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Robot dog from Japan plays dead if your socks stink

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Crazy Labo and Next Technology, LLC., two startups from Japan’s western city of Fukuoka, have jointly invented a couple of scent detection robots.  One is the human-looking Kaori-chan, and the other – Shuntaro – is made to resemble a dog.  The lady robot is designed to measure the whether or not your breath smells ok, in the interests of promoting oral hygiene. When you breathe on her, she will respond with one of four different behaviors. If your breathe is ok, you will hear a chime that tells you are okay. If it’s not great, she rings another chime to indicate as much. But if your breath has some serious problems, she will be screaming. And if it really stinks completely, she will look like she’s out of order. As for Shuntaro the dog, he measures how much your socks smell. And similarly, there are four ways that he will react. If he finds your socks smell nice, he will come a little closer to you. If the smell is not so great, he will look at you and bark several times. If you smell really bad, he will snarl. And if you smell especially awful (ru-roh!), he will play dead….

Breath scent detection robot "Kaori-chan"(Photo: RKB Radio blog)
Breath scent detection robot “Kaori-chan”
(Photo: RKB Radio Broadcasting’s blog)

Crazy Labo and Next Technology, LLC., two startups from Japan’s western city of Fukuoka, have jointly invented a couple of scent detection robots.  One is the human-looking Kaori-chan, and the other – Shuntaro – is made to resemble a dog. 

The lady robot is designed to measure the whether or not your breath smells ok, in the interests of promoting oral hygiene. When you breathe on her, she will respond with one of four different behaviors. If your breathe is ok, you will hear a chime that tells you are okay. If it’s not great, she rings another chime to indicate as much. But if your breath has some serious problems, she will be screaming. And if it really stinks completely, she will look like she’s out of order.

shuntaro
Shuntaro (Photo: RKB Radio)

As for Shuntaro the dog, he measures how much your socks smell. And similarly, there are four ways that he will react. If he finds your socks smell nice, he will come a little closer to you.

If the smell is not so great, he will look at you and bark several times. If you smell really bad, he will snarl. And if you smell especially awful (ru-roh!), he will play dead.

The company expects to rent these robots for festivals or exhibitions, helping organizers attract and entertain their attendees.

Tokyo’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper has visited their offices to how the robots behave. Check their video here for more information.

This hard drive will self-destruct: New HDD case from Japan takes security seriously!

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Whether it’s a Facebook post, a tweet, or a photo, the general understanding of web and digital content used to be that it lives forever. But very recently, we’re seeing a lot of services built around the concept of expiration dates. For example, the photo sharing app Snapchat has become popular among teenagers, now boasting over 150 million photo shares per day, each one with a limited duration viewing period. Likewise Twitter app Efemr allows you to post self-destructing tweets by adding a dedicated hashtag to your message. This self-destruct feature is not limited to just services. A Japanese company called Century has released a hard disk drive case called Jigen (CT-25-ERP). When there is no access to the encrypted drive for a set period of time, the encrypted key is automatically deleted thus making it impossible to access what’s inside the drive. The period of data preservation can be set by using a dedicated utility available on the Century website for both Windows and Mac. The data can be preserved up to a maximum of 9,999 days. In addition to this self-destruct feature, the device has automatic locking as well. When there is no access to the encrypted drive…

jigen hdd case
Photo: Impress

Whether it’s a Facebook post, a tweet, or a photo, the general understanding of web and digital content used to be that it lives forever. But very recently, we’re seeing a lot of services built around the concept of expiration dates. For example, the photo sharing app Snapchat has become popular among teenagers, now boasting over 150 million photo shares per day, each one with a limited duration viewing period. Likewise Twitter app Efemr allows you to post self-destructing tweets by adding a dedicated hashtag to your message.

This self-destruct feature is not limited to just services. A Japanese company called Century has released a hard disk drive case called Jigen (CT-25-ERP). When there is no access to the encrypted drive for a set period of time, the encrypted key is automatically deleted thus making it impossible to access what’s inside the drive. The period of data preservation can be set by using a dedicated utility available on the Century website for both Windows and Mac. The data can be preserved up to a maximum of 9,999 days.

In addition to this self-destruct feature, the device has automatic locking as well. When there is no access to the encrypted drive (for a maximum of 999 minutes), the content will be locked and will require a password.

