井の中の蛙 大海を知らず
A frog in a well knows nothing of the great sea
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| Doguu by Daiki Aabye |
On a hot day, there's a cool grid to wander through half a world away from Europe and on a very different planet, culturally. It's the Japan Open Grid, called JOG for short.
The main part of JOG is the great square continent, with the region Jog Central at its heart and all kinds of builds surrounding it, those closest to the middle have a permanent feel, like the 5 year anniversary Grand Staircase, the shopping regions and JOG Meet...
On JOG, this island for 'foreigners', with its many stores, and lovely architecture, not to mention the mama/baby Pandas, is where you will probably land when you arrive via hypergridding. This is a little bit of a confusing place because quite a few objects are for sale for the local currency. But do click around, quite a lot is free to copy, and there are Lucky Chairs that will often give you just enough local dough to purchase whatever isn't free. 
Daiki's Sentō kind of looks like a cousin of Howl's castle to be honest, with lots of hanging balconies and outflow pipes. The sim is actually two, as there's a little town nearby, so you can walk up to the bathhouse past all the shops and houses, and get the full effect of the build. 
The neat thing is that, this being Opensim, you're not just facing facades on this sim. If you go inside you can see all the different bathing options, as well as lots of artwork. And these wonderful figures, that will have your imagination boiling over as you bathe. It's a really interesting way to dip your toe into the culture. Bring your own towels.
A case in point, the TUIS build (erm... just to be clear, not the German airline! This is the Tokyo University of Information Sciences.) Above is a view of some of the inworld architecture...
It is a grid that doesn't shout and scream, but very gently creeps into your heart. I've been coming here for going on for ten years now, and it never gets old.There are plenty more interesting corners on JOG, including several Freebie regions with items you probably won't find elsewhere, to the weekly meetup sim Garden Oasis, where a Talista translator will serve you very well to join in the general chat...
... and Abyss, with its many sections and levels...
...and of course Dejima, 'Exit Island', as it was called, the one point at which, during the Edo period, the West could interact with the Japanese culture and economy. We are talking the long period from the mid 1600's to the 1800's. 'Exit through the gift shop' comes to mind.
This, of course, was a period when Japan was trying to have as little as possible to do with outside cultures, in a bid to preserve their own culture and to repel the less attractive effects of western culture. It meant, however, that the traditions and philosophy of the country were protected while a bit-o-bartering could go on undisturbed.
Due to time zones and the fact that the grid doesn't have a massive population, and there are quite a few sims that are best described as a work in progress, JOG may feel as if it's a place where the children have downed toys and gone outside, just a moment ago. Full of life, temporally displaced. On the other hand, there are some amazing sims that will knock your socks off, effortlessly! Here's one...
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| The sentō on Sento02 |
This is Sento02 by Daiki Aabye. A Sentō is a Japanese bathhouse, a tradition going back over four hundred years. A public bath house - airy, elegant, and fully loaded - were not only handy for people who didn't have a lot of plumbing back home, but also a place for a bit of a social contact. The website Japan Experience describes it this way: "For the Japanese, the equation is simple: sento = cleanliness + nakedness + togetherness, without any of the kinky or shamefaced connotations." Before you get too excited, the ladies and gents were well segregated, so, there's that.
The neat thing is that, this being Opensim, you're not just facing facades on this sim. If you go inside you can see all the different bathing options, as well as lots of artwork. And these wonderful figures, that will have your imagination boiling over as you bathe. It's a really interesting way to dip your toe into the culture. Bring your own towels.
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| Sento02 the bath house interior |
The miscellany of the regions of JOG has a quality all its own. It feels heart-stoppingly like a real place - because it is a real place, with all the flaws and virtues of an unscripted life. It's one of those places that once visited, remains in your heart.
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| TUI Campus inworld |
...and below is a snapshot of the real world place. Pretty close, don't you think? Although I'm betting it's easier to maintain the virtual lawns.
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| TUIS campus in real life |
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| Chatting with friends at Garden Oasis |
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| Abyss |
...it will get you blood pumping, and deserves a blog post all to itself. There's so much to see in our Great Sea.
HG Addresses:
Japan Welcome sim hop://jogrid.net:8002/JOG%20Center%20Sim/128/128/21
Sento bathhouse build hop://jogrid.net:8002/sento02/338/137/151
TUIS campus build hop://jogrid.net:8002/TUIS/164/76/28
Garden Oasis region hop://jogrid.net:8002/GardenOasis/32/155/22
5 year anniversary region hop://jogrid.net:8002/SandBox2/107/149/91
Abyss hop://jogrid.net:8002/Abyss%20Observatory/128/128/89
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