SHARE YOUR WISDOM ON THE SHGTE

Every couple weeks, I get a nice email from a reader or friend of friend heading to Japan looking for recommendations. I have a go-to list of cool places to see in Tokyo and Kansai, but those are just the picks of one dude. It's better to ask a big group of like-minded folks and post the information somewhere easily accessible.

Good news, this wisdom is captured in our collaborative Google Map, The Same Hat Guide to Everything. I hadn't updated it in a while and wasn't sure if newer readers were aware of it. Sounds like good timing for a post!

I'm summarizing a lot of the stuff I said when it was first launched, so you long-time readers please bear with me for a minute. Generally speaking, the SHGTE is an open and editable map, detailing any and all spots of interest to rabid Same Hat geeks around the world. It includes a lot of spots for folks heading to Japan for the first time, along with your local shops, museums, etc.

THE SAME HAT GUIDE TO EVERYTHING!

View Larger Map

From my first post:

If you haven't used the Google Maps My Maps feature, it's basically a way to create custom maps by pinpointing specific spots (think: The Kazuo Umezu Makoto-chan house), insertings overlays (think: A scanned floorplan to the Nakano Broadway mall's shops) or drawing custom routes and shapes. You can choose the icon associated with each entry you add, and Google provides pre-made icons to denote shops, train stations, and shopping. Evan and I also whipped up a few Same Hat icons for Sentai toy shops and Umezu, Maruo and other hot spots.


With the SHGTE, the focus isn't on duplicating the work of others, but thinking about what your fellow readers would have in common with you and wanna know about; Basically what is the shit you'd send in an email to a friend going to that/your city for the first time?

I'm gonna spend some time adding things to the map; I just put the Gundam statue in Odaiba, and the NEW PEOPLE Japantown center in San Francisco on there. Here are some instructions for you to add things as well:


STEP 1: When you're viewing the Same Hat Guide to Everything, click on the [Edit] button on the left side to start adding stuff or making changes to other people's stuff on the map.


STEP 2: When you click [Edit], new little tools will show up at the top of the map frame, including a icon marker thingy, a line tool for drawing routes, and a blobby-looking tool for drawing areas and shapes. In this case, I know where Otafuku is on the block, and clicked the icon marker thingy there on the block in the East Village.


STEP 3: Now that the placeholder is there, it's time to start the magic. I'm sharing as much detail as I have, which in this case is my experience there and a picture from Yelp. If I know the hours they were open or had specific recommendations on times to go or what to order, I should add them too.

Alright, jump in if you got something to share:
CLICK HERE TO START ADDING TO IT!