Your HDD/SSD can be divided into three partitions, but only one can be encrypted. Such a case would be perfect for Inspector Gadget (see the video below for some fun 80s nostalgia!) is available for just 3,980 yen, or about $41. Note that if data is deleted as a result of misuse, the company says it will not be held accountable.

Japan appears to like such self-destructing services and solutions that provide anonymity on our increasingly social web. For example, to avoid the possibility of having your boss read your angry or dissatisfied tweets, there are interesting solutions such as Arrow which we featured recently. There are also services like Gtitter (a playful variant of the word ‘vent’) which allows users to complain about things anonymously.

[Via Impress]

Tokyo-based web marketing agency to launch Japan’s first ever ‘audience commerce’ platform

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See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based web marketing agency Hivelocity has unveiled Japan’s first ever audience commerce platform. It’s called Feedbuy, and it has just opened up pre-registration for membership. The company expects to launch the service around late-April or early-May. For those of you who may not be familiar with it yet, the concept of audience commerce is that the more users spread the word about a product using their social network, the lower the sales price becomes. If the volume of social buzz about the item reaches a certain point, merchants may even give users a 100% discount. We’re told the platform is Japan’s first ever promotion tool using this audience commerce model, where merchants can sell their products on the platform and ask users to help their promotional efforts. Hyvelocity was founded in 2004 by several Japanese web producers, and has been distributing web marketing solutions for companies in partnership with inbound marketing solution provider HubSpot.

See the original story in Japanese.

feedbuyTokyo-based web marketing agency Hivelocity has unveiled Japan’s first ever audience commerce platform. It’s called Feedbuy, and it has just opened up pre-registration for membership. The company expects to launch the service around late-April or early-May.

For those of you who may not be familiar with it yet, the concept of audience commerce is that the more users spread the word about a product using their social network, the lower the sales price becomes. If the volume of social buzz about the item reaches a certain point, merchants may even give users a 100% discount. We’re told the platform is Japan’s first ever promotion tool using this audience commerce model, where merchants can sell their products on the platform and ask users to help their promotional efforts.

Hyvelocity was founded in 2004 by several Japanese web producers, and has been distributing web marketing solutions for companies in partnership with inbound marketing solution provider HubSpot.

feedbuy2

Tokyo Roppongi Gigapixel: See the city in spectacular panoramic detail

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Jeffrey Martin is the founder of 360cites, a website devoted to panoramic photography around the world [1]. And he has taken his photography talents to Tokyo, shooting an amazing panoramic shot of the Roppongi area from atop Mori Tower [2]. You can navigate the photo using the directional and zoom arrows a the base of the display. But to give you and idea of the kind of detail we’re talking about here, check out Tokyo Skytree pictured on the horizon below: And here it is when you zoom all the way in on it! Below you can see a shot of Jeffrey with his camera set-up. I’d be a little bit nervous reaching out to adjust that camera if I was him! Check out the entire panoramic photo here if you’d like to browse the amazing scene for yourself. For those of you interested in creating your own panoramic photos, 360cities has some basic instructions on how to get started. You might start with the 360cities mobile app, available for both iPhone and iPad, which looks very simple to use. You can find even more amazing panoramas from around the world over on 360cities.net. (Via Gigazine) And some from out…

Jeffrey Martin is the founder of 360cites, a website devoted to panoramic photography around the world [1]. And he has taken his photography talents to Tokyo, shooting an amazing panoramic shot of the Roppongi area from atop Mori Tower [2].

You can navigate the photo using the directional and zoom arrows a the base of the display. But to give you and idea of the kind of detail we’re talking about here, check out Tokyo Skytree pictured on the horizon below:

skytree-wide

And here it is when you zoom all the way in on it!

skytree-zoom

Below you can see a shot of Jeffrey with his camera set-up. I’d be a little bit nervous reaching out to adjust that camera if I was him! Check out the entire panoramic photo here if you’d like to browse the amazing scene for yourself.

For those of you interested in creating your own panoramic photos, 360cities has some basic instructions on how to get started. You might start with the 360cities mobile app, available for both iPhone and iPad, which looks very simple to use.

You can find even more amazing panoramas from around the world over on 360cities.net. (Via Gigazine)

tokyo-roppongi-gigapixel


  1. And some from out of this world!  ↩

  2. Initially I thought that this was panorama was created recently, although I suspect it might have been taken in 2012, and only published recently.  ↩

7 April Fools’ Day internet pranks from Japan

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April Fools’ Day traditionally doesn’t mean much in Japan. But it seems as though a number of companies have jumped on the bandwagon this year, publishing some interesting online pranks. We’re not fans of screwing with our readers, so you won’t get any fake articles from us. But we do still have a sense of humor, so here’s a quick summary of some of the more notable ones from around the Japanese interwebs today. But be warned, some of them are better than others! 1. Au’s zzzPhoneBed ¶ Au’s April Fools effort is simultaneously the best and the worst joke of the day in Japan. The premise is that since we use our mobile phones in bed so much, that the company just decided to produce a bed-sized smartphone. It lets you exercise by running on top of it like a treadmill as it scrolls, and you can even buy sheet covers for it if you like. It’s called the zzzPhoneBed, and no, it doesn’t actually exist. Regrettably, the promo video for the zzzPhoneBed does exist. Remember that awful Domino’s x Hatsune Miku promo video? Yeah, well this is worse. I realize it’s for a Japanese audience, but man, it’s…

April Fools’ Day traditionally doesn’t mean much in Japan. But it seems as though a number of companies have jumped on the bandwagon this year, publishing some interesting online pranks. We’re not fans of screwing with our readers, so you won’t get any fake articles from us. But we do still have a sense of humor, so here’s a quick summary of some of the more notable ones from around the Japanese interwebs today. But be warned, some of them are better than others!

1. Au’s zzzPhoneBed

Au’s April Fools effort is simultaneously the best and the worst joke of the day in Japan. The premise is that since we use our mobile phones in bed so much, that the company just decided to produce a bed-sized smartphone. It lets you exercise by running on top of it like a treadmill as it scrolls, and you can even buy sheet covers for it if you like. It’s called the zzzPhoneBed, and no, it doesn’t actually exist.

Regrettably, the promo video for the zzzPhoneBed does exist. Remember that awful Domino’s x Hatsune Miku promo video? Yeah, well this is worse. I realize it’s for a Japanese audience, but man, it’s painful to watch. Truly cringe-worthy.

2. Domino’s Pizza in a can

Speaking of Domino’s Japan, the company has a new April Fools page set up today to promote its special ‘Pizza in a can’. Priced at just 401 yen (i.e. 04/01). This is actually a smartly executed April Fools joke, because when you try to buy it, Domino’s apologizes and gives you a 20% off coupon! (h/t ascii.jp)

pizza

3. Google ‘Patapata’ text input system

It’s becoming something of an April Fools tradition for Google Japan to roll out a new text input method. this year is no exception, with its ‘Patapata’ version of its Japanese input editor. Essentially, it’s scrolls characters rapidly in front of you, and you’re to push a button when you see the one you wish to type. Fun, hey? You can see Google’s official explanation in the promo video below. And for anyone who wants to try it out, there is a functioning web version online that you can try!

4. Japanese movie site transforms into ‘Forcebook’

Here’s a fun page from Japan’s movie-focused website eiga.com. Today it has a fun landing page presenting users with a Star Wars style scrolling text intro, explaining how the internet has affected even Jedi Knights:

Not so long ago, in a galaxy far away.

Episode X. Forcebook.

As information technology swept across the galaxy, even Jedi Knights began to familiarize themselves with the internet. But it has caused social isolation and depression among the Jedi Knights, sending them one after another to the dark side of the internet.

Master Yoda takes the matter seriously when Luke Skywalker is forced to shut down his blog after a nasty smear campaign. To improve the Jedi Knights’ communication skills Master Yoda hires IT consultants from Coruscant and sets up a new social networking service called Forcebook.

Clicking anywhere on the page, however, presents you with an apologetic message saying: ‘Sorry, today is April Fools. May the force be with you!”.

eiga_com

5. Dwango’s i to Tunes

Japanese internet company Dwango has a fun April Fools product called ‘i to Tunes’, which claims to be a music streaming service that involves the use of tin cans and yarn (I’m pretty familiar with this technology from back in kindergarden, actually). Signing up for the supposed application brings you to a page that says i to Tunes is undergoing maintenance, with a footnote explaining that today is also April Fools.

dwango

6. Ameba Pigg overrun with pigs

If you’re a member of the Amebe Pigg virtual world, you’ll notice when you sign in today that avatars have been changed into actual pig faces. Chiho Komoriya has some fun screenshots over on VS Media, if you’d like to learn more about this April Fools overhaul.

