L. M. Lloyd

As long as I can remember, I have heard people talk about how strange the Japanese address system is, and how it is virtually impossible to find things without detailed directions from a known starting point. Now there are plenty of good, detailed descriptions of how the Japanese address system works, but the short version is that most of the streets don't have names, and the addresses are built on a narrowing grid of sectors down to the building. Frankly, it is an odd system, but not all that cryptic. I mean really, if you are at all like me, it has been several years since you found any address without looking it up in Google Earth or Google Maps, so what does the system matter, as long as the software points you to the right place, right? So, despite the numerous people over the years who have told me they couldn't find this shop or that studio without directions, I still arrogantly thought that I would just pull up Google Maps and be done with it. So, imagine my surprise when I went to Google maps, only to find that any search for any business or location in Japan brings up results, maps, everything, entirely in Japanese!

In fact, much like my previous experience with GPS units, it was appearing like every single map of Japan, or tool for doing anything with a map in Japan, was entirely in Japanese. It was almost enough to make even the most stubborn gaijin lose hope. Gratefully, the oddly named Diddlefinger came to the rescue. Diddlefinger is the clever creation of an even more clever developer living in Japan, who wanted a way to tell where he was going, without having to read Japanese. What it essentially does, is provide an English interface to Google Maps Japan, and allows those of us who don't read Japanese to search for addresses using their Romaji names. Now, you still have to have the address, but at least now you can find it without having to ask every third person on the street if they speak English.

What's even better, is that after talking with the developer of Diddlfinger, I was able to get him to add the ability to export the addresses you find there as either a link, a KML, or a GPX, so that you can send them to someone else, Google Maps, or even your GPS device! Now, provided you have the address in Romaji, you can find anything down to the building (limited by the accuracy of Google Maps of course). What's even better, is that it provides an overlay in Romaji of a good many of the Japanese labels in Google Maps, so even if you don't have an exact address, you can still get an intelligible map of the area. It is an indispensable tool for us ignorant gaijin for whom Japanese is an unreadable cypher. If you are planning a trip to Japan, it is well worth your time to check out Diddlefinger.