Thank god for it getting easier! I am so tired of counting how many family marts I have passed to know where I am.

I just bought an American Garmin Nuvi for $112 and then spent about the same on the latest version of the UpUpDown map. So far, seems pretty good. You can search by post code now. That can get you pretty close, depending on how dense the city is you're driving in. Best, though, is to enter the coordinates. It also takes Chome addresses. I'm still learning those. I'm pretty happy with it. I didn't spend a whole lot, and I have a navigator for when I move back to the states, too.
Also, wanted to let y'all know that I'm using my U.S. iphone here. I unlocked it and then bought a cheap, used pay-as-you-go Softbank phone, just for the SIM card. Now I just pay ¥300 a month for unlimited text and email. The per-minute charge for phone calls is pretty high, so I don't make calls just to chat. It took a few hours to get the kinks out but I'm satisfied, especially since I upgraded to iOS4. I was going to get a DoCoMo SIM for the iphone, but the Softbank SIM fell into my lap.

So I'm at the Exchange yesterday (MCEX) and there are like 5 GPS systems for sale. Two expensive ones (like $400+) made to work in Japan. Three others are in the $125 range, ALL of them say "For North American use only."

What up wit dat? Why are they selling North American-only GPS in Japan? I think they were all Garmin products. Y'all are mentioning about UUD maps. Are these something that can be purchased separately and loaded into a US-spec GPS system? Is it a hack, or are they designed to be used this say? Needless to say, the Exchange staff was clueless & couldn't tell me a thing.

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I was wondering those of you who use your Iphone and have a GPS app, what app are you using that pings your location and helps you get around?  I'm looking for one but not really sure which one to use.  Was it a free app, or a pay one? 

Posted By ryobious on 08-11-2011 12:34 PM
I was wondering those of you who use your Iphone and have a GPS app, what app are you using that pings your location and helps you get around?  I'm looking for one but not really sure which one to use.  Was it a free app, or a pay one? 

It's the built-in Maps app that comes pre-installed on your iPhone.  I use it all the time for driving, walking and trains (yes, it has all train schedules built right in, including fares, departure times & transfers).

You might have to turn on "Location Services" in your settings; after that, it puts a blue dot to show where you are on the map.

Try it out.  The driving directions are in English (turn right, merge, etc.) but the names of streets, etc. are in Japanese. Even though I can't read Japanese, I can pretty much figure it out; I set my odometer to zero at each turn, and it says how far to the next turn.  Works great!!

My English Garmin works well in Japan I have also figured out how transfer saved favorites from one to another and I found a place that has all of the points of interest in Japan that are loaded into Google Earth so you can see the destination, capture the coordinates and enter them into your GPS if it's not already saved in your favorites.

There are many - many locations ...
Partial list:
Airports-2
Amusement Parks-5
Bus Stations-2
Cafe Fast Food-11
Education (Univ)-3
Embassy-2
Gardens-Parks-24
Gov. Bldgs.-21
Hotels-Hundreds
Landmarks-Hundreds
Maid or Cosplay Cafe-7
Museum of Art-20
Onsen-1
Restaurants-5
Shopping areas-Hundreds
Shrine or Temple-27
Sporting Facility-11
Theatre or Entertainment-15
Town or City-3
Train Station-11

It's certainly not a complete list of Japan but there hundreds of some of the more popular locations already plotted.

I have it all posted on line to include the steps required to enter new waypoints on your GPS using coordinates shoot me a message and I'll send you the link. It's way too much information and JPEGS to paste here.

Has been a while since anyone posted on this thread, but I was hoping someone could help me locate the walking/pedestrian mode on the Smart Navi from the Nex. I know that I saw it once but now I can't find it anywhere, not even in the user's manual. Thanks for any help provided.

Posted By RDSwiney on 12-20-2011 1:26 PM
Has been a while since anyone posted on this thread, but I was hoping someone could help me locate the walking/pedestrian mode on the Smart Navi from the Nex. I know that I saw it once but now I can't find it anywhere, not even in the user's manual. Thanks for any help provided.

I only owned a Smart-Navi for about 10 minutes because I returned it as I wasn't too pleased with it but the GARMIN'S have a "Help" function that explains how to set up pedestrian mode.  I'll attach a picture here maybe that will help you some.  I actually don't change my Garmin's to pedestrian mode when walking because they work just fine in that mode too.  I used it on a bullet train the other day and it reached 164 MPH, I have seen 500+ on aircraft as well.

Good luck!