ameba

7. Cross-dressing clock

Readers might be familiar with a fun web service called ‘Bijin Tokei’ or ‘beautiful girl clock’, which uses pretty models holding up signs showing you what time it is. Today there’s a weird parody of Bijin Tokei from the folks over at web production company core-tech.jp. It’s called Cross-dressing clock, and similarly, it features women holding up signs to show the time. The only thing is, these women are not actually women at all.

clock

If you’d like to browse even more fun April Fools jokes from Japan, check out CNet Japan’s extensive round-up, or search for #4fooljp on Twitter.

With sensors in the steering wheel, your car could soon monitor your vital signs

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According to the folks over at TechOn, Toyota has developed a fascinating monitoring system which keeps track of the pulse and ECG of the driver using sensors in the steering wheel, notifying them when their vital signs begin to show abnormalities. A large number of accidents occur when the driver experiences a heart attack or some other sudden incapacitating health emergency. This system could potentially give the driver some extra time to either stop or get himself the hospital when the telltale signs occur. According to Toyota, such early warning signals can occur as much as two hours before their physical condition changes. Developed by Toyota, Densu and Nippon Medical School, this is a very elegant solution that uses electrodes and optical sensors in the steering wheel to monitor changes. And since drivers always have their hands in contact with the wheel (hopefully!) it makes perfect sense to measure them in this way. In the future we could see the system integrated with in-car navigation systems, possibly helping to guide the person to a hospital before an emergency occurs, or it could also be connected with the emergency braking system. Just a few days ago we wrote about a solution…

toyota-ecg-wheel

According to the folks over at TechOn, Toyota has developed a fascinating monitoring system which keeps track of the pulse and ECG of the driver using sensors in the steering wheel, notifying them when their vital signs begin to show abnormalities.

A large number of accidents occur when the driver experiences a heart attack or some other sudden incapacitating health emergency. This system could potentially give the driver some extra time to either stop or get himself the hospital when the telltale signs occur. According to Toyota, such early warning signals can occur as much as two hours before their physical condition changes.

toyota-wheel

Developed by Toyota, Densu and Nippon Medical School, this is a very elegant solution that uses electrodes and optical sensors in the steering wheel to monitor changes. And since drivers always have their hands in contact with the wheel (hopefully!) it makes perfect sense to measure them in this way. In the future we could see the system integrated with in-car navigation systems, possibly helping to guide the person to a hospital before an emergency occurs, or it could also be connected with the emergency braking system.

Just a few days ago we wrote about a solution from Fujitsu which measures a person’s pulse using only a smart phone, tablet, or PC camera. It’s certainly encouraging to see such promising solutions in the area of health tech, which hopefully can revolutionize the way that we monitor our bodies vital signs.

[Via TechOn]

Leading up to updated Disney attraction, Darth Vader’s assault on Japan begins

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In preparation for the upcoming May opening of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue at Tokyo Disney Resort, Disney (NYSE:DIS) has recently established a fun promotional website at Vader.jp. The site is skinned to look the the dashboard of a space craft [1], and featured in the center are a couple of fun promotional videos from Disney showing Darth Vader and his storm troopers on the hunt for a rebel spy in Japan. The first video, entitled ‘Darth Vader: Attack on Japan’ is pretty epic. It features some great scenes of Imperial Walkers clomping by a Japanese castle, TIE fighters swooping though metro Tokyo, and the Death Star hovering ominously over Mount Fuji. There’s a second, more humorous promo video called ‘Attack on Okinawa’ which shows Vader and company stomping though tourist shops, and even taking some time to kick back for some iced tea on the beach. I expect there will likely be more videos in this series, to stay tuned to their playlist as the date for the opening of the attraction approaches. I don’t have the geek cred to identify which one, but if my life depended on it I’d guess Millenium Falcon.  ↩

vader-jp

In preparation for the upcoming May opening of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue at Tokyo Disney Resort, Disney (NYSE:DIS) has recently established a fun promotional website at Vader.jp.

The site is skinned to look the the dashboard of a space craft [1], and featured in the center are a couple of fun promotional videos from Disney showing Darth Vader and his storm troopers on the hunt for a rebel spy in Japan.

