Minecraft Kyoto

Oh, Minecraft.  You masterful time-suck!  How is it that I can spend thirty hours of my life playing you, but only land up with a shanty of a shack and a tunnel that continues into the ground because I got bored and decided to pickax it up (at least I found diamonds!).

For those of you unfamiliar with the game, Minecraft is basically the game that never ends (yes it goes on and on, my friend).  It’s an open world game with no specific goals and players are free to build and create anything they want by breaking and replacing blocks of different materials (dirt, stone, wood, etc) that can be found all over the virtually endless map.  It’s surprisingly addicting.

You do not “win” Minecraft. You either 1) play until you’ve exhausted all of your creativity and fall on the floor in a crumbled heap after realizing how much time you’ve wasted (like me) or 2) build an incredibly elaborate, visually stunning block world that is the envy of the poor suckers who landed in category 1.

A user who goes by the name, Gawara, has earned his rightful spot amongst the envied Minecrafters in category 2 by recreating the entire city of Kyoto out of Minecraft blocks.

It all started when Gawara set out to create one of Kyoto’s most famous landmarks, Kinkakuji (known by some as the Golden Pavilion).

Kinkakuji

▲  Actual Kinkakuji

Minecraft Kyoto Kinkakuji

▲ Minecraft Kinkakuji.  Amazing!

Gawara decided to showcase his progress on NicoNicoDouga, Japan’s version of YouTube, and after all the attention he received, continued on his Minecraft quest.  Before he knew it, Ginkakuji (the Silver Pavilion), Kyomizudera, the five-storied pagoda and other sites had all been brought to life in block form.  A Kyoto-esque city was born.

Kiyomizudera

▲ Actual Kiyomizudera.

Minecraft Kyoto Kiyomizudera

▲ Minecraft Kiyomizudera, complete with surrounding trees and stairs.

Minecraft Kyoto

All of Gawara’s progress has been chronicled on NicoNicoDouga.  Take a look at this video of  his completed work (click the triangle play button in the middle to watch without having to register):

Source: Kotaku