JoShima, not far off the coast of Japan, is an island still rooted in tradition. Once mainly supported by fishing, JoShima is turning more and more to the tourist dollar for its income. Stay in town or at the harbour, and make sure to visit the hilltop castle!

This neighbourhood is AEA2. No custom camera is needed.

Design Notes: EA's Asian stuff is a complete mish-mash of cultures, of course. I wanted something a bit more coherent, and decided to go Japanese. Obviously it's still somewhat mish-mashy, but better!

JoShima island is a bit of a rural backwater, with many older structures built in traditional style. I did lots of research and used real Japanese buildings as inspiration.

I don't speak Japanese, but some research leads me to believe that Jo-shima means 'Island Castle' or thereabouts.

The hood has been playtested in a separate environment. Room service doesn't work in the Youth Hostel (no tables). Helicopter tours don't work on the tiniest lots. Otherwise, everything functions as intended.

There are no sims included. Your game will generate locals and tourists, or you can make custom ones.

JoShima can be added to your primary hood in place of Takemizu, or in addition to it. Population caveat: if you add a second vacation destination of the same type (ie: Asian), it won't have its sims, but you can bypass this issue by using Jawusa's tutorial.

A number of the lots in JoShima have been shrunk, and have structures closer than two tiles from the edge. If you want to alter the walls and roofs on these lots, you will need to use the LotAdjuster to do so.

I made most of JoShima back in 2018, using the AnyGameStarter, and have played it on and off ever since. (I am no longer using the AGS, it didn't play nice enough with my game.) The hood has been finalised in late 2020, with renewed testing and modifications. I found one whole lot with no lights, hope there aren't any more big oversights! The final version of the hood has been edited using the Ultimate Collection.

Warning – the very mini lots (1xN) seem to be too small for the helicopter to spawn. Don't book a Bamboo Forest tour from these lots; your sims will lose their money. Likewise for room service in the youth hostel, although the financial strain should be much less for your sims!

JoShima has 12 Community Lots to Visit:

Castle Keep
Lovingly restored, this medieval castle is open all year round. Visit the dungeon to see a furnished cell and torture devices. The museum hosts a number of artifacts, including pottery, ancient scrolls and statuary. Visitors can browse the souvenir shop, or grab a bite to eat from the kiosk.

Castle Park
Within the Castle precinct, and watched over by The Big Ninja, the park provides something for everyone - a teahouse and zen garden, mahjongg, kid's playground, BBQ and even swimming.

The Mahjongg game only has two chairs, to encourage sims to try some other activities. The ninja turns up pretty reliably, seems to be attracted by the statue.

Castle Walls North
Peek through the narrow windows to spy upon the enemy, patrol the wall-walk, imagine life as part of the castle regiment!

Includes a caretaker's apartment and small garden, fenced off from the public.

Castle Walls South
Home to the WALLZ coffee shop, and a few other entertainments.

Ferry landing Everyone passes through here, arriving and leaving, so this is a great place to people-watch from the coffee bar or the waiting area. Offers tourist information and a mini-shop for all your holiday essentials. Beach access for those who can't wait another moment to get their toes in the water.

JoShima Thermal Springs
Sauna and massage therapy to enhance your thermal springs experience. Or, bring your special someone for a wedding to remember!

Kabuki Palace Restaurant
Once a Kabuki theatre, now a nice family restaurant. Gallery and stage. Garden pavilion with views. Kiddie corner.

Exterior inspired by a Kabuki theatre in Uchiko, Japan.

Machiya Crafthouses
For generations, crafters and shopkeepers have lived and worked in these buildings. Experience JoShima Old Town shopping, still housed in traditional machiya!

Karaoke Bar & Bubble Den, Bar, Gaming room, Potter's Shed, and mixed Supermarket.

Sento Bathouse
This small traditional bathhouse still has segregated male/female areas, although tourists don't always observe this custom.
Bathing supplies and locker keys available from the cashier.

Temple
The Heian Temple dates from a period when religious centres moved away from the urban bustle, instead being grounded in a landscape of mature trees, water and mountains. Preserved on the site are a 3-tier pagoda, the naimon (gate), and two halls.
Visitors can fish, take tea, play mahjongg and admire the scenery to their hearts' content. Tickets from the souvenir stand across the road.

Inspired by the Muro-ji Temple in Japan.

