In May 2023 Apple rolled out Look Around expansions for Tokyo, Chiba, Kyoto and Osaka that covered all roads classified as public in those prefectures. These were the first prefectures that Apple ‘completely mapped’ since image collection started for Japan in 2018. In February 2024 Apple added Look Around for Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures (2022 and 2023 image capture). In 2025 Apple has image data for Look Around releases that would complete coverage of Aichi, Mie, Saitama, Gunma and Tochigi prefectures (2023 and 2024 image capture), but so far has not released it.
For 2025 mage capture Apple has van image collection slated for Niigata, Nagano, Gifu, Shiga and Okinawa prefectures along with backpack image collection (select parks, university campuses and station areas) in Nagano, Niigata, Mie, Gumma, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Shizuoka, Osaka and Okinawa. And for the first time Apple is adding Transit iPhone / iPad image collection (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka). All in all 2025 will be biggest image collection year yet, a good sign but Apple Maps still haven’t reached the halfway point.
Redesigned ‘New Maps’ for Japan with Apple proprietary cartography seen in America, Europe, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong, remains an elusive goal after 7 years of image collection. Online discussions about redesigned Apple Maps coming to Japan are meaningless as people don’t understand what is actually mapped. People assume entire prefectures have been mapped when this is not the case. It’s a gradual piecemeal process.
Apple’s bumpy Japanese image collection effort
Apple uses a simple formula for image collection in Japan: Cities + Districts = (after many March ~ October image collection seasons) a completed Prefecture. They don’t bother with other legal classifications (prefectures, villages, towns, etc.), only cities and districts. Apple starts with the capital city in a prefecture then gradually adds other cities and districts over several mapping seasons until an entire prefecture is mapped. It’s essential to note however, that Apple’s image collection effort is limited compared to Google because Apple does not map roads classified as ‘private’ These roads are semi-private/semi-public and extensive, and Google maps them.
There are also long, 2 to 3 year gaps between image collection and the corresponding Look Around result in iOS / macOS Apple Maps app. Shizuoka for example was completely mapped in 2022 but Look Around didn’t appear until 2024. The same thing happened with Saitama and Aichi prefectures in 2023, all mapped but no 2024 release and still waiting in 2025. For some reason adding and processing POI data overlays and other details takes a long time.
To explain the situation, I created (what else?) a map that hopefully shows the piecemeal image collection in easy to understand terms of what’s mapped and what isn’t using color coded prefectures in 3 categories:
- Mostly Mapped Prefectures
‘Mostly mapped’ not ‘completely mapped’ because Apple only maps public designated roads (city, district, prefecture, national). In Japan there are lots of publicly used but quasi privately maintained publicly used roads designated as ‘private roads‘. Apple does not map private roads (nearly 40% of all roads in my city), but Google Maps does. This results in significant dead spots in Apple Maps image collection with huge quality implications of everything that depends on image collection: new maps cartography, Look Around, AR Walking Directions, Detailed City Experience, etc. Apple is creating everything from incomplete data. - Partially Mapped Prefectures
Major metropolitan areas that include surrounding parts of multiple neighboring prefectures: Greater Tokyo (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Ibaraki), Greater Osaka (Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Shiga, Hyogo), Greater Nagoya (Aichi, Mie). For some reason Apple has ignored greater area region prefectures like Gifu (Greater Nagoya) and Wakayama (Greater Osaka). - Selectively Mapped Prefectures
Capital cites in Hokkaido, Miyagi, Ishikawa, Ehime, Kumamoto prefectures. Capital and select cities or districts in Okayama, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Kagawa.
The graphic clearly shows that Apple Maps image collection in Japan has a long way to go.
The 2025 Apple Maps Image Collection scorecard of the 47 Japanese prefectures:
18 are ‘completely’ mapped**
2 are partially mapped**
10 are selectively mapped**
17 remain completely unmapped
**Roads designated as “private” are not mapped by Apple which means that Apple Maps are missing 25%~30% of the roads mapped by Google who do map private roads.
So when will Japan get Apple’s New Maps?
The gradual image collection means redesigned proprietary New Maps and the services connected with them, Detailed City Experience, etc., won’t be coming anytime soon. Not unless Apple greatly accelerates their image collection pace: at 5 prefectures a year (the 2025 pace), it will take about 4 years to cover all of Japan, in other words 2029. Those new features cannot happen until Apple image collection vans completely map all of Japan as New Maps is the cornerstone for all other cartography based features and will, hopefully fix basic long standing problems like this:
In short, Apple Maps in Japan are stuck with the poor quality, highly problematic and rarely updated GeoTechnologies supplied cartography data for years to come. Why Apple has stuck with them all this time instead of switching to a high quality and reliable Japanese cartography source like Zenrin is a mystery. It would have solved a lot of their Japan map problems like the one pictured above.
