They say the best way to tour a city is to go with a local.

We say the best way to tour a city is to go with a four-legged local, and Google Japan obviously agrees, as they now let you tour parts of the city of Odate from the point of view of…an Akita.

Now, Odate is part of the Akita prefecture in Japan, and we all know what Akita is famous for, don’t we?

Dogs. Dogs for days, mate.


It’s the birthplace of the might adorable Akita breed – there’s even a bronze statue at Shibuya station of an Akita called Hachiko, who is famous for being a very good boy and waiting for his owner at the station for nine years after he died.



Much sadness. Such wow.

So Google decided to do the best collaboration of our time and bring in two Akitas called Ako and Asuka to show us around the place.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

They strapped cameras on the backs of the very good doggos and went went for a very precise walkies, capturing the city from the very best point of view available.

If you’ve got your animal welfare hat on, then may we a) applaud you and b) placate you by letting you know that the cameas were strapped to dog-friendly harnesses, so our little pals weren’t in any discomfort.

You can see the dog’s heads as you wander about, so technically, it’s actually like you’re riding on the back of the hounds. You can even turn around to see their fluffy tails. Adorable.

The four-legged floofs trekked to a snowy mountain trail, a hot spring, the statue of Hachiko and, of course, the Akita Dog Museum. Which sounds like the best museum ever, to be quite honest.

Get your fill of Google Dog View over on the Google blog.

Advertisement Advertisement