Japan just created a Google Street View for cats

Do cats need maps? That's the question inherently raised by Hiroshima prefecture's tourism board, which made a map for cats — think Google Street View positioned at a cat’s height instead of a car's — looking to explore the shops and restaurants in the city of Onomichi.

Visiting Hiroshima's new cat street view map.

Before you balk or remind yourself that you don't like cats, please give the art of catography a chance. There are many bizarre maps in the world — like those of UFO sightings and illustrated state maps — but this is my new favorite. Let me show you why.

Let's begin with a bird's-eye view of Onomichi, a perspective humans have suspiciously favored in mapmaking for centuries.

Hiroshima Tourism Board

Meow we can see things from a cat's-eye view for the first time ever.

Look, it's another cat!

A cat map is cooler than whatever those highfalutin birds ever offered us.

Hiroshima Cat Map

The key indicates where cat pals live along the way:

There are currently three paths to take in the map, with more paths to come. Along with icons for cats to visit, the larger map also indicates special shops you can't miss.

Hiroshima will publish more cat maps this October, according to the Wall Street Journal. Next, a global cat map? Who knows. The world is truly our oyster.

Each cat has a personal profile of sorts embedded in the map. It's like FourSquare, but for cats.

I learned two lessons about the nature of cat lifestyles by browsing the maps. First, everything is a door. For example, this wooden fence looks like a series of open doors:

Second, roads are entirely too big when you're so small:

At the very least, Hiroshima's cat maps prove that humans can use cat maps to better understand the world, even if the cats don't care.

Go deeper:

• Read more: Your travel guide to Japan on Meridian.net.

Will you support Vox today?

We believe that everyone deserves to understand the world that they live in. That kind of knowledge helps create better citizens, neighbors, friends, parents, and stewards of this planet. Producing deeply researched, explanatory journalism takes resources. You can support this mission by making a financial gift to Vox today. Will you join us?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via