Take a stroll through abandoned “Battleship Island” on Google Maps

Do you remember the villain’s secret island hideout in the latest James Bond movie Skyfall, the one that looked like a decaying industrial wasteland? That fictional location was actually based on a real place — the island of Hashima off the coast of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. Due to its unique flat shape, the island is most widely known in Japan by its nickname Gunkanjima — aka “Battleship Island.”

Starting in the late 19th century, Hashima served as a coal mining facility and residential complex for 5,000 people. After the decline of coal mining in the 1970s, however, the island became completely abandoned, only opening up again to tourists in 2009. Hashima has transformed into an eerie tourist destination where you can see a once thriving town decaying and totally devoid of life. Apparently, Hashima’s buildings are deteriorating so rapidly that you can hear parts of the concrete collapse as the wind blows from the ocean.

While we can’t replicate those unearthly sounds on Google Maps, we can now give you 360° panoramas of the Hashima with today’s launch of Street View imagery for the island. Thanks to assistance from Nagasaki City, we were able to collect imagery with the Google Trekker beyond the cordoned-off areas for tourists and into off-limits paths around the island. We also used our Business Photos technology to let you peek into the abandoned buildings, complete with ancient black-and-white TVs and discarded soda bottles.

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Winds have been very unkind to Hashima over the last several decades, and with the buildings falling apart, we hope this imagery can serve as a digital archive of its current state before further collapse. Today you can virtually explore the ruins of Hashima, pretending you’re James Bond waiting to be rescued. If you are really inspired, you can visit the real place next time you get down to Nagasaki, Japan.

Posted by Wakaba Ohkura, Program Manager

Apply now to be the next Google Maps Trekker

We’re working to build the very best map of the world, and we’d love your help to do it. Today we’re kicking off a pilot program that enables third party organizations to borrow the Street View Trekker and contribute imagery to Google Maps. For the first time ever, this program will enable organizations to use our camera equipment to collect 360-degree photos of the places they know best -- helping us make Google Maps more comprehensive and useful for all. This program is part of our ongoing effort to make it possible for anyone to contribute to Google Maps.

Our first partner, the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB), has already begun using the Trekker to take photos of the most popular, well-trafficked sites on the Hawaiian islands for future inclusion on Google Maps.

Street View Operations Lead Chris Fiock teaches Jaci Matsuo of HVCB and Rob Pacheco of Hawaii Forest & Trail how to operate the Trekker using its Android device at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park

Just a few days ago, our team arrived in Hawaii, the Big Island, to train our HVCB partners on how to operate the Trekker technology. Relying on HVCB’s expertise, we worked together to choose the locations where they’ll collect panoramic imagery, including trails through Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Mauna Loa Observatory, Onomea Bay, Akaka Falls, Waipio Valley, Pololu Valley and more. Once images from the Hawaii Island are collected, HVCB will move on to capture photos from adjacent islands including Oahu, Maui and Kauai. By working in partnership with HVCB, we can bring these locations online much faster than working alone.

Rob Pacheco treks the uneven terrain and rocky beaches of Pololū Valley

With 360-degree interactive imagery of the islands, people all over the world can see and explore the beautiful islands before they go, including some remote and hard-to-reach places they may never have discovered on their own. We also hope this imagery will be used by our partners to increase awareness and interest in their locations, potentially increasing tourism.

Now it’s your turn! If you’re a tourism board, non-profit, government agency, university, research organization or other entity interested in borrowing a Street View Trekker to capture and share imagery from a place you know and care about, please apply today. In the coming months, we’ll open up this pilot program to a limited number of other organizations around the world.

To apply to be the next Trekker, please fill out the form.

Happy Trekking!

Posted by Deanna Yick, Street View Program Manager

Google Earth 7.1 for Android and iOS, now with Street View

Whether you're on foot looking for the best sushi place in a new neighborhood or you'd like to do some virtual archaeology around Pompeii, we're all explorers of the world around us in our own way. Your definition of adventure is unique, so we like to offer several ways to explore the world. With the latest edition of Google Earth for Android or iOS – now available in more than 100 countries – your virtual adventures will be even more amazing and immersive.

