Primer: Sanmachi

The three cities of Sanmachi and their Neighborhoods

Sanmachi is The captial of Daiterra as well as the seat of the Youmen government. It is technically a metropolitan grid made up of three cities: Markova, Musea, and Materia. Sanmachi is also the central locus of the northern continent of Daiterra both for its child cities as well as the greater regional area.

Although they adopt many names: districts, zones, and campuses to name a few, in youmen culture, the neighborhood represents the second smallest community unit (one up from residential family.) Although the official neighborhood boundaries don’t perfectly demarcate the extents of each neighborhood community, they were drawn up with knowledge of each community in Sanmachi and thus usually serve as a sufficient guide. What follows is a list of all 60 of the neighborhoods in Sanmachi. The sheer number of neighborhoods means there is always at least one festival happening somewhere in the city on any given day.

Markova (7 districts)

Located in the central plains, this city is home to the administrative buildings of Daiterra’s capital as well as the business district.

• • YUS Capital District:

  • Daiterra Captial District:

  • The Docklands:

  • Expo Park: Home to seven different convention centers, this district is a stage that Sanmachi offers to the rest of the combined galaxies. There are always at least four events occurring simultaneously often with very little to do with each other which has made for humorous run-ins between different convention goers.

  • Meamecha: Sanmchi’s ultimate destination for high-end shopping, this neighborhood is a dense network of interconnected department stores. Tourists and shoppers come here for the eclectic mix of well known and one-of-a-kind brands as well as the largest selection of System Import stores in the Combined Galaxies, beating out trading capitals like Arcturus thanks to the city’s diverse population.

  • Business District: Located in the heart of Sanmachi, this district has offices for many top companies and is the most built up neighborhood in Sanmachi. An expensive neighborhood, many of Sanmachi’s highest rated restaurants are here.

  • Markova Park: Containing the only large-scale greenspace in the capital city, this district is the most beloved of Markova. Dedicated ferries and monorail lines bring droves of workers during their lunch breaks; the area is such a popular lunch spot that the companies of Markova coordinate with each other to stagger their lunch breaks so that their employees could fully enjoy the park. An artificial island constructed in Matuno Lake during the Collaboration Era, it is now home to some of the best food trucks in Sanmachi and is also home to Markova’s largest wielding grounds.

Musea (19 districts)

Extending from the central plains to the shores, this is a city of academies, research centers, think tanks, labs, accelerators, colleges, trade schools, and home to Daiterra’s largest and most famous company, Cosmitech

Note: while most districts have an academic specialization, trade schools are equally distributed amongst most of the districts

• • Nodowa: The hill that this district is built upon is so large, it forces the great Gocho River to go around it. Most of the universities built here have their forte in the pure sciences, the first one choosing the top of the hill to build its observatory. (science focused)

  • Ostunowa: (engineering focused)

  • SISTEM: Also known as Institute Park

  • Sifamecha: Situated on the northern edge of the city along the banks of the north river, this district is the typical favorite place for farmers to sell their crop. Home to the most diverse array of restaurants in Musea, it is a popular spot for students and researchers alike. Those with an adventurous palette can visit the culinary schools of this area. (culinary arts focused)

  • Marsh Park

  • Cosmitech Campus

  • Medical District

  • Sunza District: Much more than Musea’s mathematics specialized district, Sunza is also home to the headquarters of the Federated Academies and a majority of the Common Quad. Being the site of Musea’s largest wielding grounds, the Grand Musea Tournament takes place here towards the end of spring. (math focused)

  • Nowa Fibudihn: (humanities focused)

  • Library District: (literature focused)

  • Feribu: (social sciences focused)

  • Zaritha: (social sciences focused)

  • University of Daiterra Sanmachi Island: In addition to being the district of Sanmachi’s largest university, UDS Island is host to high density residential areas and accelerator parks especially in the quieter southern part.

