Last weekend a friend and I were on a two day road trip in a Toyota rental car, testing a new tourist navigation app for smartphones.
Developed by Hokkaido Development Engineering Center, this is an app which visitors to Hokkaido can use to get information as they drive around Hokkaido. As they drive near Michi no Eki etc information automatically comes onto their screens, and the app also connects to the navigation system in the car.
This month foreigners who live here in Hokkaido were asked to test the app - drive around Lake Shikoto and Toya, and Niseko and see if it is convenient to use. Now it is in English, with plans to make it in Chinese? Interesting. Many foreigners are driving in Hokkaido now on holiday.