 Chicago skyline in 3D in the new interface

Have you ever wanted to take a tour of Stonehenge or retrace the steps of Christopher Columbus? With the addition of Street View to Google Earth for mobile devices, you can explore many sites from street level right on your mobile device. And with the new streamlined interface, a simple click of the Earth logo in top left will give you quick access to more information through layers like Panoramio Photos and Wikipedia. Just in case you decide to visit these places yourself, Google Earth's improved directions enable you to visualize step-by-step transit, walking and biking directions in full 3D.

Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England in Street View

Also with this release, we're making Google Earth for mobile available in more than 100 countries worldwide, so you can start their virtual journey in Google Earth from almost anywhere on Earth. To unleash your inner explorer, check out your local Google Play store or iTunes to download the latest version of Earth for Android and iOS. 


Posted by Haris Ramic, Google Earth product manager

Only clear skies on Google Maps and Earth

To celebrate the sunny days of summer (in the northern hemisphere at least), we're unveiling new satellite imagery for all Google mapping products today. This stunning new imagery of the earth from space virtually eliminates clouds, includes refreshed imagery for regions of the world where high-resolution imagery is not yet available, and offers a more comprehensive and accurate view of the texture of our planet's landscape.

The new, even more beautiful global view in Maps and Earth.

In 2002 NASA released the Blue Marble, a global image of the earth with a resolution of one kilometer per pixel, based on data from NASA’s MODIS instrument. Updated in 2005 to twice the resolution, it has remained the canonical globally-uniform picture of the earth for over a decade.

With the Blue Marble as inspiration, we used Google Earth Engine technology to mine hundreds of terabytes of data from the USGS’s and NASA’s Landsat 7 satellite. The result is a seamless, globally-consistent image of the entire planet with a resolution of 15 meters per pixel, far finer than is possible with MODIS data alone.

To get a feel for the difference, here’s a comparison of the Grand Canyon, first from the Blue Marble Next Generation (courtesy NASA’s Earth Observatory), and then in our new Landsat-based imagery.

The Grand Canyon, as seen by MODIS and by Landsat 7.

The Landsat 7 satellite suffered a hardware failure early in its life that introduced striped artifacts into all of its images. By analyzing a large number of images we were able to virtually eliminate these stripes, as well as clouds and other atmospheric effects. The process was very similar to how we produced the global time-lapse imagery of the earth that we released last month.

Castellón, Spain: One example Landsat 7 image, and the final combined image.

The resulting 800,000 megapixel global image is so big that if you wanted to print it at a standard resolution of 300 dots per inch you would need a piece of paper the size of a city block!

Northwestern South America: before and after.

Mining data from a large number of Landsat images of each area allowed us to reconstruct cloud-free imagery even in tropical regions that are always at least partly cloudy.

Central Papua, Indonesia: before and after.

We prioritized recent data when it was available, so this update also includes refreshed imagery in many regions of the world, especially in areas where high-resolution imagery is not available, including parts of Russia, Indonesia, and central Africa.

Agricultural expansion in Saudi Arabia: before and after.

This new picture of the earth also reveals the texture of the landscape with greater clarity than ever before.

Continuing deforestation in Brazil: before and after.

We're proud of the progress we have made, but there is always room to keep improving. For example, although we have tried to minimize the impact of the stripe artifacts in the Landsat 7 images, they are still visible in some areas. There is more good news though: the new Landsat 8 satellite, launched earlier this year, promises to capture even more beautiful and up-to-date imagery in the months and years ahead.

Mongolia and surrounds, before and after.

You can see our new satellite imagery by going to Google Maps and turning on satellite view, or by launching Google Earth, and zooming out. Have fun exploring!


Posted by Matt Hancher, Tech Lead, Google Earth Engine

Experience stunning new heights with Street View in Dubai

What does it feel like to stand on top of the tallest building in the world? To give you a better sense of how that may feel, we took Street View to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, our first-ever collection in the Arab World. Described as a “vertical city,” the Burj Khalifa is the world’s tallest manmade structure, towering over the Dubai skyline at 828 meters (2,716.5 ft).

