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A white Shinkansen speeding past a mountain near Fuji

· Cities: Skylines II

Project Shinano

A mountain-prefecture capital grown outward from a single Shinkansen stop. Transit first, no urban highways, every episode documented.

COMING SOON

Spenser Sembrat · Unsplash License · Unsplash

01 · The story

The story behind Project Shinano

Project Shinano is the channel's new flagship: a fictional prefectural capital in a mountain basin, modelled on the towns along the Hokuriku Shinkansen through Nagano Prefecture.

The idea grew out of six years of building. The 2020 JAPAN map series brought real Japanese terrain into the game, Shiroku and Takaoka tried Japanese towns in Cities: Skylines II, and Horizon Springs ended under a Japanese-style elevated highway. Shinano finally makes that thread the whole point.

The premise is simple: the high-speed line arrives first, and the city has to organise itself around it. Districts only grow where a station already stands, the core runs on rail and buses, and expressways stay outside the basin.

Every episode has one goal, before-and-after numbers and its own written page on this site. Patreon members can download the save at every milestone and build alongside.

02

The ruleset

  1. R01Rail firstNo district is zoned before its station exists.
  2. R02Walkable catchmentsHomes stay within walking distance of a rail or tram stop.
  3. R03No urban highwaysExpressways stay outside the basin; the core runs on rail and buses.
  4. R04Real signageJR-style station numbering and wayfinding on every platform.
  5. R05Mixed-use coresGround-floor shops around every station square.
  6. R06Honest numbersTraffic and transit stats shown before and after every change.

· In preparation

First departure: November 2026

Subscribe on YouTube to catch the pilot episode. Every episode will get its own page here with notes, chapters and numbers.

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03

Real-world references

Open the Atlas →

Patreon · 会員限定

Build alongside

Save files at every milestone, 4K map exports and the members-only build log.

Join on Patreon →

Free for everyone

· FAQ

Questions about this line

Is Shinano a real city?

No. It is a fictional prefectural capital modelled on real towns along the Hokuriku Shinkansen in Nagano Prefecture. The Atlas shows the real places behind it.

When does Project Shinano start?

The pilot episode is planned for November 2026. Subscribe on YouTube to catch it.