minecraft fi

While browsing the net over the last week, I’ve been bombarded by a barrage of pictures uploaded from block-busting game Minecraft. The next thing I knew, a Japanese fan had generously shared his original world data for the entire country of Nippon.

Just wait till you see his incredibly precise rendering of the Japanese islands in all of their Minecraft glory!

Minecraft began as an independent video game with the simple premise of building structures out of 3-D textured blocks. Since its initial alpha release date in 2009, it has evolved into a worldwide phenomenon. Now, thousands of fans have used the basic tools of the game to create astoundingly customized architectural feats of love, while both showing off their skills and trying to outdo one another at the same time. Want to see a replica of King’s Landing from Games of Thrones? Check. How about Minas Tirith from Lord of the Rings? No problem. A splendid Battlestar Galactica? Yep, someone’s done it.

And now, you can even see a painstakingly detailed recreation of the entire country of Japan, complete with geographical information.

Let’s hop right to it and check out some of the pictures shared by dedicated Japanese Minecraft and Twitter user @vostok061:

▼”I’ve completed the Minecraft world data for the Japanese islands! It’s at a scale of 1/50 and I’ve included the mainland and smaller neighboring islands. I’ve also taken Japan’s actual elevation levels and various biomes into account. It will go public today at 6:00.”

▼”Due to Japan’s complicated political situation regarding the Northern Territories and Takeshima, I couldn’t get detailed topographic or vegetative information about them…sorry.”

▼”Mt. Fuji!!”

▼”Even seeing Mt. Fuji’s beautiful silhouette at a scale of 1/50, I’ve come to understand the feelings of people a long time ago who tried to mimic its form and build manmade conical mountains (well, just a little bit).”

▼”Facing south over Tokyo (where Tokyo should be). The waterways on land are represented by gravel. Please consult my sources to confirm the construction and location of the rivers.”

▼”This tree-dotted area looks like the area around Lake Inba-numa in Chiba.“

▼”Even when scaled down, Lake Kasumigaura, the second-largest lake in all of Japan, is impressively big.” 

▼”Osaka. The Yodo River is wide!”

▼”Izu Oshima [an island south of Tokyo]. It’s easy to see where the lava flowed.”

We don’t even want to know how long it took to gather all that data and build the world. At least now the rest of us have something to marvel at in wonder while we keep playing with our Tinkertoys…

Sources/Images: Hachima Kiko, Twitter (@vostok061)