The first video, entitled ‘Darth Vader: Attack on Japan’ is pretty epic. It features some great scenes of Imperial Walkers clomping by a Japanese castle, TIE fighters swooping though metro Tokyo, and the Death Star hovering ominously over Mount Fuji.

There’s a second, more humorous promo video called ‘Attack on Okinawa’ which shows Vader and company stomping though tourist shops, and even taking some time to kick back for some iced tea on the beach.

I expect there will likely be more videos in this series, to stay tuned to their playlist as the date for the opening of the attraction approaches.


  1. I don’t have the geek cred to identify which one, but if my life depended on it I’d guess Millenium Falcon.  ↩

Fujitsu can take your pulse with nothing more than a camera

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Photo by ITpro Fujitsu Laboratories has announced that it has developed technology to measure a person’s pulse from video taken by the camera in a smartphone, tablet, or PC webcam — and it can do so in as fast as five seconds! If you want to monitor your health, it’s obviously a good idea to keep track of your pulse. But putting the usual monitoring equipment on your arms and wrists can be a pain. Fujitsu’s technology improves this process significantly through the use of video. The technology also can estimate hemoglobin levels in the blood by calculating RGB color components from a person’s face, measuring the approximate ‘brightness’ of their skin. The margin of error for this new pulse-measuring technology is only about ±3 beats. Currently, Fujitsu is working to support Windows operating systems, with plans to commercialize the technlogy sometime this year. Support for Android and iOS is in the works as well. While it would certainly be a useful consumer technology, it might also be used in the medical industry to monitor patients, or it could be used at security gates in corporate buildings or airports. We may even see it used for ad targeting in the…

Fujitsu-pulse-ITproPhoto by ITpro

Fujitsu Laboratories has announced that it has developed technology to measure a person’s pulse from video taken by the camera in a smartphone, tablet, or PC webcam — and it can do so in as fast as five seconds!

If you want to monitor your health, it’s obviously a good idea to keep track of your pulse. But putting the usual monitoring equipment on your arms and wrists can be a pain. Fujitsu’s technology improves this process significantly through the use of video. The technology also can estimate hemoglobin levels in the blood by calculating RGB color components from a person’s face, measuring the approximate ‘brightness’ of their skin.

Fujitsu-pulse-calculation

The margin of error for this new pulse-measuring technology is only about ±3 beats. Currently, Fujitsu is working to support Windows operating systems, with plans to commercialize the technlogy sometime this year. Support for Android and iOS is in the works as well.

While it would certainly be a useful consumer technology, it might also be used in the medical industry to monitor patients, or it could be used at security gates in corporate buildings or airports. We may even see it used for ad targeting in the future — for example — recognizing a person with a high pulse rate, identify them as a likely runner, and then display ads for sport drinks.

5 more fun startups from Japan’s KDDI Mugen Labo

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KDDI Mugen Labo, the tech startup incubator from Japan’s second largest telco, recently unveiled five startups which qualified to participate in the fourth batch of its incubation program. They will start further development and receiving mentoring very shortly. Let’s see what kind of services were chosen, and learn a little about the folks behind them. Class ¶ Class is an alternative social network that lets you experience a sort of virtual reunion by creating a network of ten strangers from the same generation as you. When you sign to the service, you’ll be requested to enter your date of birth. From there, the system will randomly choose someone whom you’ve probably never met but will likely get along with. The service aims to help adults experience the sort of friendships they’ve experienced back when they were students. To help break the ice, the app presents a discussion topic of the day. But interestingly it is a time-limited experience, so the network will be completely gone one month after you create it. Class is being developed by Tokyo-based startup We-b, which is also known for having developed a film or book-oriented Pinterest clone called Log. The app is still in beta…

kddi_mugen_labo_logoKDDI Mugen Labo, the tech startup incubator from Japan’s second largest telco, recently unveiled five startups which qualified to participate in the fourth batch of its incubation program. They will start further development and receiving mentoring very shortly. Let’s see what kind of services were chosen, and learn a little about the folks behind them.

Class

Class is an alternative social network that lets you experience a sort of virtual reunion by creating a network of ten strangers from the same generation as you. When you sign to the service, you’ll be requested to enter your date of birth. From there, the system will randomly choose someone whom you’ve probably never met but will likely get along with. The service aims to help adults experience the sort of friendships they’ve experienced back when they were students. To help break the ice, the app presents a discussion topic of the day. But interestingly it is a time-limited experience, so the network will be completely gone one month after you create it.

