themed tours, so go ahead next door and follow the Lotus Trail, which also includes sites not built by the Hosoi group, and away from the four sims that are home to the Wall. On the other three sims are the Hosoi Ichiba, a wonderful marketplace for oriental furniture, structures, and fans, all kinds of decorations, along with rickshaws, palanquins, and even full-size junks! While it’s commercial in intent, I got a Forbidden City kind of vibe from the way the market was laid out and from secret underground areas that you will encounter. I love the central garden where you can meditate or perform tai chi exercises, which, yes, are a form of meditation.
a marvelous pagoda-inspired gate and walk through tree-lined streets toward the majestic castle. Much like the basilica, you wish there were the prim allowances for fully furnishing these structures to bring the full impact home but I am sure no island in SL allows for that extravagance without a lag toll. And you can find many examples of period furniture and decorations in the marketplace. So there you are … a taste of what is going on in SL in terms of bringing the Atomic to the Virtual. I will try to mix future Travel Guides with more glimpses into these interesting simulations as well as imagined places as I continue to explore Second Life.
Crossing borders among these four sims, like most places in SL, is a royal pain but worth the effort to see the various themes represented. There is an Edo Period on Hosei Mura for role playing, including a school for Geishas. You will find fish markets and harbors with various kinds of Asian boats docked there. Hosoi employee, Nani Yifu was on hand when I was exploring and offered to give me a guided tour and explain all of these places we visited. This is a very nice, personal touch for visitors to these sims.
Secundavita blog www.secundavita.com Basilica de Francesco San Francesco Assisi (249/107/65) Great Wall Mao (131/15/24) Hosoi Blog hosoi-ichiba.blogspot.com
The Matsumoto Castle is a breathtaking reproduction of one of Japan’s finest historic castles found on the Japan Chuba sim, part of the four sims that make up the Hosoi showcase area. You enter the island through
Flickr www.flickr.com/groups/685024@N20/pool/
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