PROJECT JAPAN - attempt at building a realistic looking Japanese metropolis

[Infrastructurist 434]

Project Japan is a humble attempt to build a somewhat realistic looking Japanese city situated somewhere between Okayama and Kobe on the northern shore of the Harima-nada sea. 

Focusing on developments along train stations, large intersections and public transportation hubs, many of the more generic areas will be built off camera, to quickly expand the city and capture the metropolitan vibe.

Japanese city series are almost non-existent, perhaps because of the serious lack of Japanese themed assets on the workshop. Therefore, revamps are to be expected throughout the series, as i get better at building Japanese cityscapes and/or new assets become available.

In episode #1, we kickstart the city by building a large train station situated in the Hayachiru inner-city neighbourhood, which is comprised of a skyscraper business district in it's northern part and a commercial shopping and leisure area in it's southern part. 
 

Accompanying imgur album;
https://imgur.com/a/Hl7Q5

[Chappington 131]

Wow, the level of detail is astonishing - looks amazing!

[TekindusT 3,809]

I'll be hitting YouTube real hard when I get back home from work!

EDIT: The level of detail and complexity is insane in this city! Thought you installed a road mod but no, all the marking details are handcrafted!! That really blew my mind. 

[Piterdaw 7]

Does it mean there will be no more Realistic UK/European city?

[Linoa06 1,374]

Ah that's a great video! Pretty neatly detailed too!

Do you happen to have a collection of your assets somewhere hanging around?

[jmsepe 2,039]

One of the best Asian cities in CSL. Good work.

[Infrastructurist 434]

Thanks for the support!!
 

"In episode #2, We do a bit of everything, finishing up much of the northern edge of Hayachiru's office cluster, expanding on the expressway interchange, doing some overall detailing and road editing before building a small park to offer refuge from all the glass, concrete and steel that make the city."
 

 

 

 

More pictures here; https://imgur.com/a/gZ2mU

[Infrastructurist 434]

"In episode #3, we move westwards across the river, building a section of the Nishihiroba innercity neighbourhood, a commercial oriented high-density area right next to Hayachiru.

We build the main intersection that dominates the neighbourhood and acts as its most busy and high traffic meeting point, while also extending the elevated expressway with a stack setup."
 

 

 

 

More pictures here; https://imgur.com/a/sqIBA

[jmsepe 2,039]

This is beautiful work, the amount of props used in this is staggering. 

[TekindusT 3,809]

Even more detailing, even more fine-tuning, even more style! Every update is better than the previous one!

[Infrastructurist 434]

"In episode #4, we move further westwards, creating a new canal and building the Seishoteien neighbourhood, dominated by the city's oldest skyscraper cluster built during the 1970's. An elevated train station is at the heart of this towering area. The astonishing performance of the Japanese economy after WWII and the wide avenues built after said war, created the "perfect storm" for the skyscrapers in Seishoteien. We also create a small, unkempt lake park, from where the business district got its name. And we of course have a lot of road detailing and railway fiddling!
 

 

[Infrastructurist 434]

"In episode #5, we finally get some mass transportation going, starting off with three bus routes and a custom bus hub, which is likely to be reworked later, to increase capacity and make it more.. sexy. We also add the first stage of the city's suspended monorail network, which runs above some of the major avenues, beneath train tracks, expressways, and in the shade of skyscrapers and neon signs."
 

 

[Infrastructurist 434]

"In episode 6, we build the massive urban renewal and re-development projects that transformed the waterfront in eastern Hayachiru within a decade. Hundreds of billions of Yen worth of investments created a "wall" of mainly residential towers along the waterfront, but also a "social wall" according to critics.

We also add the first proper singly-family house area - the first such area of many many more to come hopefully. An adjacent park is made to tie the city together, and we finish up with some wacky creativeness."

hope you guys enjoy the new intro, have a great weekend! 

 

[Infrastructurist 434]

"In episode #7, we move across two small rivers and to the south of the Seishoteien skyscraper office area, and build most of Hanareatu, a mixed-density middle-income neighbourhood which lies in a sort of transition zone separating the dense inner-city areas from what will eventually be suburbs built further away.

A few skyscrapers are present in this neighbourhood, centered at the large intersection that acts as the central point. While the arterials surrounding and cutting through Hanareatu are lined with apartment buildings, much of the neighbourhood is composed of singly-family detached houses in the narrow "pockets" behind the main roads."

 

 

[Infrastructurist 434]

"In episode #8, we finally implement some elevated expressways weaving through parts of the city. Using Ronyx69's new set composed of 23 networks and with very specific usage "rules", the implementation and therefore recording stretched on for hours on end, making the editing process difficult and not-so-optimal.

Additionally, a lot of stuff was build off camera. This has resulted in what in my opinion is a bit of a weird episode. I do not think i will record future interchanges and expressway building before i really feel accustomed to the new set, instead i might just showcase in the respective episodes when i have upgrade or added to the expressway system, as it is of course not finished yet."

 

[Infrastructurist 434]

"In episode #9 we finally get around to building a pedestrian only area connecting the two major shopping areas of Hayachiru. Called "the triangle" among locals, this small area offers a plethora of entertainment and is a regional hub for anime and manga culture, as well as having a rapidly growing nightlife scene due to an increasing number of upper floors being occupied by nightclubs and pubs."