  • Saku Fibudihn: (applied arts focused)

  • Chahuzea: (decorative arts focused)

  • Markopi: (counter culture haven insp: camden town, london) This district is a nexus for youth-centered activity. It has the special distinction of having most of its businesses being run by college students, mainly through business electives or clubs endorsed by the many colleges in Musea. A tension exists between the college students who feel that they built the area and the secondary school students that flock to it despite being separated by only a few years.

  • Runomecha: One of the three social sciences focused districts in Musea, this neighborhood is also home to the weekly Sanmachi night market which has traditionally been a place for retailers and producers to meet each other. In more recent times, the night market is a gathering place for the large student population of Musea. (social sciences focused)

  • North Promontory: (visual fine arts focused)

  • South Promontory: Being the southernmost part of Musea, this district enjoys wonderful views of both the bay and the sea. This area is home to many performing arts focused schools as well as the concert hall for the Sanmachi Philharmonic Orchestra. (performing fine arts focused)

Materia (34 districts)

Nestled against the mountains and stretching to the shore, most of Sanmachi’s inhabitants live here in addition to a majority of the clean manufacturing plants

• • Printer’s District

  • Yukupo: (light industry area)

  • R3 District: Also known as the Remaking, Repurposing, and Repair District, this neighborhood is the site of a long running tradition of frugality and practicality. This area teems with workshops and studios (both old and new) that specialize in trading or repairing old machines from cars to toasters to computers. There are also many workshops and studios which make original products that came about from the influence of the neighboring Maker Row and Artisan Quarter.

  • Artisan Quarter

  • Maker Row

  • Bohemian District: like the Artisan Quarter, many artists have studios here

  • Kayozea District: (home to largest wielding grounds and location of Sanmachi’s wielding finals.)

  • Textile District

  • Reikopi: (oldtown)

  • Aruitha

  • Kezoyumu

  • Enora Wharf: A locus for seaborn freight, this area has a reputation for strange goods and bargain prices. The population is an eclectic mix of generational seafarers and young adult professionals.

  • Inner Haven

  • Outer Haven

  • Little Earth: Formed by immigrants from the Human Federation in the beginning of the Foundation Era through a special species exchange program, this district is home to the oldest non-youmen enclave on Daiterra. Many brands and chains unique to the Human Federation can be found here making it just as popular to the resident human population as it was when it was founded.

  • Wihthayumu: An affluent neighborhood, at least by youmen standards. Its peaceful view over Matuno Lake means it is coveted by many professionals working in Markova.

  • Arukopi

  • Onchochu

  • Enora Railyard: A logical extension of its sister district, this neighborhood is the site of the distribution center for Sanmachi and the surrounding region. Hidden amongst the rows of warehouses are theaters, art galleries, food and drink halls, and clubs.

  • Oshomecha

  • Airport Yard

  • Ostukire

  • Mirikupo: also known as the Clear Factory district, ultra clean manufacturing facilities are sprinkled in among the houses and apartment buildings, most pharmaceutical, agricultural, and bioengineering production in the region happens here

  • Warehouse District

  • Sundaitha: Being in contact with the human and both purian enclaves, this district is the most multicultural in Sanmachi having the three species in equal amounts. While it has contained many eidic (pertaining to a subgroup of a species) shops as far back as the collaboration era, recently, co-owned shops have sprung up that carry authentic goods for all three species under the same roof.

  • Bravitha

  • Tam’s Ferry

  • Keamecha: (trendy shopping district but not as fancy as Meamecha)

  • Oshobu

  • River Park District

  • Little Nycena: Formed by immigrants from the Nycean League of Systems at the beginning of the Collaboration Era, this district has been a beacon of greater Nycean culture in the city for hundreds of years. Today it is one of the major gathering spots for the many Purians that live spread out in the outlying cities, the other one being Little Hyperion.

