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112 Panel 3Another factor that adds to the hesitation of tourists isthe fact that the Japanese use a completely differentaddress system. Whereas Western countries usually usea linear address system such that houses facing thesame street would be using the same street name andan incremental set of numbers, the Japanese use a socallednested spatial system whereby an address is firstdefined by the largest spatial unit (shi, equivalent to amunicipality), followed by its subunit (ku), then itssub-sub-unit (cho, equivalent to a neighborhood ofapproximately 30 houses), and finally, by the lotnumber (Nitschke 2003). This results in a seeminglyconfusing address system, with houses across the samestreet using a completely different address name and aseemingly random address number. Finding an addressin Japan is simply an impossible task for the first timeWestern visitor.Thus, providing promotional information beforehandwill surely boost the tourist’s confidence in makingtransactions with kyo-machiyas. This provision ofinformation is now being done by most youngentrepreneurs online (via the Internet) and offline (viabrochures, booklets and other printed materials).d. Online Maps of Kyoto: A Matter of DepthA map is always an essential element in thosepromotional materials, both online and offline. Themost influential factor that affects the current publicusage of those maps, however, was the development ofeditable, online map services. MapFan (800 thousandvisitors a day 5 ) and the more commercially-orientedMapion (1.4 million visitors a day) are among theleaders of the online map providers in Japan.Combined with GPS-enabled mobile-phone andmobile-web applications, those providers are heavycontenders for the top position Google Maps, theworldwide leader, enjoys in Japan’s market. Five yearsago, Mapion had already invented the “point-basedsearch” technology, in which users can point mobilephones toward virtually any business location,billboard, or geographical area to access information(BusinessWire.com 2006). To compete with GoogleStreetview (not available in most countries, butalmost always available in any Japanese middle-sizedtown) that enables the user to navigate along a virtualstreet, Mapion has devised a new, three-dimensionaltechnology that enables the viewers to experience thesimulation of depth on their computer screens.Despite these advanced technologies, most of kyomachiya-basedbusinesses that promote online preferto create their own, customized mobile-oriented map,using the online map services only as a base map. Thisis due to the facts that Japanese mobile devices arehighly advanced and, in Japan, most websites areaccessed more often via those devices than a computer.The users usually prefer the much simpler and quicknature of customized maps, as it takes but a singlemouse click to get the location info in a customizedmap, compared to a few more clicks deep in an onlinemap provider’s main page. A customized, speciallythemedmap conveys only relevant information, thusavoiding prolonged download time as well as“information overload” so ubiquitous in most Japaneseweb pages.e. Offline (or Printed) Maps of Kyoto: Selecting theRight InformationThe selective nature of a customized online map alsoapplies to offline (or printed) maps. Even more, withits limited capacity and availability, a printed map hasto be extremely selective in conveying information andnecessitates suitable distribution points. Based on theirtheme, these maps are broadly categorized into thefollowing:1. Mapping by RegionThis map category is usually designed for thegeneral, first-time visitors who do not haveparticular interests or specific destinations. Inthese maps, every object of interest is featured,thereby potentially generating confusion if notchosen selectively. To avoid such confusion, theobjects are usually organized into major objects(such as city landmarks), and into one to twolevels of minor objects. Most official maps(published by local authorities) fall in thiscategory. For example, maps of Takao(www.kyo-takao.com), an area north of Kyoto,features several temples, scenic spots, historicbridges, and even traditional wood loggingactivities within one single map. This type ofmap is mainly distributed at the entry points to aspecific area, such as in bus/train stations andairports2. Mapping by ObjectThis map category is usually designed for specialinteresttourists. Most commercial maps fall intothis particular category. As Kyoto is a historiccity, the most typical of its maps are historically-The Work of the 2010/2011 API Fellows