding neighborhoods.
Back then, those woods seemed to go on forever. Google Maps casts those memories in a whole new light.
Labels: autobiography, google maps, lds, photo tour, social studies
August 25, 2009
Literary vacations
Justine at the Segullah blog recalls an encounter with an enthusiastic Twilight fan and wonders which real-life book settings are actually worth visiting. Conclusion: Stratford-on-Avon: yes. Forks, Washington: no. And for that matter, Sandy, Utah: also a no.
Prince Edward Island is a major holiday destination for Japanese fans of Anne of Green Gables. As a general rule, I would say that there must be some historic--other than pop literary--or aesthetic value to the place. So, while Sandy doesn't qualify, plenty of other tourist traps in Utah do.
But if you want to test the waters first without going there, try Google Maps. Type in the address or the general location. The satellite resolution available for places like Stratford-Upon-Avon is amazing. And you can even walk around Temple Square using Street View.
I'm writing a sequel of sorts to Path of Dreams. Part of it takes place at Mt. Koya. Although I spent a touristy day there when I was living in Osaka, Google Maps is an extremely useful tool for reminding myself where everything is. The bird's eye view alone kindles surprising feelings of nostalgia.
Being on the subject of (Mormon) vampires, Justine also links to her (favorable) review of Angel Falling Softly.
Prince Edward Island is a major holiday destination for Japanese fans of Anne of Green Gables. As a general rule, I would say that there must be some historic--other than pop literary--or aesthetic value to the place. So, while Sandy doesn't qualify, plenty of other tourist traps in Utah do.
But if you want to test the waters first without going there, try Google Maps. Type in the address or the general location. The satellite resolution available for places like Stratford-Upon-Avon is amazing. And you can even walk around Temple Square using Street View.
I'm writing a sequel of sorts to Path of Dreams. Part of it takes place at Mt. Koya. Although I spent a touristy day there when I was living in Osaka, Google Maps is an extremely useful tool for reminding myself where everything is. The bird's eye view alone kindles surprising feelings of nostalgia.
Being on the subject of (Mormon) vampires, Justine also links to her (favorable) review of Angel Falling Softly.
Labels: angel falling softly, anne, books, google maps, japan, lds, path of dreams, photo tour, twilight