Exploring Second Life: Tourist Information for Second Life

Second Life: Japanese Shrines and Temples

At one time I wanted to do the Shikoku pilgrimage in Japan; however, that is no longer possible for me. So, I was delighted to find that there are events in Second Life where I could do a virtual tour of Japanese temples and shrines and get Goshuin stamps as I visited each one.

The sponsors and supporters of the event

generously provide stamp books, textures, animations,

and even a large display board where you can

paste all your Goshuin stamp textures.

The current event is the Summer Goshuin Event August 1st to 14th, 2024; however there have been other events in the past and I expect there will be more in the future.

Here is List of Shrines for the current event. Some of these may be open only for the event, and other temples or shrines may also offer Goshuin stamps even if they are not part of the official event.

According to Japan Travel, in Japan Shrines with torii gates are built to serve the Shinto religious tradition, and Temples are built to serve the Buddhist religious tradition.

In Second Life there are many traditional Shrines and Temples, but there are some that do not follow tradition.

For example, the Kusanagi Shrine, also known as Kusanagi Jinja, enshrines the three deities of creation in Second Life: Philip Rosedale, Purimusuhi The Master of Prim, and Tekusuchiyahime The Goddess of Texture.

Inside the Shrine at Kusanagi. The cube in the back is a prim made by Philip Rosedale/Linden.

Displaying a stamp book with the stamp I got at the Itame Station Shrine. This is one of at least two shrines dedicated to the God Hamster.

The Nekoraku Jinja is taken over by cats.

The Donguri Jinja is the Little Shrine of Tiny Animals Who Worship Acorns.

The Cypress Shrine offered lessons in Japanese.

There were over 30 Shrines and Temples participating in the current event. In visiting the different places I often experienced feelings of awe at the incredible detail of the builds and the beauty of the landscaping.

Reading my fortune (Neko Omikuji No. 1) at the Kumoshima Shrine, where the environment is the beautiful Summer Sunset time. I hope the future holds more Goshuin events.

Second Life: Changing Your Avatar From Plain to Fancy

I've previously blogged about putting bodies and clothing together to make your own inexpensive avatar. Now I'm going to go the spendy direction.

Inspired by a post on Fab Free by Aline Passiflora (July 30, 2024) I tried to use as many of the items she was wearing as I could afford.

I started with the system avatar 'Bitsy'.

Poor "Bitsy", I hardly ever see her in Second Life these days.

I already had the Lara body, so I added items one by one, and then took off the Bitsy leftovers.

Then to get a head. The Fab Free model had a Lelutka 'Cate' head, but I could not find one, so bought a Lelutka Siwa instead after trying a DEMO.

This is what is in the Lelutka Siwa Head Package,
and all the boxes aren't even open yet.

Some weird things happened when I tried to change heads.

Oops, what happened?

Also had a problem when I was changing shoes.

Four legs bad.

The Lelutka Siwa head had so many HUDs! I tried to make a collage of them. (I still haven't tried all the options).

A few of the Lelutka Siwa HUDs: nose, eyelashes, eyes, teeth, mouth, animations.

I got the gown from Sofia, and a pose from FoxCity*. Butterfly was a gift from AnaStyle. Shoes are Pure Poison from here. Hair was from my inventory, and it is not mentioned as it started to deform at Default settings.

All dressed up.

One thing I learned was that fashion costs money. If I hadn't already had the body, the butterfly, and the hair, I figure this transformation would have cost me approximately $25US. Still, at every shop I visited, there were plenty of shoppers. I guess dressing up is popular.

*Be careful selecting poses there. I goofed and selected the wrong pose by mistake because I didn't read the vendor carefully enough.

Second Life: Hairy Hippo Fun Land

Looking towards Hairy Hippo Fun Land from Aquarium Grounds

The idea of Bay City was born around 2008. As Marianne McCann explains in an article in the Bay City Post:

"The art deco theme would be further refined by Blue and Michael, both of which had a distinct interest in the look and feel of this new city. With "art deco" as the basis, they expanded on this in the blog post announcing this area to the public on 22 February, 2008, saying, "The style is the American urban experience, between 1940 and 1965, perhaps best typified by Chicago circa 1950 and marked by a distinct deco influence."

(See article here)

Bay City wasn't built all at once. Parcels were set and auctioned off and people moved in. In 2011 the Moles built a boardwalk amusement park. Later the Hairy Hippo Fun Land became official. The last project was the "Rollercoaster". (See Daniel Voyager's article here. )

Besides the roller coaster, Hairy Hippo Fun Land has all the traditional elements of an amusement park: a ferris wheel, bumper cars, a shooting gallery, food stalls, fortune telling machines and mutoscopes, and rides like the Teacup Whirl.

