I wanted to get one, last post in before the holiday. I opened the log in screen for Second Life, and saw a place being promoted called "Tempura Island". Officially it is a Japanese garden, but it looks more like something from Middle Earth. It's one of the most lavish places I've been to so far in Second Life.

One first "lands", a term I hear a lot here, at a welcome area styled as a rotunda. They call it landing, as we hear our virtual feet touching the ground as we arrive at a destination. Sounds about right to me.

There are many paths away from this place, so I took the bridge through the center of the region. I stopped halfway there to admire the torch, and of course help myself to a free fortune cookie. Not exactly something known for Japan, but I'll take it. I love fortune cookies. I was given Fortune 49, "Accept an opportunity that is offered to you."

I am surrounded by more avatars than I've seen, but most seem to be in contemplation, so I leave them alone to continue my journey across the expansive and ornate bridge. Arriving at a large palace structure of some kind, I enter to find what appears to be a ball room. 

Everything here is made of gold. The plush chairs. The scripted dance objects (when these are touched, options are given to animate your avatar in a dance of your choice) are also gold. The sound booth is gold. And golden sunlight streams through the windows from above. It is so very impressive to me.

I look up to admire the basilica type architecture above me. Though it seems like it may be unfinished, perhaps gold bands were a simple work around to a problem they were having. The effect is complete, however, and I can easily understand the aim of the builder. Outside there are chandeliers made of gold illuminating the side porches, and stairwells in towers almost given an Indian subcontinent flair.

Climbing these stairs flooded with golden rays of the simulator's local star, I find myself in a small, domed area made for apparently smaller dancing parties. Across a span there is a small table with gold chairs, and a beautiful lamp to brighten the room and make it feel warm and welcome. Sheer curtains drift in the simulator's wind. I don't want to risk sitting and disturbing a possibly private area, though the area seems to be generally open to the public.

Below I can spy the rest of the garden spaces. From a collapsed tower, to an archaic submarine. A radio light suddenly beams away into space from the main building. Perhaps a beacon "home". Gazing at the simulated ruins, I suddenly recall an echo of a place I've only seen images of called the Pot Healer's Adventure. It's kind of a strange sensation. I'm sure it's just a coincidence. Perhaps that is why the nickname in the property description is "Tempura". Not explicitly one thing, but more like a dreamscape with it's Autumn leaves and endearing, forest paths. It's food for the soul, and it's a lovely golden hue.

Upon some short investigation looking for more information for this post, I was directed to an article by Wagner James Au detailing a recent panic over this island's future. I highly recommend it, as he takes much better pictures than I do. He really captured the grand scope of this place. In that article, I read that the original builder and maintenance team of this place had trouble keeping the monetary duties because of this ongoing pandemic. The Region Preservation Society, a trust by Linden Lab, then agreed to take over financing the place and made it into a landmark.

An earlier article by the same avatar has many comments from those who enjoyed past events here, and many were relieved over the decision by the Lindens to keep the memory of it's greatness alive. So essentially I am stumbling across a historical landmark. To think I came so close to missing it completely, and I never would have known of it's existence. This may explain the mute tone of visitors, who are reminiscing. It feels a bit surreal, really. I have decided to add the location to my profile picks in the game, so I can come back later to visit. I hope to be able to ask around for some real experiences at a later time.

This post first appeared November 23, 2022 while hosted at another provider. Due to restraints of this new system, I can only provide a link to the complete album of sights I saw. That link is https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjATcoy