Kowloon

If you've spent much time in Second Life, you've probably visited Kowloon, a spectacular Japanese sim owned by kowllon Yoshikawa. I hadn't been to Kowloon in a few months and revisted it today, spending some time wandering through its crowded streets. It's a massive jumble of dark and dirty stairways, corridors, ledges, rooftops, neon lights and even a subterranean shop with shark-infested waters. (Hmmm, isn't Kowloon in Hong Kong in real life?)

The splendor of the textures make Kowloon one of the most photographed of sims, and it's a fantastic place to explore. There are hidden rooms here, and mysteries—for example, see the photo at the very bottom of this post (as always, click to zoom in)—have you found that curious place? The cameraman, who emerges from behind some David Lynch-like red curtains, was created by magnum Yoshikawa, but if he has a purpose it's unclear to me.

Throughout Kowloon are scattered many small shops, almost all Japanese, filled with clothing, gadgets, textures, avatars, food, and all sorts of tiny items, many at very low prices. And if you speak Japanese, you're eligible to rent a room here, too. Far off in one corner of the sim is Panda Park, a contrastingly peaceful and clean area where you can take a ride on a little panda.

The more time you spend in Kowloon, the more you realize there's more to see, as if you could spend days here and not quite be sure you've seen everything.

My outfit in these photos is the "Kate" ensemble by Jamie Holmer, the brilliant designer and owner of INDI Designs. Her work is always a delight, and she recently moved her main store to its own sim—go take a look!