 

[Infrastructurist 434]

Hoping to have the next episode ready tommorow afternoon! I have the footage i need. 

I have also been streaming a bit on https://www.twitch.tv/infrastructurist which has been quite fun so far! On twitch i started a fresh central european themed city, but not any specific country.
Here are a few screenshots of what's been built so far;

 

 

Feel free to follow along!

[Infrastructurist 434]

And we're back in Japan now! 

"In episode #10, we finally build some industry and manufacturing, as well as a pretty cool looking bridge that however has become a classic symbol of expensive "prestige" projects of Japan, as it has never been near maximum capacity. Airandoshiti's industrial harbourfront has long been in decline though, so the city council and prefecture is currently trying to decide how to delegate some of the empty lots in the are that it owns - how will you vote?"

 

 

[Infrastructurist 434]

"In episode #11, we finally expand eastwards across the main river, building a large part of the Higashikawa neighbourhood, including a big, expensive sports dome, an aquarium, one of the largest shopping malls in the world as well as plenty of supportive and costly infrastructure, including stacked expressways, large avenues and an integrated 4-track elevated train station."

Hope you guys enjoy :-) 

 

Here's an imgur album with some shots!
https://imgur.com/a/3M5Ha

 

[Infrastructurist 434]

A little off topic once again! 

"A lot of fun with this small build as i am in the process of preparing some details for a new series situated somewhere in the US. More details soon™. Anyways, in this video representing about 1h 25m of gameplay, i build a small typical American/US themed city with a somewhat decayed downtown area, and finish up surrounding it with a layer of suburbs. I also add some fast food joints, cookie-cutter modern row houses and a bit of industry to diversify the urban landscape a bit. Hope you enjoy! A massive thanks to Ermia Rez for becoming my first Patreon!"
 

Ill see to post an Imgur album as well!

EDIT: Imgur album https://imgur.com/a/PKcJ9

[Infrastructurist 434]

More off topic. 

"Time has been limited this week due to new semester stuff, and working on the new map i'll be using for the new large scale US series. I hope to capture some of that Kendrick feel with lots of narratives and lots of activity from you guys through the city council of the new city - which i hope to present with some interesting decisions to be made! Luckily, many details seem to have fallen into place, so i should be able to create the first episode soon™ - still going for a mainly Georgia feel, specifically the eastern coast somewhere south of Savannah, GA. I hope you guys will like it! For this small build i wanted to test a few concepts and honestly just build something, as working in the map editor can be a bit boring. I think the tiny cul-de-sacs i made look alright if you don't intent to spend a lot of time on them."

"A small and quick build testing some concepts while i am getting the last details ready for the new series - this time trying to catch the truly small-time town/city vibe, with just a single "main-street" containing the majority of commercial options, surrounded by a layer of classical american single-family houses. Also features a school, a few fast-food/dining option near the Standard U.S. Highway, two disgusting low-income apartment buildings as well as some recently closed industry across the interchange. Recorded as a single 45 minute 32 second clip without pause, then spiced up with one long cinematic flyover."
 

 

 

Here's an imgur album for you fellas  
https://imgur.com/a/Nq0U6

 

[Infrastructurist 434]

So yeah, episode 12 out of nowhere. Enjoy!!

"In episode #12, we finally get around to building a large garden/park, surrounding a very "young" Japanese Castle from the Edo Period. Located just north of the central business district and downtown area of the city, the castle & garden is a popular tourist hotspot."

 

 

Here's an imgur album! https://imgur.com/a/u9lp1

[Infrastructurist 434]

"A short cinematic of a first person drive along one of the elevated expressways that snake their way through the skyscraper-heavy Japanese themed city Amatsukaido, built in my PROJECT JAPAN series. Been a long time since I've done a video like this, but by requests from months ago I decided to try it. Was a pain to record as this save has become very wonky/unstable :-D

This drive cut through some of the central areas of the city, before crossing a river and leaving the expressway for the regular road network."
 

 

 

[Infrastructurist 434]

"In episode #13, we build a big convention center situated near a modern office cluster which houses the tallest skyscraper in Amatsukaido, which at 249 meters is the 6th tallest in Japan. Near the convention center is also a large planned residential high-density district which is mixed-income, housing low, middle and high-income inhabitants in anything from bland looking mid-rises to a luxury skyscraper. Last but not least, we create a whole new line of the suspended monorail network, connecting the convention district with the "center" of the city in Hayachiru, the first area we built back in episode 1."

"For the next project (to run alongside The American Dream, so I can switch it up), I haven't really decided on anything yet, but I think I would like to use all of the wonderful haussmann Paris stuff that is available on the workshop. I also would like to have complex infrastructure networks just like in project Japan. It's fun and challenging to work with. So I'm thinking lots of rail, trams, maybe even bus rapid transit system mixed in etc. Who knows - You are of course all free to suggest and discuss :-)

PS: I have been getting questions if this is the last time I'm doing a Japanese series, and the answer is very likely no. Since I started this, the workshop has slowly but surely begun to really pick up and a host of new roads, buildings etc has been released and continue to be released. So there is a good chance i'll attempt to create another Japanese themed city in the future, just much better, of course :o) Have a wonderful day everyone!"

 

 

[Infrastructurist 434]

Imgur album for you fellas https://imgur.com/a/8SXZq