Temple Souvenirs
This traditional kura (warehouse), conveniently placed right outside the Temple, sells all sorts of souvenirs, and tickets to the local attractions. There is also a noodle stand, so if you are hungry, why not try some street cuisine?

Zen Garden
Spend a tranquil hour or two, raking the garden or taking tea. Admire the ancient Torii Gate!

Choose from 4 Lodgings:

Beach Camping – free
Communal kitchen and bathroom pavilion.
Tents on the beach! Free!

Youth Hostel - $68/night - $
Singles only. No hanky-panky here!
Sauna and plunge pool, recreation room, communal dining and bathroom facilities.

Note - Don't call for room service - you will lose your money; there is no table for the food to be delivered.

Funaya B &B - $316-$594/night - $$$
Traditional boathouses (funaya), right on the water, renovated for your holiday enjoyment.

Catering to families of all sizes, private baths and room service provided. Suites are situated upstairs, overlooking the water, while the old storage/workshop areas at beach level have been remodeled for various activities, including a kiddy corner, a bar and other amenities.

There's not a lot of empty ground space, but sims will still find room to sunbathe and build sandcastles. Sample image taken from here.

JoShima Empress Hotel – $$$$
Deluxe accommodations for discerning travellers, in five deluxe suites.
Jade, Ruby and Sapphire rooms in the main building, plus two traditional rooms in the annexe. Pool, sauna, massage, games room. Grand piano in the lobby. Full restaurant and room service. Playground and children's activities for the family.

JoShima has 3 Vacation Homes to Buy:

_ Kominka Verandah_ – 1x1 lot - $8,581.
Budget rural holiday house, sleeps 3, basic amenities. No gardening, no entertainment objects.

Kominka Deluxe – 1x1 lot - $16, 222
Superior holiday accommodation for couples, a country-style cottage in the middle of town! Comfortable and cosy fittings, with TV, books, radio included. Small attached water-garden includes painting easel for the artistically-minded. No gardening required.

Machiya Townhouse – 1x2 lot - $27, 308
Holiday townhouse for the family, in traditional style with up-to-date furnishings. Includes easy-care courtyard, tatami lounge, dinette kitchen, 1.5 baths and two bedrooms. Sleeps four with ease.

And finally, the hidden lot: AE Pagoda in the Shadows:
Slightly altered from download, (added toilet/BBQ), basically as built by maxon. Used with permission... Thank you!

If you want to alter the secret destination, enter the cheat: loadlot "AE Pagoda in the Shadows".

CC List - (all files are included, this list is for credit purposes)

• Rocks Fence, by TheJim07

• Japanese Red Column For Deck, byTheJim07

• Red Japanese Column, byTheJim07

• Japanese Arch – 2-tile, byTheJim07

• Japanese Arch – 3-tile, byTheJim07

• Asiatic Balustrade , by TheJim07

• Mulberry Window , by Chrissy6930 (ts2creations,long-gone site).

• Mulberry Window Short , by Chrissy6930 (ts2creations,long-gone site).

• Mulberry Window 2-tile Short , by Chrissy6930 (ts2creations, long-gone site).

• Friend Creator Arch +3 recols , by Chrissy6930 (ts2creations, long-gone site).

• Tatami Floor North, byMshades

• Wachowt Glass Sliding Door Recolour – by SimPeople_and_Me - **** Site long gone, I got the CC from this lot by Squeam, or it is on The Graveyard.

• Step Into a World - open Shinto Stairs * – by HL –repo to Recolorable Default *.

• Shinto Stairs Recolours **** –by CatherineTCJD

NOTE - modular stairs require Numenor's Scriptorium (install separately if you don't already have it), PLUS HL's Default stairs (files included). The defaults make your EA stairs recolorable, and provide textures to the open stairs.

If you don't install the modular stairs, your game should just substitute the original ones, which won't be open or recolorable. No biggie, but the open stairs are nicer.

Resources:
Mini beach lots by Mootilda.
LotAdjuster, HoodReplace, LotCompressor - Mootilda.
AnyGameStarter – Numenor.
SimPE – Quaxi and Chris Hatch.
StephSim "A Small Kingdom" University map.

With thanks to all those creators who have made this project possible:

• Mootilda, Numenor, Chris Hatch – for essential programs and advice.

• Chrissy6930, TheJim07, HugeLunatic, CatherineTCJD, Maxon, Mshades – for quality build content.

• StephSim –for the map base.

Thank you all!

DOWNLOAD - images and info included.

Alternate Link

Enjoy your vacation!