I've always wanted to make the pilgrimage, but unlike most of those who do, I have a mortgage to pay lol. The wife would never allow it. Shame really, it's something I've always wanted to do since I was 15 years old(17 years ago). I don't want to miss my chance to drink sake with Yamagashi-san, I've been looking forward to that day for so long...
That said, if anyone is in Japan Sunday, please pick up a bunch of these and flip them on ebay or whatever. It would be a nice addition to my Shenmue shrine. If I can't ever actually go to Japan, it would be nice to bring more of Japan to my humble home...
To be quite honest mate, pretty much everywhere in Suburban Japan looks a bit like Shenmue. No matter when you finally get out there, you'll be able to find plenty of places that remind you of the game.
I shouldn't really be saying this on a post about tourism in Yokosuka, but personally, I wasn't all that impressed with the pilgrimage myself; it just looked like countless other areas I've seen in Japan over the course of the past seven years. Dobuita highstreet it a little different I suppose, but you're not missing much and I'm sure it'll still be there when you eventually get your chance.
I went to Tokyo this year and I did think about visiting Dobuita, but I always had something else I wanted to do. I have to admit, though, if I'd had this pamphlet I might have been tempted to go along!
I agree that the pilgrimage isn't all that impressive. Using google earth I walked the streets, and it's just way too different from the game's world. I'm sure it's still loads of fun and very cool to do in person, but it doesn't have nearly as many shenmue vibes as I thought.
The road is paved differently, the map itself is COMPLETELY different, the building don't match, etc. All that said, I would still love to do it if I had all the spare time and coin that other people do...
Monday, December 04, 2017
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The Shenmue Chapter One Yokosuka Sacred Spot Guide Map
So Shenmue III didn't make it's scheduled launch window of December 2017, but all's not lost...because according to the website of the respected Japanese video games magazine Famitsu, a Shenmue: Chapter One Yokosuka 'Sacred Spot Guide Map' will be coming to Yokosuka soon....Wait, what?!?
We have little more to go on other than this one Famitsu news story, so rather than babbling anymore about it, I may as well just give you a brief translation of the key information from the page:
In short:
The Yokosuka attraction promotion executive committee has been working with Sega, to produce a Shenmue Chapter One Yokosuka Sacred Spot Guide Map. The guide map will feature locations such as shrines, parks, shops and more, that are representative of the time of the game's setting (1986).
Following this is a short schedule regarding how and when this map will be made available to the public:
1. Date of release Sunday December 3rd 2017 *It will be made available online at 10AM. 2. Places to pick up a physical copy Yokosuka Tourist Information Center Sukanabi i, Tourist Information Center Dobuita Station, Yokosuka Tourism Planning Section and more.
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The Tourist Information Center Dobuita Station
3. Map webpage Yokoksuka Tourist Information site "Koko wa Yokosuka" Click here (site be updated on December 3rd) 4. Shenmue Sypnosis It's a game made by Sega that was released for the Dreamcast in 1999. It then goes onto explain a bit more about Shenmue and why it had such an impact on the gaming landscape etc, but I'm going to guess you lot already know that stuff, so I shan't be wasting my time bothering to translate that. You can use Google Translate or something from the link below to get the main gist I'm sure.
So there you have it. In short, from December 3rd a physical Map will be available at a variety of tourist information centers around Yokosuka. If you can't make it to Japan in person then I suggest checking out the online version via the official Yokosuka tourism web site. (We'll check back to update this page with the exact URL of the map once available)
You can find the original link in Japanese to the Famitsu story here.
Anyway, it's certainly exciting times for tourism in Yokosuka Japan. Will this bring a new wave of investment to the area from high rollers looking for the next thing to put their money into? Only time will tell. For now, I'll leave you with a couple pics of when I visited the area a few years back.
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Dobuita Highstreet
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A road that kind of looked a bit like some place in Shenmue at the time...but not so much now.
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What a twat.
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A no doubt childless elder couple with a pet pig that pissed on the floor near the harbour.
Source: Famitsu (in Japanese)
"The Shenmue Yokosuka Sacred Spot Guide Book"
4 Comments -
I've always wanted to make the pilgrimage, but unlike most of those who do, I have a mortgage to pay lol. The wife would never allow it. Shame really, it's something I've always wanted to do since I was 15 years old(17 years ago). I don't want to miss my chance to drink sake with Yamagashi-san, I've been looking forward to that day for so long...
That said, if anyone is in Japan Sunday, please pick up a bunch of these and flip them on ebay or whatever. It would be a nice addition to my Shenmue shrine. If I can't ever actually go to Japan, it would be nice to bring more of Japan to my humble home...
Friday, December 01, 2017
To be quite honest mate, pretty much everywhere in Suburban Japan looks a bit like Shenmue. No matter when you finally get out there, you'll be able to find plenty of places that remind you of the game.
I shouldn't really be saying this on a post about tourism in Yokosuka, but personally, I wasn't all that impressed with the pilgrimage myself; it just looked like countless other areas I've seen in Japan over the course of the past seven years. Dobuita highstreet it a little different I suppose, but you're not missing much and I'm sure it'll still be there when you eventually get your chance.
Friday, December 01, 2017
I went to Tokyo this year and I did think about visiting Dobuita, but I always had something else I wanted to do. I have to admit, though, if I'd had this pamphlet I might have been tempted to go along!
Sunday, December 03, 2017
I agree that the pilgrimage isn't all that impressive. Using google earth I walked the streets, and it's just way too different from the game's world. I'm sure it's still loads of fun and very cool to do in person, but it doesn't have nearly as many shenmue vibes as I thought.
The road is paved differently, the map itself is COMPLETELY different, the building don't match, etc. All that said, I would still love to do it if I had all the spare time and coin that other people do...
Monday, December 04, 2017