The Googlization of Everything

I lived in Tokyo for five years (1998-2003) and I return yearly. When GSV launched in Japan, I was shocked to see how extensive it was. The GSV cameras had even penetrated up the narrow alley behind my old apartment, an alley cars rarely entered unless they belonged to residents. It's not an alley you would take to get anywhere else other than the homes and apartments there. It is "private" space in the sense that Higuchi-san describes, looking directly into people's private back gardens and verandas, and there's no need for it to be on GSV.

Another point that Higuchi-san doesn't bring up is that the fundamental idea of GSV, which is that the "natural" view for navigating is the view from a car, doesn't apply in Tokyo. It would actually be far more useful for getting around if Google has photographed the inside of the subway and train systems, since they are what people actually use for getting around. Google Maps does provide quite nice integration of the Japanese public transit system in its directions, so if photographs are so critical for finding one's way, why not photograph the station interiors?