iOS 13 Apple Maps Japan Adds Traffic

Traffic has been missing in Apple Maps Japan all this time and driving in Tokyo without knowing traffic conditions is…. well let’s just say that it is unimaginable in a country where car navigation systems with real time traffic conditions are ubiquitous. Apple Maps Japan was pretty much useless for driving, so everybody uses Google Maps and Yahoo Japan Maps which have offered real time traffic for years.

This has finally changed with the iOS 13 release. It was a long wait but at least Traffic for Apple Maps in Japan is here and a viable car navigation option for iOS users. There are lots of missing pieces like Junction View for elevated expressways, and the dysfunctional, obsolete Maps UI forces users to toggle between Map View which has Traffic, and Transit View that does not, it remains a major irritant and mismatch for Japanese user needs. Did it every occur to the Apple Maps team that bus riders want to know what traffic conditions are so they can catch the desired train time at a transfer point? It seems not.

In other Japan digital map news, Google Maps has finally followed the Yahoo Japan Maps cartography lead by incorporating standard station yellow signage for exits. Things in the map finally match what you see on the ground. Yahoo Japan Maps still does it better, especially in challenging locations like Shinjuku station, but it’s a welcome start.

Unfortunately Apple Maps Japan sticks with their stupid purple exit signage that you NEVER find in real life. Let’s hope Apple fixes that, and lots more, before the Tokyo Olympics.