{"id":66664,"date":"2026-05-15T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=66664"},"modified":"2026-05-15T12:29:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T03:29:07","slug":"japanese-authorities-just-dropped-a-minecraft-map-based-on-actual-submarine-topographic-data-and-it-lets-you-explore-the-seabed-from-tokyo-bay-to-the-mariana-trench","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-authorities-just-dropped-a-minecraft-map-based-on-actual-submarine-topographic-data-and-it-lets-you-explore-the-seabed-from-tokyo-bay-to-the-mariana-trench\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese authorities just dropped a Minecraft map based on actual submarine topographic data, and it lets you explore the seabed from Tokyo Bay to the Mariana Trench \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Japan Coast Guard released<\/a> a Minecraft <\/strong>map based on official submarine topographic data around Japan\u2019s coastline on May 12. The world is available to download for free for both Java and Bedrock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to ensure safe navigations, secure maritime interests and prevent potential disasters, Japan\u2019s coast guard conducts regular examinations of the submarine topography around the coast of Japan. To celebrate the official \u201cJapan Coast Guard Day,\u201d which is, coincidentally, May 12, the organization created and published a Minecraft map based on data obtained from their research. So, I took this opportunity to try out the world for myself and explore the seas of (and around) Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Entering the world, the player spawns in an area near Tokyo, and right ahead of it is Tokyo Bay. As explained, the map is not a 1:1 life-sized replica of Japan, and the terrain\u2019s shape and scale slightly differ from reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going south, shallow land stretches ahead. These are the islands belonging to the Seven Islands of Izu and the Iwojima ridge \u2013 like Hachijo-jima and Nishinoshima, for example. Some of these islands are active volcanoes, and seeing them all lined up like this really helps one get a sense of the tectonic plates which make up the land of Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Then, if you keep going south, you\u2019ll arrive at the Mariana Trench. The Mariana Trench is known for being the deepest oceanic trench on Earth, reaching the maximum depth of about 10,984 meters at its deepest point, the Challenger Deep. But maybe a lesser-known fact is that it was the Japan Coast Guard who first measured this depth. In the scaled-down Minecraft world, the ocean is peaceful, but in reality, what awaits down there is darkness, far away from the sunlight\u2019s reach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Minecraft map is available for free via the official website<\/a> of Japan Coast Guard\u2019s Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department. While data is available in both the Java and Bedrock formats, please keep in mind that importing the Bedrock version data for platforms other than PC and mobile will require you to use Minecraft Realms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the website also includes a tool which allows you to look up block coordinates from a map. In case you want to visit a specific area of the ocean, you can use the tool to obtain commands for instantly teleporting there. Since the world lacks trees, it might not be suitable for trying out in survival mode, though everyone interested should definitely check it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a related note, this isn\u2019t the first time the Japanese authorities have made a whole Minecraft world for educational purposes. In 2025, Japan\u2019s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) recreated the \u201cMetropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0the world\u2019s largest underground flood control facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related articles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a free life-size Minecraft map of the biggest suspension bridge in Japan, and it lets you live a day in the life of a bridge maintenance guy<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Japan Coast Guard’s Minecraft map based on official topographic data of the seas and ocean around Japan is available for free. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":66669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-66664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nJapanese authorities just dropped a Minecraft map based on actual submarine topographic data, and it lets you explore the seabed from Tokyo Bay to the Mariana Trench \u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Japan Coast Guard's Minecraft map based on official topographic data of the seas and ocean around Japan is available for free.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-authorities-just-dropped-a-minecraft-map-based-on-actual-submarine-topographic-data-and-it-lets-you-explore-the-seabed-from-tokyo-bay-to-the-mariana-trench\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Japanese authorities just dropped a Minecraft map based on actual submarine topographic data, and it lets you explore the seabed from Tokyo Bay to the Mariana Trench \u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Japan Coast Guard's Minecraft map based on official topographic data of the seas and ocean around Japan is available for free.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-authorities-just-dropped-a-minecraft-map-based-on-actual-submarine-topographic-data-and-it-lets-you-explore-the-seabed-from-tokyo-bay-to-the-mariana-trench\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-15T14:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260515-66664-header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"896\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"504\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shion Kaneko\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Shion Kaneko\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Japanese authorities just dropped a Minecraft map based on actual submarine topographic data, and it lets you explore the seabed from Tokyo Bay to the Mariana Trench \u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST","description":"The Japan Coast Guard's Minecraft map based on official topographic data of the seas and ocean around Japan is available for free.