Quick Help

Quick Start...

Click the on-screen "labels" checkbox to toggle the labels on and off. (With the labels off, the map will scroll rather faster.)
Click the on-screen "trains" checkbox to toggle the railway/subway etc stations on and off.

Icons only become visible at zoom level 12 and greater.
Mouse-over the icon to see the station name, double click for details.
Click the "det" ["details"] checkbox to have a label added to a station icon.

This appears from zoom level 14. Where the station type is known [not all are], the icon is highlighted to let you keep track of which station is on which line.
Double-click to add a marker. You can then mail the location to a friend, save the marker on this computer, get the lat/lng of the point and determine approximate distances from your "home point".
Mouse scroll-wheel (if you have one) to zoom in and out. (Or use the on screen slider.)

Menu Options...

English Address Search: Map most addresses in Japan using English.
Place Lookup: Look-up many geographical locations in Japan.
Zip/Postcode Search: Type in a yubinbango (Zip/Postcode) and you will be taken to the area it relates to. Enter the first 3 digits to go to the approximate area.
JP Address: Look-up a Japanese address using standard kanji address entry.
Plot Link: Copy and paste a "Google maps" e-mail link here to plot that location on diddlefinger.
Sync: Synchronize the map and the web-page. [Useful if you pan/zoom a long way from your starting point and want to make a bookmark. ]
Link to page: Get a link you can e-mail/IM of the current map location and any "green arrow" markers.
E-mail: Make a link to current page, and any green markers, in your mail client.

Important things you should know...

We have no association with Google.
The site is in beta. That means bits of it might not work properly and labels may be in the wrong locations. Caveat emptor. Read the disclaimer & terms of use before you start.
Labels from Zoom levels 4 to 9 are mostly hand placed and should line up with the Japanese text on the map. Labels from Zoom level 10 to 19 are mostly geocoded (automatically placed by latitude and longitude) and almost certainly don't line up exactly with the Kanji. Read the F.A.Q for details. Geo-coded labels are often blue text on a white background.
City/-shi: if you are looking for a Japanese city - e.g. Nagasaki - we probably refer to it as "Nagasaki (-shi)" or "Nagasaki-shi". Why: although the Japanese word "shi" is often translated by the English word "city", many shi are not large urban conurbations. (e.g.: "Iki-shi - a small rural island.). Remember: most cities are shi. Not all shi are cities.
Other translations: -ku = ward, -ken = prefecture, -machi = town.
Zoom Level 15 is where the local area labels are printed on the map. Keep an eye on the on-screen indication of zoom level.
If the maps is slow: short term solution, switch off labels when scrolling or zooming. Medium term solution, use the Safari v3 browser - it runs diddlefinger faster than Firefox and a lot faster than I.E. or Safari v2.
Cookies and Javascript must both be turned on for this site to work properly.

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