  • Little Hyperion

  • Denavi District

  • Beach Park District

The Outlying Cities

There are the factory cities (some completely automated), and proper cities with their own mayors

• 9 cities

  • Tocopha: to the north, has the largest community of purians on Daiterra, its name is of purian origin

  • Ostume: historically home to the western fortress guarding the city, it is outside of the city proper to get a better vantage point and is a must-see for tourists visiting Sanmachi

  • Mathachi: northernmost outlying city, directly interfaces with most of the northern agricultural zones

  • Vizeko City: borders the Vizeko forest to the south of Sanmachi, preferred point of entry for the farmers of the southern agricultural zones on the occasions when they visit the Sanmachi area

  • Yokameyo: to the southwest, a port city that mainly services the southern outlying cities and which serves as the gateway between the inland Great Lake and the Avatea Ocean

  • Foothill City: a dense but quiet city that occupies the narrow field bordered by the Shukawa mountains to the west and the Zaricho river to the east

  • Astesno: to the west, has the second largest community of humans on Daiterra after Sanmachi, its name is of human origin

  • Ostusa: site of the former southern fortress, it was situated outside of the city proper so as to be on the water of the southern bay, now it is mostly known for its pristine beaches

  • Okochu: to the northeast, also known as the ancient city, this area was the first to be settled in the region in the early colonial days when Youma was still the capital of the youmen civilization; many structures from those days can be found preserved throughout the sprawling city

• 4 factory cities to west and south

  • Makupo City:to the southwest, the largest factory city and the only one with a sizable non-commuting population, unlike the other factory cities, it is not specialized to any particular area of industry although it has significant capacity for prototype and on demand production

  • Minera City: to the south, like most factory cities, the mineral and chemical processing city operates around the clock and has almost no permanent inhabitants with crew commuting in every day to check in, this is also site of the Ultimate Recycler which uses high energy processes to break down and sort trash at an atomic level, its electricity consumption eclipses even Sanmachi

  • Electronica City: to the west, also known as E-City, this complex handles most electronic and nano manufacturing

  • Fabrica City: to the west, this sprawling complex rises out of the dry western highlands, this factory city is a surprisingly popular destination as people in the region visit to buy physical products of all kinds for the lowest possible price, from garments to cars to sporting goods

Getting Around in Sanmachi

To enable the large population density, very few people own their own personal means of transport with the exception of a bicycle. Citizens have access to a shared vehicle which they share with about 9 other residents. If they need to use it, they can schedule time to use it. Nearly all citizens get around using the highly developed transportation network. The city's roads and highways are used by service vehicles, emergency vehicles, busses, bicycles, and shared citizen vehicles. The backbone of the transportation network are the Allegre Trains which are high-speed, intra-city, frequent service trains. Their lines are shown in the city map. Despite being designated as intra-city, all of them extend out into one of the outlying cities providing a means for people to commute into the city. The average Allegre Train consists of 9 passenger cars, 2 bicycle carriers, and 2 cars used exclusively by parcel delivery companies. One in ten Allegre trains will have the inverse composition: 10 parcel cars, 2 passenger cars, and one half passenger, half bicycle carrier. The process of loading and unloading the parcel cars is completely automated and can be completed in the 60 seconds that the train is in the station. Each Allegre station is a hub for the secondary transport network consisting of busses, light rail, metro, and monorails.

Education in Sanmachi

While primary and secondary schools are distributed typically among the three cities, nearly all post secondary schools are located in Musea. Musea, and by extension Sanmachi, became very focused on education starting in the Foundation Era after the founding of the Knowledge Corps. Originally built to help fill the ranks of the Knowledge Corps, universities began to proliferate as alumni officers busied themselves in the area immediately around the Citadel. Today, Musea is the educational capital of the Combined Galaxies with even the Federated Academies making their administrative headquarters there. What follows is a list of some of the institutions in Sanmachi.

• University of Daiterra, Sanmachi

• Promontory University: Founded in the Schism Era shortly after the launching of the Daiterra Immigration Plan (11962), Promontory University is a relatively young private school. Despite being a generalist university, it is well known for its excellent music school, perhaps as a function of it being located in the performing arts focused South Promontory district. Recently, its wielding team has been doing well in the YUS league, achieving several podium finishes in the last three tournaments.