When mapping in Japan, I map all sidewalks. as a Califorinian, where sidewalks are common and usually follow the road alignment at all times, I understand OSM’s tenancy to map sidewalks are merely an attribute of the road - but when dealing with the sidewalks in Japan, they oftentimes follow their own alignments and take shortcuts roads cannot - or are abruptly ended to force peds onto footbridges, tunnles, or alrernate routes.
almost all minor and residential roads have no shoulders nor sidewalks, so this applies to tertiary and above. my best friend, by far, is “unmarked crossing” Here’s one, doing it’s job. https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/689318021#map=17/36.61939/140.15490 <https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/689318021#map=17/36.61939/140.15490> Think about how a ped would get to Nikko station from a school or park on the east side of the river - the route they would take is very different than the route of a car. This applies to *so many places* in suburban Japan, not just Tokyo or other city centers. small farming towns have irregular ped access - all of it must be mapped (where I am). when linking sidewalks to roads, usually where sidewalks abruptly end, or where a street intersects with the road (but not the sidewalk), I will use unmarked crossing to allow proper routing of foot routers. https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/490803227 <https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/490803227> one sidewalk abruptly ends, and people will cross over to the other. this also links in into the road, but still illustrating the end of the actual sidewalk . https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/490803228#map=19/36.42382/137.87325 <https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/490803228#map=19/36.42382/137.87325> a hundred meters away from the one above. a T intersection has a sidewalk that dead-ends. people will cross the street to the other sidewalk (and the other other road. a crossing is appropriate but unpainted. https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/689318021#map=17/36.61939/140.15490 <https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/689318021#map=17/36.61939/140.15490> This section of sidewalk (including the continued segments on either end of it) exemplifies the sidewalks of Japan: they begin and end with no warning, dumping any foot traffic into the road (not the shoulder, but into a car lane). - they do not interact well with roads that “T” into their parallel street (no consideration for peds trying to cross the road there, unless there is a crosswalk) - larger ones are used as agricultural access as well. this is true of cycling roads too. the “unmarked crossing” is how I link these back into the road, how I put a connection to roads that peds would like to access but is not served by a crosswalk, and how I mark where they end when the road interrupts them at a common intersection - “unmarked crossing” is my “unpainted crosswalk” and “sidewalk link” substitution. Javbw
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