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. Image capture since then as follows.
2024: Apple completed image data capture for Aichi, Mie, Saitama, Gunma and Tochigi prefectures. No Look Around release from 2024 image capture data.
2025: Apple completed van image collection 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. The only Look Around release was refreshed Osaka City (2024 image collection).
2026: Apple will conduct van image collection for Tokyo Metro, Kanagawa, Hyogo, Okayama and Hiroshima prefectures along with backpack image collection (select parks, university campuses and station areas) in Ibaraki Prefecture, Central Tokyo, Central Yokohama City, Shizuoka City, Matsuyama City, Fukuoka City. Tokyo and Yokohama are refreshes for 2018 captured Look Around. There are no new prefectures receiving image capture but Hyogo, Okayama, Hiroshima will graduate from partially mapped status to mostly complete status.
Apple’s bumpy Japanese image collection effort
Redesigned ‘New Maps’ for Japan using Apple proprietary cartography seen in America, Europe, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong, remains an elusive goal after 8 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 piecemeal process.
Apple uses a simple formula for image collection in Japan: Cities + Districts = 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 is also a disconnect between image collection and Look Around releases. Image collected regions don’t necessarily get a corresponding Look Around release. Shizuoka for example was completely mapped in 2022 but Look Around didn’t appear until 2024. Saitama and Aichi prefectures were ‘completely mapped’ in 2023 but none of those areas appear in Look Around in Apple iOS/macOS apps. Perhaps adding and processing POI data overlays and other details takes time, we don’t know. The only thing we do know is that there is a large gap between image collection and Look Around coverage, similar to Look Around in the USA. And the gap is growing.
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, Fukuoka, Kagawa.
The graphic clearly shows that Apple Maps image collection in Japan has a long way to go.
The 2026 Apple Maps Image Collection scorecard of the 47 Japanese prefectures:
21 are ‘completely’ mapped**
1 is partially mapped**
8 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 3~4 years to cover all of Japan, in other words 2030. 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 fix basic long standing problems like this:
When Apple delivered Apple Maps 2.0 for all users in the United States in early 2020, the press release included a Eddie Cue quote: “We look forward to bringing this new map to the rest of the world starting with Europe later this year.” In 2026 Europe has the new maps but Apple Maps in Japan still use the same poor quality, highly problematic and rarely updated GeoTechnologies supplied cartography data, and will be for years to come. Instead of switching to a high quality Japanese cartography supplier like Zenrin that would solve Apple Map Japan problems like the one pictured above, Apple has stuck with GeoTechnologies and their flawed, outdated map data.
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 for the ever growing inbound tourist crowd too. Apple Maps does’t cut it in Japan, it’s not even a discussion topic, a situation perfectly summarized in a 2024 X post:
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.
Last updated 2026-05-05
Image Collection Updates
2026-02-26
Apple Maps Image collection for 2026 has no new prefectures but will complete van image collection for Hyogo, Okayama and Hiroshima prefectures. Tokyo and Kanagawa will receive major van image collection refresh. Backpack image collection is slated for major park, university and station areas in Ibaraki, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Aichi, Ehime and Fukuoka.
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. Backpack image collection added 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. It’s the smallest Look Around release ever. 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.
2025-02-18
The 2025 image collection schedule 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 Expansion Updates
Look Around expansions are limited to areas showing in Apple’s own apps. 3rd party browser sites such as lookaround-map that show beta test areas are ignored.
- Look Around JP release #8 February 2026~(ongoing): backpack 2025 image data for stations and parks in Osaka City, Sakai City, Moriguchi City, Suita City, Toyonaka City, Maebashi City, Niigata City; scattered 2025 van image data for extremely small parts of Gunma Prefecture Tone District and Niigata City.
- Look Around JP release #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 JP release #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 JP release #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 JP release #4 May 2022 (2021 image collection): Sapporo City, Niigata City, Shizuoka City, Akashi City
- Look Around JP release #3 May 2021 (2020 image collection): Sendai City, Kanazawa City
- Look Around JP release #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 JP release #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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