It is all a little bit grubby*, but full of touches of what I call "Mole humor" - that never gets old.

On a diet? Try the Hippo's Food Challenge to fill up on virtual food.

The food stalls look empty, but touch the front of the booth to get a treat.

There are over 30 virtual foods to try. Just be sure to always know where the nearest restroom is.

For lighter fare, try the seafood restaurant on the pier.

You can try your luck at a fishing spot. For more info visit 7Seas Headquarters.

Warning: I recommend avoiding this game.

Remember this was built around 2011, which in SL years is the equivalent of the Stone Age. Still, most of the Hairy Hippo Fun Fair has held its own. One game I would avoid, though, is the 'test your strength' game, it was designed for simpler avatars.

Have fun!

*look closely at the flies

Second Life: Riding the Rails in Bellisseria

I've always enjoyed riding trains in RL and in Second Life. On the Mainlands there are many routes where there are vehicles running on the rails, but in Bellisseria you have to bring your own train.

One of the most interesting rides I've taken lately has been from Flotilla Station through an underwater tunnel to another part of Bellisseria, although at the end it got a little rough.

I started at the Virtual Railway Consortium in Tuliptree and picked up two free trains.

Standing in front of a poster at Tuliptree.

Then I rezzed the VRC 2010 train at the Flotilla Train Station.

Leaving Flotilla Station in VRC 2010

The train tracks went underground, then underwater. A section with glass walls let you see marine life and other sights.

Shark swimming over tunnel.

Celestial Jellyfish.

Finally - back on the surface!

Out of the tunnel into daylight at 'Nothing There' Region!

After riding through many Ranch Home regions I started having problems in Gull Guides Region - the train would stall at points, or even disappear altogether. I even changed train models, but the problem, persisted. I think part of the reason I was having trouble was that there was massive building throughout that part of Bellisseria and some of the Regions I was trying to ride through were not finished yet.

New Ranchland being created.

The Hobo Train heading into the Bellisserian Triangle

I eventually continued the journey on horseback, until at SSPBarnes Wallow I ran out of land and tracks. I can't wait to see what this area will look like when they are finished building.

New Ranch home parcels on both sides.

I suggest taking this trip after the new Ranch Home parcels are complete.

In the meantime, try a train trip through Bellisseria from the Welcome Hub Station on the south side of the Welcome Hud. It goes through an area of log homes (Logland) I only crashed once on this route.

Over the bridge to LogLand.

More Info: If you want to drive a train through Bellisseria there are many train routes. You can rez a train at practically every Railway Station.

In an old SL Forum thread there was mention of a train rezzer at Chippewa Station. Currently it rezzes a train you can't use, but gives you directions to pick up a free train at Tuliptree. Chippewa is one of the older areas of Bellisseria and the tracks run through areas with traditional homes and Victorian homes.

While exploring I also found a rezer at Deermoor that will rez a trolley that will carry multiple residents.

I was able to run this trolley all the way to Red Hook with no problems. At Red Hook there is a boat rezz area where you could continue your journey to sail past some Stilt Homes.You can get a map of Railways of Second Life on the Marketplace, or you can just fly around Bellisseria and follow tracks until you find a train depot.

Free map on Marketplace.

Three groups: The Bellisseria Rail Riders, the SLRR Rail Group, and the Bellisseria Citizens Group, may all be able to give you advice about rail travel in Bellisseria.

Elfi Stoker's advice about train travel: Dress simply, and avoid heavily-scripted attachments. Using voice may slow you down. *

About photos: Some of them have been heavily edited.

*From a note on a map labeled Bellisseria SLRR 3.3 which I do not have permission to post.

Second Life: Kowloon's Gate, Reborn

Kowloon's Gate, Reborn, is a city apparently inspired by a PS1 game called Kowloon's Gate, but you do not need to know anything about the game to enjoy exploring the Region.

Entering the city through the massive Kowloon Gates the streets are wide and well-lighted, but away from the entrance the streets get twistier, narrower, and darker.

Near the bus stop you can get a location HUD but I think the most interesting things are not in the Guide. You can find expensive antique shops, tourist souvenir shops,art galleries, and flea markets. There are plenty of freebies.

If you are hungry, there are restaurants and snack bars.

Join the Kowloon.net group to get event information.