OK, so, like me you’ve finally decided that its about damn time you pull the trigger and make this trip happen.  Where do you start?

You start scouring the internet, pick up a few guidebooks, read other people’s trip accounts (like this one) but its difficult to really decide what you’re going to go see, and when.

That’s where a tool like Google Earth is indispensable.  If you’re unfamiliar with Google Earth, the short description is that it allows you to take an instant bird’s eye (and now street-level…) look at practically any place on earth.

Not only that, but you can view images, Wikipedia articles, even videos taken at a particular location.  With Street View enabled, you can even virtually walk the streets of Tokyo.  It’s really a powerful tool.  I literally spent hours poring over the maps, photos, and street view images.

But how does it help me plan my trip?

Lets take, for example, Tokyo.  If you type ‘Tokyo’ into the search box, you’ll be zoomed around the world and wind up  looking at a satellite view of the Tokyo Metro area.

Tokyo Through Google Earth

Great!  But now what?  Look carefully.  Make sure you’ve got the ‘Panaramio’ layer turned on, underneath ‘Geographic Web.’  Notice the little blue squares?  Click on one of them.

Panaramio Image of Tokyo

You’re greeted with an image that someone has added to Panaramio, of some sight in Japan.  Awesome.  Now zoom in.  Notice how more and more of the little blue squares appear, and that they will be clustered together?  What you’ve just discovered is how to find “the sights” of Tokyo.  Everywhere those clusters of photographs are, you will generally find a location which seems to be favored by tourists and photographers.

It will also give you a pretty good idea of how far things are from each other, and from the train stations.  This way you can plan your days appropriately, and plan how to get from A to B.  I did this by creating a folder for each day under ‘My Places’, and dragging things into those folders.

Keep zooming in, and panning around the city.  Not only will you find the “big ones” like Senso-ji, Meiji Shrine, Ueno park, etc.  But the not-so big ones as well.  This is how I found such locations as Hanazono Shrine, Zojoji Temple, and even Enoshima Island.  “Oooh, look at this cluster of dots!”  I know it sounds strange, but you’ll find things you probably wouldn’t have otherwise.  There will usually be a Wikipedia article available as well.  This way, you can decide what looks interesting, and what you might just pass on.

Now for some real fun.  Lets assume you’ve picked your hotel, and you want to see what the area around it looks like.  Street View to the rescue!  Make sure that layer is turned on, and you will see small cameras with yellow borders.  Double click one of these.  You’ll be zoomed right down onto the street.

Tokyo Street View in Google Earth

Now you can “follow the cameras” from site to site, or from your hotel to the train station, or whereever.  I found this feature particularly handy for “preparing” myself how to recognize certain landmarks and areas.  A map will only go so far.  If you can virtually stand on a street corner, recognize the landmarks and say “I need to turn left here” then you’ll be able to do it when you’re actually there.

Play around with the different layers.  Especially the ‘Places of Interest->Transportation->Rail/Subway’ Layers.  With these enabled, you’ll be able to see where the stations are, and where all the lines go.  Brilliant!

Is it perfect?  Not really.  Actually the Earth implementation of street view is a little clunky when compared to the ‘Maps’ version.  It doesn’t show you the arrows, or any inset maps or anything like that, but its handy just the same.

Other layers like Dining and Shopping are marginally useful, unless you’re fluent in reading Japanese, as most of the place titles and descriptions are written in the same.  Some of the smaller train stations are as well.

I’m working on a custom layer for 10 Days in Japan.  It has the routes we walked drawn out, and I’m working on including photographs.  Its a little tedious, but it should be well worth the wait.

If you’re *really* bored, search around for other custom overlays.  There are some maps that go back to the Edo period which you can overlay.  You can also enable ‘historical imagery’ and zoom back and forth through the past few years to see how the city has evolved.  Notice how many buildings are torn down and rebuilt.

If you’ve got any other tips for using Google Earth for your trip planning, please add your comments below! I’m sure I don’t know everything there is to know about it, and would love to have some more insight for planning my next 10 Days in Japan!

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