Ok, here's my objective opinion about Maps. I downloaded iOS6 on my iPad2 to test just for this thread. Won't be touching it on my iPhone as reviews made me doubt the quality of Maps.
I live in Osaka, Japan and like Tokyo it is a good test since it's so crammed with stuff. Actually Osaka is much more difficult to get around than Tokyo and Kyoto because the orientation of streets in those places was updated after around the Heian period (grid style). Osaka still retains a lot of the old crooked and random street directions that can really benefit from good GPS.
I thought I'd throw in some info about the Japanese address system since it is a little interesting for people who have never been here
It certainly is very nice of you to post all of this information.
What those of us in Japan are saying, and some folks seem to be missing (to be fair, I wouldn't expect everyone to know how Japanese addresses work) is that
1) Japanese addresses and street organization are vastly different from the western world. The neighborhood numbers are constantly used as place names (ie. "Where would you like to go to dinner?" "Meet me at that izakaya in Shinjuku Sanchome (3rd neighborhood area in shinjuku) with the big yellow sign.") and no one navigates via Street name (they don't really exist). This data missing from the maps is super problematic as these neighborhood numbers don't always follow the rules.
2) Without this information (which paper maps, not even comparing with google maps, provide) the maps in the application are fairly useless. None of my current methods of navigating in an unfamiliar location (sometimes noting the shapes of buildings from the outline on google maps, measuring distances from 7-11s and other POI, starting my trip from very specific exit numbers) will work.
3) I'm not throwing out my iPhone, I just won't update until the information improves (which is not good for the ecosystem).
4) If the POI info is really only in English as someone mentioned, then the map information isn't easily accessible for Japanese people. Coupled with the poor maps, it would seem Apple is shooting itself in the foot after having runaway success with the iPhone 4/4s in Japan (that would seem badafter all, Japan is the third largest economy).
Now, I am not suggesting in any way that any difficulty in perceiving this situation as a problem means that one cannot think beyond the borders of America, etc. I chose to expatriate to Japan, and I enjoy it and accept that living abroad always has its quirks.
However, several commenters living in, or having recently visited, Japan have mentioned having identical fundamental issues with the maps application (anecdotally, many of my coworkers expressed similar frustration). This is perhaps a situation where you don't try to dispute their claims but simply try to understand the problem.
Everyone gets around differently, we all have different methods by which we use or need a map application to work. Speaking as someone living in Tokyo, I travel only by train and by foot as do several millions of others. You may drive and the maps application may work splendidly for you, but it will (in its current state) be useless to most everyone in Japan. It is not your concern, nor should you fret as to how all of these folks get around. Having said that, it is Apple's concern and their job to consider how these iPhone users in Japan travel and how they use maps (and which language they will likely use maps in).
It seems to me if this is to be the status quo for a while (SIRI still can't search for locations in Japan, and she's been around a whole year) I would be better off going back to asking for directions from strangers, carrying paper maps, and planning ahead. Maybe that's not such a bad thing, but I doubt it's what Apple intended.
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