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I've used free maps downloaded from OpenStreetMap for several tours. If all you need is the actual roads with routability then they're fine. Unfortunately place names etc are complete mojibake (Romanization of Chinese readings of Japanese). Only J-model Garmins will display kanji (at 3x the price).
Will the j-model display all other data in English? For example the data fields like direction and so on, and the menus?
The UPUPDOWN maps seem to work pretty good.
http://uud.info/en/map/
They have alot of embedded info like POI's, Address search, elevation data, etc. The only negative I've found is that they are pretty heavy compared to V3 on my Garmin 705
Thanks Tim, when you say "heavy" do you mean the file size? As long as they fit on Japan on one card that's probably fine - I think.
That's all true. On the rare occasions that I want peak performance, I make a subset of maps for the target area on a separate, smaller card.overall the V4 map is slower to render and calculate compared to the V3. But it does have alot more information.
The map goes on the microSD card - no problem there - except the V4 map requires a little more than 2GB card - this is where the problem may lie. I use a 4GB card and it's a bit funky. Slow as well, compared to the V3 map on the 2GB card. Not sure if anyone else is experiencing this, though. Just overall the V4 map is slower to render and calculate compared to the V3. But it does have alot more information.
To answer the original question - iiyonet is the official Garmin distributor. JPY 19,590. If you buy a Japanese model Edge 800 it comes with this map and/or the Japanese topo map.
The UpUpDown map costs somewhat less, depending on the format you want, and has the option of road/POI data and Topo data in one product.
UUD4 does occasionally route me up and down stairs (and once an actual ladder) on inner-city fugawe jaunts. YMMV
Be my guest, if you have the cash to spare. I think it works out at just about twice the price of doing it all in English. The Japanese model definitely can be switched to English mode.I'd probably go with the Garmin original product, and as long as the 800J will display all data fields and menus in English then I'd go for the set. I can see this being helpful to do the odd new route, retrace old routes, and plan out some new rides here or wherever in the world.
Be my guest, if you have the cash to spare. I think it works out at just about twice the price of doing it all in English. The Japanese model definitely can be switched to English mode.
I had one of those too, funny to see how far the technology has come.You're welcome.
The actual utility of the iPhone depends how far you are planning to go, especially in the mountains, and how concerned you are about becoming lost. Softbank reception is typically the first to disappear, but with a mapping GPS unit you'll always be OK so long as you have battery power.
I've been using GPS for cycling since 2006 - first one was a yellow eTrex held on to my bars with knicker elastic. Now my Edge 800 records every turn of the crank, every beat of my heart, every twist and turn of the route.