I am sure that there are more Japanese topographical map resources than listed here, I just don't know them all.  Please add a comment if I have missed a good resource or made a mistake.

Paper Maps

Japanese topographical maps for alpine use are available in 1:25,000 and 1:50,000. If you are familiar with Swiss or French and even American topo maps then you will agree that the official Japanese equivalents are not pretty to look at and not easy to use.

They are one colour: brown contour lines with no colouring to indicate vegetation or the type of ground underfoot. Nor do they have any 3d shading. In the place of cartographic artwork for steep peaks and ridges the Japanese maps just use contour lines. As a result, the contours are frequently very tightly space. Navigating with them is very easy if you can readily visualise contour lines in 3d. But if you are more familiar with theextremely user friendly artwork of other nations maps then the Japanese cards take some getting used to.

All text is printed in Japanese, which is perfectly understandable, but it makes using them a little more difficult if until you get used to only reading contour lines and nothing else. My Japanese partner translated the significant labels and text from every map making up the Kita Alps. That helps a lot in referencing land features at a glance if you cant read kanji.

Using Japanese topo maps is real contour line map reading.

You can order them from the Geographical Survey Institute or buy them in outdoors shops and book stores. They are quite inexpensive but are printed on light paper so a map case is needed.  My girlfriend discovered that the A3 sized ziplock bags sold at the100Yen shop hold the folded map perfectly.

Free Online Maps

At this website you can browse the entire collection of map cards covering Japan and then print out the exact same maps as can be bought on paper.  It has been auto-translated into Google, hence some funny phrases.

This example map is of the ridge behind Hakuba. It shows quite well what Japanese top maps looks like.

Using the same service you can use your 3D vision glasses to enjoy this map.

I like these online maps, but only became comfortable with them after handling the paper versions first (again, it is the appearance issue that took some getting used to)

But it gets better...

A visitor to SDJ brought these JMC colour topo maps to my attention. Besides having coloured altitude relief, they have a shaded dimensional effect, like Kashmir maps and are searchable if you know kanji. This page allows you to select 1:25,000 map card for most of the Kita Alps (just scroll up to get the remaining northern section).

This page allows you to select a 1:25,000 cards for most of the Kita Alps.  The very northern tip is missing, just scroll up to find it.

Here are a few selected map links for popular back country destinations, north to south along the Kita alps.  Slow connections need to allow time to load.  There is so much more than just these areas.

Tsugaike, Norikura, and the big backcountry of Korenge and Renge Onsen

Hakuba central, the summits and couloirs

South Hakuba, Goryu chutes, mighty Kashimayari

Fantastic Kamikochi and Hotakadake area

Norikura, all alone (the one at the southern end of the Kita Alps)

Digital Mapping Software

This is the fun part:  editing and storing your planned and previous routes in a map management tool.  There are quite a few alternatives here, some of which I don't really know about since I am kanji challenged. 

Kashmir

The best non-professional tool you can get is probably Kashmir.  Some of their website is in English, including a useful FAQ and user guide.

Kashmir has a full 3D rendering module which doesn’t really interest me much. But it does have good customisable shading functions (see below) to aid recognition of topical relief. Its good software and really bring the terrain to life.

You can download the software for free, either Japanese interface or English, but still need the actual mapping data for your area of interest. Note that the maps are in Japanese, even if you have an English version of the software. The data files draw the topo maps within Kashmir - you need to buy them separately to the free download. It costs about Y8000 per disk of data. Some experienced Japanese ski touring locals all recommended to just buy the Kashmir package, which comes off the shelf with the free software, good instruction book (Japanese), all map data and zero hassles. It is relatively inexpensive and saves a lot of trouble sourcing software and map data separately. Only problem is the interface is in Japanese.

I am yet to set up the English version of the software with the purchased map data files. In the meantime I simply use the Japanese version on my English OS and get some unreadable lements of the interface.

This shaded map (not 3D) Happo One on a 1:25,000 scale.  Its great software and should be owned by most people planning long distance tours but is overkill for side country fans.

The Kashmir site has a useful FAQ and user guide in English as well.

Unfortunately, Kashmir is not able to send map data to GPS sets (please anyone correct me if I am wrong!). Any GPS stored waypoints and tracks can be downloaded to Kashmir - that’s great.  Also, you can create waypoints and tracks in Kashmir and upload them to your GPS - also great.  But you cant upload the actual Kashmir data files to your GPS. That means no topo maps on your GPS screen, unless you get the mapping data elsewhere.

Map Source + GPS mapping data files

A company in Japan called Up Up Down (in English) is the only supplier of GPS mapping data for Garmin GPS sets (the dominant brand by far).  Thei data CD's are not so expensive and have the following benefits:

• They are in English! Peaks, rivers, towns, interface... everything
• The data files are viewed using Map Source which is the mapping software associated with Garmin GPS. Note: if you don’t own a Garmin GPS you will most likely also have to buy Map Source at the same time as buying the data files
• You get good road maps as well as topo maps
• Depending on your GPS model, you can use the mapping data for in-car navigation
• It is linked with Google Earth and any routes built in Map Source can be viewed in Google Earth
• You can buy an extra data set that has alternate 20m contour lines. When layered with the original data set you can create topo with 10m contour intervals. Sometimes useful, sometimes not

Downside: it’s the same old mono-colour brown contour line maps like the ones at the online mapping service above.

You don’t need this software if you own Kashmir (and don’t mind the language issues, if any) or if you don’t own a GPS with an lcd map screen.

Map Source map - the same Happo One area again.

 Google Earth and Google Maps

Google Earth is a great toy and a really good tool in some instances. Google maps are also pretty good and it is now possible to label and mark your maps, save them and share them. Its a great tour planning aid when you don’t live with your touring partner.

The satellite photos are the same in both G.Maps and G.Earth. Unfortunately the quality of satellite imagery of the Kita Alps (in particular) is quite poor. The colour sections are almost useless on any meaningful level of detail zoom. And the northern section of the Kita Alps appears to be blurred and poor quality. This is true when you don’t zoom in. Once you zoom in things clear up very well and you will find quite good black and white images that most importantly are taken in winter. So don’t dismiss that crappy looking area north of Hakuba too fast.

I like maps.