Celebrating 20 years of OpenStreetMap in Fukushima, Japan

Mapping the iconic castle of Aizu Wakamatsu

To celebrate the 20-year anniversary of OpenStreetMap, OSM Fukushima group hosted a mapping party in Aizu Wakamatsu city, Fukushima, in Japan. Fukushima in northern Japan (200-300 km north of Tokyo) was the hub of OSM activities in its early years; that is why Fukushima prefecture is particularly well mapped! On August 10, 2024, ten mappers came from near and far to map the symbol of the city, Tsuruga-jo castle.

The original castle was demolished in the 19th century. This replica was built in 1965.

The stone walls surrounding the castle are original (15th century-).

The castle with its walls, bridges, moats, remains of watch towers and the rest is one of the largest in Tohoku region of Japan. We enjoyed exploring the castle park despite the intense summer heat (though officially the max temperature on this day was 33 degrees Celsius, it felt much hotter!).

Near Chatsubo-yagura (watch tower) overlooking the castle

Virtual meet-up with Korean mappers

Following the field mapping, we moved indoors to edit the map. The organizers also planned a virtual meet-up with mappers in South Korea to celebrate OSM's birthday together and to get to know each other. Three Korean mappers joined via zoom. We learned that the number of OSM mappers in Korea is much smaller than that in Japan. Though the time was short, it was great to get to know fellow mappers in Asia.

Zoom meeting with Korean mappers

Many thanks to the organizers and the participants for a very special OSM birthday celebration. Happy birthday OSM and many happy returns!
만나서 반가워요.앞으로 잘부탁합니다!