Shenmue (Dobuita St., Yokosuka, Japan)
A pilgrimage twenty years in the making.
The first Christmas of the new millennium and I unwrapped a square present that would soon become an obsession. A video game. The much hyped Shenmue for the Sega Dreamcast.
Shenmue delivered an experience unlike almost anything on the market at the time. It was genre defining, the most expensive video game ever made, seriously, folk wouldn't believe it when considering modern games, but this promised something light years ahead of anything else.
It put you in the shoes of young Ryo Hazuki, at the terrible moment in which he witnessed his father's brutal murder at the harsh hands of Lan Di. A classic tale of revenge, but not only did the game put you in Ryo's shoes, it also placed you into the very real world location of Yokosuka, Japan, surrounding suburbs and shopping district (Dobuita Street).
Sinking many hours into this tale, travelling around the many locales - for the time, wonderfully crafted to represent the real thing - I became certain I wanted to visit Yokosuka. After a bit of research a before my first visit to Japan in 2016, I discovered it was definitely something that could be done as a day trip from Tokyo. However, due to the seemingly endless list of things to do in that crazy city, I never quite made it the first time. Not to be defeated in 2018 however, I put a day aside at the end of my trip, hopped on and off three different trains and headed for the Japanese - American naval port of Yokosuka (some 90 mins away from Tokyo).
The pics and story I share here won't mean a lot to many, but for those that also scoured these streets in search of clues, work, travel agents, and yes, sailors... well, it may just make you smile. It did me!
On the eve of the classic series receiving a remastered re-release, here is Shenmue, Dobuita St., Yokosuka, the streets of Ryo Hazuki, in all her glory... explore for real. Time to get sweaty 😀
Read MoreThe first Christmas of the new millennium and I unwrapped a square present that would soon become an obsession. A video game. The much hyped Shenmue for the Sega Dreamcast.
Shenmue delivered an experience unlike almost anything on the market at the time. It was genre defining, the most expensive video game ever made, seriously, folk wouldn't believe it when considering modern games, but this promised something light years ahead of anything else.
It put you in the shoes of young Ryo Hazuki, at the terrible moment in which he witnessed his father's brutal murder at the harsh hands of Lan Di. A classic tale of revenge, but not only did the game put you in Ryo's shoes, it also placed you into the very real world location of Yokosuka, Japan, surrounding suburbs and shopping district (Dobuita Street).
Sinking many hours into this tale, travelling around the many locales - for the time, wonderfully crafted to represent the real thing - I became certain I wanted to visit Yokosuka. After a bit of research a before my first visit to Japan in 2016, I discovered it was definitely something that could be done as a day trip from Tokyo. However, due to the seemingly endless list of things to do in that crazy city, I never quite made it the first time. Not to be defeated in 2018 however, I put a day aside at the end of my trip, hopped on and off three different trains and headed for the Japanese - American naval port of Yokosuka (some 90 mins away from Tokyo).
The pics and story I share here won't mean a lot to many, but for those that also scoured these streets in search of clues, work, travel agents, and yes, sailors... well, it may just make you smile. It did me!
On the eve of the classic series receiving a remastered re-release, here is Shenmue, Dobuita St., Yokosuka, the streets of Ryo Hazuki, in all her glory... explore for real. Time to get sweaty 😀