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-authorities-just-dropped-a-minecraft-map-based-on-actual-submarine-topographic-data-and-it-lets-you-explore-the-seabed-from-tokyo-bay-to-the-mariana-trench\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Japanese authorities just dropped a Minecraft map based on actual submarine topographic data, and it lets you explore the seabed from Tokyo Bay to the Mariana Trench \u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST","og_description":"The Japan Coast Guard's Minecraft map based on official topographic data of the seas and ocean around Japan is available for free.","og_url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-authorities-just-dropped-a-minecraft-map-based-on-actual-submarine-topographic-data-and-it-lets-you-explore-the-seabed-from-tokyo-bay-to-the-mariana-trench\/","og_site_name":"AUTOMATON WEST","article_published_time":"2026-05-15T14:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":896,"height":504,"url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260515-66664-header.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Shion Kaneko","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@AUTOMATON_ENG","twitter_site":"@AUTOMATON_ENG","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Shion Kaneko","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-authorities-just-dropped-a-minecraft-map-based-on-actual-submarine-topographic-data-and-it-lets-you-explore-the-seabed-from-tokyo-bay-to-the-mariana-trench\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-authorities-just-dropped-a-minecraft-map-based-on-actual-submarine-topographic-data-and-it-lets-you-explore-the-seabed-from-tokyo-bay-to-the-mariana-trench\/"},"author":{"name":"Shion Kaneko","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/c201a9a8f5cb2d84153962a007ccd111"},"headline":"Japanese authorities just dropped a Minecraft map based on actual submarine topographic data, and it lets you explore the seabed from Tokyo Bay to the Mariana Trench \u00a0","datePublished":"2026-05-15T14:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-authorities-just-dropped-a-minecraft-map-based-on-actual-submarine-topographic-data-and-it-lets-you-explore-the-seabed-from-tokyo-bay-to-the-mariana-trench\/"},"wordCount":521,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-authorities-just-dropped-a-minecraft-map-based-on-actual-submarine-topographic-data-and-it-lets-you-explore-the-seabed-from-tokyo-bay-to-the-mariana-trench\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260515-66664-header.jpg","keywords":["News (Japan-related)"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-authorities-just-dropped-a-minecraft-map-based-on-actual-submarine-topographic-data-and-it-lets-you-explore-the-seabed-from-tokyo-bay-to-the-mariana-trench\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-authorities-just-dropped-a-minecraft-map-based-on-actual-submarine-topographic-data-and-it-lets-you-explore-the-seabed-from-tokyo-bay-to-the-mariana-trench\/","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-authorities-just-dropped-a-minecraft-map-based-on-actual-submarine-topographic-data-and-it-lets-you-explore-the-seabed-from-tokyo-bay-to-the-mariana-trench\/","name":"Japanese authorities just dropped a Minecraft map based on actual submarine topographic data, and it lets you explore the seabed from Tokyo Bay to the Mariana Trench \u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-authorities-just-dropped-a-minecraft-map-based-on-actual-submarine-topographic-data-and-it-lets-you-explore-the-seabed-from-tokyo-bay-to-the-mariana-trench\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-authorities-just-dropped-a-minecraft-map-based-on-actual-submarine-topographic-data-and-it-lets-you-explore-the-seabed-from-tokyo-bay-to-the-mariana-trench\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260515-66664-header.jpg","datePublished":"2026-05-15T14:00:00+00:00","description":"The Japan Coast Guard's Minecraft map based on official topographic data of the seas and ocean around Japan is available for free.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-authorities-just-dropped-a-minecraft-map-based-on-actual-submarine-topographic-data-and-it-lets-you-explore-the-seabed-from-tokyo-bay-to-the-mariana-trench\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-authorities-just-dropped-a-minecraft-map-based-on-actual-submarine-topographic-data-and-it-lets-you-explore-the-seabed-from-tokyo-bay-to-the-mariana-trench\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-authorities-just-dropped-a-minecraft-map-based-on-actual-submarine-topographic-data-and-it-lets-you-explore-the-seabed-from-tokyo-bay-to-the-mariana-trench\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260515-66664-header.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20260515-66664-header.jpg","width":896,"height":504,"caption":"Minecraft"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-authorities-just-dropped-a-minecraft-map-based-on-actual-submarine-topographic-data-and-it-lets-you-explore-the-seabed-from-tokyo-bay-to-the-mariana-trench\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u30db\u30fc\u30e0","item":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Japanese authorities just dropped a Minecraft map based on actual submarine topographic data, and it lets you explore the seabed from Tokyo Bay to the Mariana Trench \u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/","name":"AUTOMATON WEST","description":"AUTOMATON is a website that covers the Japanese gaming world. We bring you the news on video games from Osaka and Tokyo.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#organization","name":"\u682a\u5f0f\u4f1a\u793e\u30a2\u30af\u30c6\u30a3\u30d6\u30b2\u30fc\u30df\u30f3\u30b0\u30e1\u30c7\u30a3\u30a2","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/activegamingmedia_logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/activegamingmedia_logo.png","width":374,"height":190,"caption":"\u682a\u5f0f\u4f1a\u793e\u30a2\u30af\u30c6\u30a3\u30d6\u30b2\u30fc\u30df\u30f3\u30b0\u30e1\u30c7\u30a3\u30a2"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/AUTOMATON_ENG","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCabvYnvuUUbbGUrxkaFRgSA"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/c201a9a8f5cb2d84153962a007ccd111","name":"Shion Kaneko","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profile_shionkaneko-150x150.jpg","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profile_shionkaneko-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/profile_shionkaneko-150x150.jpg","caption":"Shion Kaneko"},"url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/author\/shion-kaneko\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66664"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66676,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66664\/revisions\/66676"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}