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Introducing SnowJapan
Route Finder
In October 2010 we introduced individual map
pages for every ski and snowboard resort listed
in our Resorts
section and all of the
accommodations listed on the
Places to Stay
section of SnowJapan.
This year we introduce a way to find directions and plan routes to and
from ski resorts, hotels or any address in Japan.
We hope that you
find this new Route Finder functionality to
provide a lot
of fun as well as being useful - even for people
who do not use cars for their journeys.
Ever wondered where Hakuba is in relation to
Nozawa Onsen? Or Shiga Kogen?
Or where Yuzawa is compared with Myoko?
Or how to get from Niseko to Rusutsu?
Want to send that route to yourself or a friend?
These things can easily be done using our new Route
Finder took.
Before you proceed, please be sure to read
this
important information.
So what can you do using Route Finder?
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Find a route, shown on a
map - from A to B (to C to D...), or
from any location to any ski resort or
accommodation on SnowJapan |
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Find a route that uses or
avoids expressways where relevant |
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Find a route that avoids
any tolls |
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View a large version of
the chosen route map |
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Print the directions |
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Send a direct link to
your route to yourself and/or friends |
We have prepared three different types of
Route Planner - General, Resorts and
Places to
Stay.
Link:
General Route
Finder
>> Choose the
Starting Point and Destination
Point(s).
With the General
Route Finder you
must choose a Starting Point and at least one
Destination Point. You can add multiple
Destination Points. Each of these Points can
either be and address, a ski resort or a hotel:
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Address: |
Type in an address/postcode/lat-long co-ords/landmark
name.
Please read this about entering text
into this box. |
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Resort: |
Choose a prefecture and
then the resort name from the drop downs
that appear when you choose this option. |
|
Hotel: |
Choose a
prefecture and then the accommodation
name from the drop downs that appear
when you choose this option. |
Click on Address, Resort or
Hotel to enter/choose your Stating Point.
Then click on one of the Add Destination
Point options to continue.
Once you have made your choices, click on
DISPLAY ROUTE and the map should appear.
Link:
General Route
Finder
Please watch this video clip to see the
General Route Finder in action:
DEMO VIDEO |
Link:
Found on each
Resorts listing page as well as prefecture
listings of resorts (see links in right column
on this page).
>> Choose the
Starting Point
On this page you
must choose a Starting Point. Each of
these Points can either be and address, a ski
resort or a hotel:
|
Address: |
Type in an address/postcode/lat-long co-ords/landmark
name.
Please read this about entering text
into this box. |
|
Resort: |
Choose a prefecture and
then the resort name from the drop downs
that appear when you choose this option. |
|
Hotel: |
Choose a
prefecture and then the accommodation
name from the drop downs that appear
when you choose this option. |
Click on Address, Resort or Hotel to
enter/choose your Stating Point.
The Destination
Point will always be a specific ski resort in
Japan and cannot be changed - we have prepared a Route Finder
page for every ski resort in Japan.
Once you have made your choices, click on
DISPLAY ROUTE and the map should appear.
Sample pages:
>
Naeba
(Yuzawa, Niigata)
>
Hakuba Goryu
(Hakuba, Nagano)
>
Hakuba Happo-one (Hakuba, Nagano)
Please watch this
video clip to see Ski Resort Route
Finder in action:
DEMO VIDEO |
>> Choose the
Starting Point.
On this page you
must choose a Starting Point. Each
of these Points can either be and address, a ski
resort or a hotel:
|
Address: |
Type in an address/postcode/lat-long co-ords/landmark
name.
Please read this about entering text
into this box. |
|
Resort: |
Choose a prefecture and
then the resort name from the drop downs
that appear when you choose this option. |
|
Hotel: |
Choose a
prefecture and then the accommodation
name from the drop downs that appear
when you choose this option. |
Click on Address, Resort or Hotel to
enter/choose your Stating Point.
The Destination
Point will always be an accommodation in
Japan and cannot be changed. We have prepared a Route Finder
page for every accommodation that is listed in
the Places to Stay section of SnowJapan.
Once you have made your choices, click on
DISPLAY ROUTE and the map should appear.
Sample pages:
>
NASPA New Otani
(Yuzawa, Niigata)
>
Naeba Prince Hotel, Yuzawa,
(Yuzawa, Niigata)
>
Madarao Kogen Hotel (Iiyama, Nagano)
Please watch this video clip to see
Accommodation Route Finder in action:
DEMO VIDEO |
Options
Removing a
Choice
If you make a mistake or wish to change one
of your choices, use the "remove"
link to delete. Please view the
Demo Video
to see this in action.
Saving a Route /
Send URL
You can save the unique web address (URL) of any route
that you create. If you wish to save the address of a route,
just click on the Send map URL link
on the right hand side of the page. You will be taken to a form and on that form,
fill out the necessary details including the
email addresses that you want your map URL to be
sent to.
Print
Directions
Click on the Print Directions link on the right
hand side of the page to send the text
directions to a connected printer.
Important -
please read
Accuracy of information
and disclaimers
This functionality uses Google Maps.
SnowJapan does not control the actual maps or
the suggested routes that appear on these pages
- the data is coming from Google Maps.
For the most part, correct
information will be displayed. And really, it's
all very clever isn't it?
But there will be instances where a less than
ideal route and/or some odd results are shown.
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For example, some roads that are
actually closed in winter may be used;
some impractical routes may be shown.
(TIP:
If you zoom in on a map and see a small
crossed-out snowman image, as shown to
the left, it means that section of the
road is closed in winter.) |
Unfortunately these things simply cannot be helped.
So, we ask that when using this tool please just exercise some
judgment regarding the accuracy
of specific suggested routes. For example, if you are going
to make a trip that is not using main roads it
may well be worth trying to verify the route
information where possible.
This route planning tool
is provided as is, with no guarantee of
any kind.
SnowJapan is not in any way responsible for any
problems encountered following a route that was
suggested in our Route Finder section. Please do not blame us if you end up driving
into a lake! ;)
We believe that the overall quality of the
information to be gained greatly outweighs any imperfections in the system.
Addresses
In the Address box, you can enter the following
text:
> an actual address, in English or Japanese;
> latitude/longitude co-ordinates;
> a Japanese postcode;
> a Japanese landmark (station name, famous
temple, hospital name etc)
If the system recognizes an address, a small popup may appear
with some choices and you can choose an option
from there. If the
system does not recognize an address, please try
again - perhaps being more general rather than
precise.
Japanese text
Some of the information on the maps and the
text directions will be in Japanese. Right now
that is unavoidable as that is the data that is
provided by Google Maps – unfortunately we can’t
magically display it all in English!
However, many of the Japanese characters are used
repeatedly and we have provided a simple guide
to some of the main ones on the pages (see also
below for some of the main characters you will
see). We hope that will be of some help.
You can also
easily copy and paste the resulting text directions into a
translation service such as the one below:
>>
Google
Translate (Japanese to English)
However, even if you cannot understand the text on a map or the
directions, we hope that this new
functionality will still have it's uses – you can have fun
getting an idea where places are in relation to
others.
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>
National Road
17 |
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>
Prefectural Road
268 |
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> Junction |
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> Expressway |
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> Yuzawa IC
(interchange) |
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> Entrance |
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> Exit |
What resorts and
accommodations are included
Resorts:
All of the ski
and snowboard resorts in Japan that are in our
Resorts database (470+) are included
in this functionality.
Accommodations:
All
of the accommodations that are on featured in
our Places to Stay section are included in this
functionality.
We hope you
enjoy using this new feature.
If you would
like to contact us,
please use this form.
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