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This is the first time we’ve captured a skyscraper on Street View—making Google Maps even more comprehensive and useful for you. The imagery was collected over three days using the Street View Trekker and Trolley, capturing high-resolution 360-degree panoramic imagery of several indoor and outdoor locations of the building.

In addition to the breathtaking views from the world’s tallest observation deck on the 124th floor, you can also see what it feels like to hang off one of the building’s maintenance units on the 80th floor, normally used for cleaning windows!

Visit the highest occupied floor in the world on the 163rd floor, experience being in the fastest-moving elevators in the world (at 22 mph) and check out the highest swimming pool in the world on the 76th floor.

Even if you’re afraid of heights, we hope you enjoy the view from the top! Explore more at the Burj Khalifa Street View collection.

Posted by Tarek Abdalla, Head of Marketing - Middle East & North Africa, Google

Experience 1,001 New Destinations with Street View

Today we’re adding more than 1,000 locations around the world to Google Maps, making it more comprehensive and useful for you. From historical landmarks to sports stadiums, these panoramic photos available via Street View can help you ease into vacation mode with just a few simple clicks. Below are highlights from Asia, Europe, Latin America, the U.S. and Canada that you can use to preview a vacation spot, to plot your next hiking route or just to become an armchair explorer from wherever you may be:
Go from city life to wildlife park in Singapore:
Planning on stopping by Singapore this summer? You can now explore more of the island’s diverse landscapes right from Google Maps. To get a taste of modern city life in Singapore, simply search for Marina Bay Waterfront Promenade and Fullerton Heritage Promenade and use Street View to explore the city’s popular bay front and bay skyline. If you’re planning to travel with family or are simply an animal lover at heart, you can also now go on a virtual adventure to the Singapore Zoo.

Fullerton Heritage Promenade (View Larger Map)

Discover some of Europe’s riches:
While you’re basking in Seville’s sun and sampling its famous oranges, check out the stunning Seville Cathedral against the bright blue Spanish sky. It’s the largest Gothic cathedral (and third largest church) in the world and served as a trading hub and bastion of the city’s wealth in the years following the Reconquista in the 13th century. Or maybe take a virtual sightseeing trip down the serene canals of Copenhagen, Denmark this summer. From the boat you can see cultural landmarks like the Royal Opera and Theater Houses and even the sculpture of The Little Mermaid from Hans Christian Andersen’s famous fairytale.

The canals in Copenhagen (Vizualizare hartă mărită)

Take a pilgrimage to Latin America:
Take a virtual journey to Brazil’s Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida, the most visited Marian shrine in the world. You can also visit Brazil’s Vila Belmiro stadium, home to Santos Soccer Club and of past and present phenoms, Pelé and Neymar. Experience Bosque de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Park), a natural oasis in the middle of Mexico City and one of the largest city parks in the Western Hemisphere. Or get ready for the slopes with a preview of Valle Nevada Resort, one Chile’s hottest ski resorts just a few miles outside of Santiago.

Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida (View Larger Map)

Take a trip down memory lane in the US:
Visit some of the nation’s historic landmarks with a road trip down the East Coast. Stops include The Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut where one of America’s greatest authors and his family lived from 1874 to 1891; the Isaac Bell House in Newport, Rhode Island built in 1883 for the famous cotton broker and investor; and the Cape Henry Lighthouse in Virginia, which has guarded the Chesapeake Bay since 1792. Finally, explore the historic Vermont State House where for over 150 years citizen legislators have gathered every winter to debate the laws of Vermont.

The Vermont State House (View Larger Map)

Canadian stages taking centre stage:
Just in time for summer theatre season, Street View users can virtually visit The Shaw Festival Theatre, Edmonton's Citadel Theatre, Manitoba Centennial Concert Hall, Roy Thomson Hall and the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, home of the Canadian Opera Company.

Roy Thomson Hall (View Larger Map)

Whether you’re hitting the slopes in South America or soaking up the summer sunshine north of the equator, we hope you enjoy exploring the world! To see this imagery and experience it through Street View, download the Google Maps app for Android or iPhone today.


Post content Posted by Deanna Yick, Street View Program Manager