GPS in Japan?

mooshoepork

Does anyone know of any maps/software with Japanese maps?

I have a GPS USB dongle that I've been trying to get to work with Mapsource. I'm having trouble finding good Japanese maps.

Has anyone used any particular brand maps before? A lot seem to be outdated...

strebalicious

Most of the people I know around here with GPS either have the fancy in-car Navi stuff, or they just use their iPhone and 'tape' it to the windshield.

mooshoepork

Thanks for the reply. I have an ipod touch which would be ideal, but again, no GPS/internet. Even if I had an iphone the roaming charges are 15$ a MB. Which is utterly ridiculous.

I figured I could use a mapping program with a GPS dongle with my netbook if I got lost.

How hard is it to find free wifi spots around tokyo with an ipod touch? A few people told me internet is pretty easy to come by in Japan, but I'm not sure how true that is.

strebalicious

mooshoepork wrote: »

How hard is it to find free wifi spots around tokyo with an ipod touch? A few people told me internet is pretty easy to come by in Japan, but I'm not sure how true that is.

Don't know. Haven't really gone around the Tokyo area looking for wifi spots. I know around where I live (a somewhat suburban area, if there is such a thing in Japan) there is not a whole lot of free wifi signals floating around.

mooshoepork

Maybe I'll have to settle for a paper map :P

strebalicious

mooshoepork wrote: »

Maybe I'll have to settle for a paper map :P

That's what I usually do I either research the hell out of where I want to go or just go with someone who knows what they are doing.

baudattitude

mooshoepork wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. I have an ipod touch which would be ideal, but again, no GPS/internet. Even if I had an iphone the roaming charges are 15$ a MB. Which is utterly ridiculous.

I figured I could use a mapping program with a GPS dongle with my netbook if I got lost.

How hard is it to find free wifi spots around tokyo with an ipod touch? A few people told me internet is pretty easy to come by in Japan, but I'm not sure how true that is.

This is a bit of thread necromancy, and it sounds like you've already decided on a paper map, but I wanted to answer this:

I just got back from 2 months in the Tokyo area. Pretty much any time I stopped for a meal or sat down for a rest, I'd pull out my iPhone and look for a wi-fi signal.

In all that time, I never once found a wi-fi signal that didn't have a pay portal in front of it, except in hotels I was staying in. Now, I may just have been super unlucky, but my experience is that you shouldn't count on being able to get internet access anywhere without putting out some cash.

mooshoepork

Hey, thanks for the reply! No necromancy here. I'm still looking for a solution!

I've got preloaded google maps on my ipod touch...other than that I'm just going to research where I'm going and try my best not to get lost. Thanks for the info on the wifi signals. I figured most would be secured