Nowadays many people are using GPS navigators for cross-country traveling, but I love the feel of a good book. Sure navigators are small and lightweight, but it seems rather difficult to conceptualize the space you’re in with such a small screen. In addition no brain power is required for navigation which I think subtracts from the idea of an adventure.
In steps Touring Mapple, a Japanese map series of different regions in book form. The spine is very sturdy, so it can be bent and twisted any which way. If it gets wet and dirty it still keeps its integrity, so you can continue to use it. Icons on the map tell you of stores, inns, youth hostels, and points of interests for each area. In addition recommended routes are highlighted in purple, as in this picture showing 105 heading north from Kakunodate.
In America I’ve never seen a road map in book form like Touring Mapple, so I think it’s important to explain how to use it.
First, look at the fold out map and find the area you want to go. There will be a blue number printed in the corner of the rectangle of your desired location. That number corresponds to a given page number in the book, so turn to that page. For example, here we will look for Akita, which is in box 65.
On the outer edge of the map pages there are numbers in purple diamonds. Those numbers are page numbers for each given direction. If your road heads north look for the top center diamond. These diamond numbers will guide you through the book.
Expressways are printed as two solid purple lines and city highways are shown as one solid purple line. Red lines are national roads and green roads are main regional arteries. Orange routes are prefectural roads, banana yellow routes are general roads and clear lines are small town and city roads. The thickness of the roads reveals the amount of traffic you can expect to see on any given route. The thinner the road the less traffic, given normal circumstances.
If you can’t read any Japanese, keep an English map handy to help you find general areas and match with the fold out Mapple map.
It may seem ridiculous to go out and buy a map with no English in it, however you are in Japan, you might as well take the next step.