Class is being developed by Tokyo-based startup We-b, which is also known for having developed a film or book-oriented Pinterest clone called Log. The app is still in beta but has acquired more than 2,000 users in three days since the launch.

class_screenshot

Kawaii Museum JPN

Inspired by Tokyo Otaku Mode (a subculture media service that has more than 11 million Facebook likes) Kawaii Museum JPN aspires to be a news source about Japanese characters for global audiences. So far it has 3.6 million likes. For monetization, they plan to develop an e-commerce platform specifically for selling character products, and to lead users to stores where they can buy them.

Kawaii Museum JPN is currently being developed by Ruby programmer Taketo Tanaka who previously worked with DeNA.

kawaiimuseumjpn_screenshot

Canvas creator

hitokuse_logoCanvas Creator is a tool that helps developers easily design a HTML5-based web app without the need for any coding skills, although the prototype is not yet finalized. The app is being developed by Wataru Miyazaki and his team who are still attending the University of Tokyo, but have won many awards at hackathons or business plan competitions in Tokyo.

Mygrow.jp

life-is-tech_logoMygrow.jp is a tool for teachers which allows them to share and record the growths of their students. The app is developed by Tokyo-based startup Life is Tech, which has been running a bootcamp program for elementary and junior school students to master IT skills. The app visualizes how each students progresses on his or her learning path, helping teachers do their job a little better equipped with this new insight.

Trapro

Trapro aims to solve big social issues such as the low birth rate or global warming. According to the platform’s developer Toshiki Abe, the biggest factors that prevent us from trying to solve social issues are: very few people are interested in it, there’s no information hub about such things, and few people have a solution readily at hand. Trapro allows you to post an article about social issues which you are conscious about, and then invite other users to work on it together.

Mr. Abe is attending the University of Tokyo and organizes a study community called Ridilover. It encourages university students to pay more attention to current social issues.

traporo_screenshot


This 4th batch for the incubator program will start very shortly, and we can expect to see the results of their efforts at their presentation event three months from now.

Google Maps adds spectacular 45-degree aerial view to select Japanese cities

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Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) has announced that it has added Tokyo, Kawasaki, Chiba, and Sendai to the list of cities worldwide that have the slick 45-degree aerial view feature. Somewhat similar to Apple’s touted ‘flyover’ feature, this view was initially rolled out in 37 US cities as well as 14 international cities last year. Now on Google Maps you can check out iconic locations such as Tokyo Tower or even the new Tokyo Skytree from a 45-degree vantage point. As you can see in the pictures below, the view looks pretty amazing. The 45-degree perspective doesn’t appear right away, but once you’ve zoomed into a certain level, it suddenly kicks in. Eye-candy aside, this is actually a pretty practical feature, especially if you’re trying to scout out a new place you plan to visit. I find myself often confused when visiting some stations, so I expect to make use of it often [1[. You might also want to check out Google’s Streetview compilation of cherry blossom viewing spots. Trees are just starting to bloom in Japan, so if you’d like to scout a spot near you for this weekend, this is a fun resource to explore! Sometimes it feels a little like…

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) has announced that it has added Tokyo, Kawasaki, Chiba, and Sendai to the list of cities worldwide that have the slick 45-degree aerial view feature. Somewhat similar to Apple’s touted ‘flyover’ feature, this view was initially rolled out in 37 US cities as well as 14 international cities last year.

Now on Google Maps you can check out iconic locations such as Tokyo Tower or even the new Tokyo Skytree from a 45-degree vantage point. As you can see in the pictures below, the view looks pretty amazing. The 45-degree perspective doesn’t appear right away, but once you’ve zoomed into a certain level, it suddenly kicks in.

tokyo-tower-google-maps

tokyo-skytree-google-maps

Eye-candy aside, this is actually a pretty practical feature, especially if you’re trying to scout out a new place you plan to visit. I find myself often confused when visiting some stations, so I expect to make use of it often [1[.

You might also want to check out Google’s Streetview compilation of cherry blossom viewing spots. Trees are just starting to bloom in Japan, so if you’d like to scout a spot near you for this weekend, this is a fun resource to explore!


  1. Sometimes it feels a little like Mario Bros, coming up in a strange new world after traveling around in a series of pipes. ↩