Location View was an interactive website developed by Tokyo-based company LocationView Co. offering registered users a street-level view of selected cities in Japan. It featured 360-degree horizontal and 180-degree vertical panning, zoom, and virtual mobility in which the user could control speed. Unlike other street view services, such as MapJack or

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panorama, interactive panoramic views of streets (Google Street View, Street View ...

’ Streetview, Location View had a high frame rate and seamless transition between frames, enabling continuous, lifelike motion and surroundings which were animated rather than static. The site was developed by the Location View Co. and introduced on 14 May 2007 in Japan. When it was launched, several major cities in Japan, such as

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, Kawasaki,

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

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and

Himeji 260px, Himeji City Hall is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 525,682 in 227,099 households and a population density of 980 persons per km2. The total area of the city is ...

were included. It was since expanded to include the

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of a number of other Japanese cities. The service was closed down on 27 April 2009.

Mapping technique

To obtain the massive amount of footage required to achieve coverage of dense Japanese urban areas, Location View hired retired

taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

drivers to drive around cities with camera-equipped vehicles. Location View images were updated every one to two years 8638128985. The fourth generation of Location View was introduced on 1 September 2008.

Coverage

By September 2008, the following cities and areas were covered by the Location View web service."About Location View"
Retrieved on 7 January 2009.

References

External links

Official website
(inactive)
Impress Internet Watch on Map 25 October 2007Press release from Asia Air Survey Co., Ltd. 9 October 2007
{in lang, ja Street view services Defunct websites Internet properties established in 2007 Internet properties disestablished in 2009