L. M. Lloyd

I am a huge supporter of traveling fully loaded, digitally speaking. GPS, PDAs, worldphones, digital camera, the whole nine yards. My trips wouldn't be anywhere near as fun without all my gadgets. There are a whole lot of reasons for that, but the main one is that if I am properly kitted out, I can focus on having fun, and not worry about getting lost, or not being able to find my way back to the hotel, or having to sit around waiting to hook up with people. To this end, one of the things I had really almost sold myself on, was one of these mini-notebooks like the eeePC or the HP Mini. They promise to give you all the power of a notebook, anywhere you want it, at any time. The idea of being able to run my financial software, Google Earth, Photoshop, and any other app I might want, anywhere I find myself, is an enticing prospect. I had very nearly convinced myself that was all I would need in my camera bag, except of course for the camera gear.

The problems with this theory, of course, turn up the minute I start getting everything ready for my next trip. I suddenly realize, a notebook can't stay on all day, because it doesn't have anywhere near enough battery power. That means you have to put it to sleep when you aren't using it. If it is asleep, it can't do anything, like track your GPS so that you can see where you went over the day, or geotag your photos (if that is what you are into). If it is asleep, it can't give you turn-by-turn directions to your destination as you bike through Tokyo. If it is asleep, it can't let you know when you have an email. Furthermore, it isn't exactly something you can just whip out and take a quick look at while you are walking down the street, or biking down an alley. You have to stop, get it out, open it, and wake it up. That means it also isn't very useful for whipping out in a store, and checking the exchange rate, or seeing how much money you have left after all that shopping. In short, it isn't good for half the things I want from a portable travel gadget.

So, suck as it is, it puts me right back into the world of PDAs. They are always-on, get the better part of a heavy day of usage on a charge, and can do things even while asleep. I hate Windows Mobile with a passion, but it does 80% of what I want, and it just doesn't look like there is anything that is going to be able to do even that, much less make up that last 20%. So, I guess as much as I lust after the various UMPCs, Tablet PCs, sub-notebooks and such, it is till really not a replacement for the good old PDA. Now to shop for a good PDA.

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!

The first step to figuring out how to get around, at least as I see it, is figuring out where the hell you are. This seems pretty straightforward, since we all have access to GPSs these days, but then telling someone your Lat/Long coordinates isn't exactly the most useful way to get directions. So, you need a map on the GPS. Luckily, that is pretty standard too, so what's the problem?

The problem is that GPS units seem to fall into two distinct categories. Those that show you the maps in English, and those that have street-level maps of Japan. There doesn't seem to be a single commercial unit that will show, by default, street-level maps of Japan with Roman characters (the call it Romaji in Japan when you spell out Japanese with Roman characters). So, all those wonderful GPS units you can pick up at your local store are all but useless to you in Japan, because they will show you where you are on the Earth in Lat/Long, but won't show you the street you are on in Tokyo. The best you will get is that you are somewhat near this major highway that happens to be on the base world map that comes with the unit. Now this is exactly why these units let you download other maps, but here comes the real kick to the groin. None of the Western GPS manufacturers sell a single map of Japan for their units!