At any rate Apple Maps in Japan has been, and remains, the laggard for redesigned maps and associated features found in other countries. Not that it matters much for iPhone users in Japan: 80% of Japanese iPhone users don’t use Apple Maps. Mind share and market share has long been dominated by Google Maps. It’s the go to digital map in Japan, even for the ever growing inbound tourist crowd. A situation perfectly summarized in a recent social media post:
I love how convenient the iPhone is for using digital Suica, and I use Apple products in general.
But I’m really starting to realize after living here a while-Apple Maps is not at all on the same level as Google Maps, at least in Tokyo. Ignoring the amazing transit information only on Google Maps, Apple Maps is just missing basic shops and restaurants that Google Maps invariably displays.
I come from the SF Bay Area, and Apple Maps felt really detailed and complete. Here in Tokyo, it feels like they haven’t come close to making it useful.
Some people like using Apple Maps in Japan for certain things, walking directions, lane guidance and so on. But for real maps they always go back to Google Maps. It’s that simple.
Updates
*Look Around releases discussed in this post are limited to areas showing in Apple’s own apps. 3rd party browser sites such as lookaround-map are ignored as they use reverse-engineered requests to Apple’s internal Maps API that reflect internal Look Around builds not available in Apple’s own apps and public APIs.
2025-06-19
Look Around release #7 van image collection data has appeared iOS and macOS Maps app. Osaka City, Higashi Osaka City and Yao City have been updated to 2024 data. It’s the smallest Look Around release ever with recent Saitama, Gunma, Aichi, Mie, prefecture image collection left on the proverbial cutting room floor. Look Around expansion is slowing while image collection is accelerating, very odd, but the last 10 years has been a hard lesson that Apple Maps is as Apple Maps does.
2025-05-08
Apple revised 2025 image collection: Niigata and Nagano prefectures added to van collection. Niigata, Nagano, Shizuoka added to backpack image collection.
2025-04-04
Look Around release #7 is starting to appear. Backpack image collection data is first as usual: major stations, parks and university campus areas in Saitama City, Chiba City, Kamakura City, Hamamatsu City, Sakai City, Kobe City, Kita-Kyushu City, Kumamoto City.
2025-02-18
The 2025 image collection schedule for release #8 has Apple Maps Image Collection vans visiting all of Gifu, Shiga and Okinawa prefectures. Backpack and iPad / iPhone Image Collection will visit major stations, city parks and university campus areas in major cities of Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gunma, Tokyo (Fuchu), Mie, Kyoto, Osaka and Okinawa prefectures. Apple states: “Other pedestrian surveys use iPads, iPhones or other devices to collect data for map improvement purposes.”
2024-03-01
The 2024 image collection schedule has Apple Maps Image Collection vans visiting all of Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Mie prefectures and Osaka City. Backpack Image Collection will visit major stations, city parks and university campus areas in Saitama City, Chiba City, Kamakura City, Hamamatsu City, Sakai City, Kobe City, Kita-Kyushu City, Kumamoto City.
2024-02-20
Look Around Japan #6 uploaded and online for Shizuoka Prefecture (2022), Kofu Prefecture (2023), Kumamoto City (2022/2023), Takasaki City (2022), Utsunomiya City (2023), Otsu City (2023). Still missing 2023 data collected areas for Aichi Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, Kurashiki City, Marugame City, Matsuyama City, Fukuyama City.
- Look Around #7 June 2025: refreshed van image data for Osaka City, Higatshi Osaka City, Yao City (2024), new backpack image data for select park and university campus areas in: Kumamoto City, Kitakyushu City, Kobe City, Sakai City, Hamamatsu City, Kamakura City, Saitama City, Chiba City (2024)
- Look Around #6 February 2024: Shizuoka Prefecture (2022 image collection), Kofu Prefecture (2023 image collection), Kumamoto City (2022+2023 image collection), Takasaki City (2022 image collection), Utsunomiya City (2023 image collection), Otsu City (2023 image collection)
- Look Around #5 May 2023 (2022 image collection): Tokyo Metropolis, Chiba Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Osaka Prefecture (Kawachi District), Maebashi City, Okayama City, Kita-Kyushu City,
Kumamoto City(Kumamoto City in initial rollout was pulled for quality problems and remapped) - Look Around #4 May 2022 (2021 image collection): Sapporo City, Niigata City, Shizuoka City, Akashi City
- Look Around #3 May 2021 (2020 image collection): Sendai City, Kanazawa City
- Look Around #2 January 2021 (2020 image collection): Fukuoka City, Hiroshima City, Nara (Greater Osaka), Takamatsu City. Hiroshima City was pulled in March 2020 and reposted in May 2020.
- Look Around #1 August 2020 (2019 image collection): Greater Tokyo, Greater Osaka, Greater Nagoya
When will Japan get Apple’s new map? Part 1: the map supplier problem 2022-06-01
When will Japan get Apple’s new map? Part 2: the private rode problem 2022-06-13
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