hongkong

>>2685161
Never been but the unanimous choice appears to be hongkok based on the replies whenever this thread comes up

>>2685170
and shenzhen

Chongqing and it's not even close.

>>2685161
Hong Kong and Tokyo

>>2685183
Seems too "clean" to be cyberpunk though. There needs to be drugs, whores, and people with tattoos for cyperpunk. Not that HK has a lot of that but surely more than Chongqing.
>>2685168
>>2685246
Leaning towards these desu. Bangkok seems worth an honorable mention.

inb4 retarded pole brings up Warsaw as the NYC/Tokyo of Europe lel.

>>2685302
Warsaw is waaay too nice to be cyberpunk. Anyone who thinks "cyberpunk" is a compliment has to be retarded.

>>2685246
Tokyo has nothing to do with cyberpunk.

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>>2685161
The typical choice will be Hong Kong for the decaying atmosphere. But it's not quite gritty enough to be a true cyberpunk place.

I'd say that Seoul is a good compromise. Their nightlife areas have a really nice atmosphere bordering on cyberpunk, and then you couple that with all the rubbish, drunk people, and whores and it feels really interesting. Hell, you even have people obsessed with body enhancements.

>>2685161
Hong kong

HK is normie answer especially post chink takeover. Bangkok has more of that aesthetic in the sense of poverty overlaid with kslop and chinese hyper future aesthetics in certain areas

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>>2685346
I take it you've never been to Shinjuku

>>2685350
Seoul isn't dense enough for the proper cyperpunk feel.

>>2685408
That looks impressive in heavily cropped photos with a long zoom. In real life those buildings are like 4 floors tall and the street is too wide to really feel like much. I've brought people to Kabukicho and most didn't even respond or know it was the place they see in Japan pictures until I told them, because it's unspectacular in real life.

>>2685161
While its unanimously seen as Hong Kong, I'll still say its Chongqing. The answer is gonna be all China though.

>>2685161

People in this thread don't know what cyberpunk is; a lot of the places mentioned here lack the 'seediness' i.e. the punk aspect of the aesthetic.

Cyberpunk is "high tech, low life", basically a futuristic dystopia where technology that was meant to help humanity is being used for evil, and it needs to be pioneer tech meaning humanity has just been introduced to it and doesn't know what manmade horrors beyond comprehension it could yet bring. That's the 'cyber' part, so it needs to be a place that is technologically advanced. The 'punk' or 'low life' part means it needs to incorporate dystopian tropes like lawlessness, poverty, degeneracy, alienation, greed, a dying earth, etc.

Cyber is the aesthetic and punk is the vibe.

Japan is too cyber and not enough punk.
America is too punk and not enough cyber.
China is really the only place that straddles both, although it has improved a lot since I went in 2011.

When I went to Beijing, I remember the smog was so bad I could barely see anything in front of me. There were a lot of beggars and merchants in Tianenmen Square pulling my hair and selling me cheap trinkets that would fall apart immediately. There was a huge hammer and sickle in the square because it was the 90th anniversary of communism I guess. Definitely gave it the dystopian vibe. There were police everywhere. I couldn't find water bottles so I had to suck on these coconut popsicles to stay hydrated.

Hong Kong still has some cyberpunk but it's a lot cleaner now. Chongqing is one of the few places I can think of, as it has a labyrinth of skyscrapers where you can't even tell what floor you are on. You think you are outside on ground level because you see grass and trees and then you realize you are 13 stories high still. Chongqing also is undergoing rapid growth because all the poor people from rural parts go to find opportunity there. So you definitely get the rich/poor disparity there

>>2686727

Other potential cyberpunk places:

-Bangkok, Thailand. Especially places like Soi Cowboy which is a red light district with neon lights. Don't really have too much of that anymore.

-Mumbai, India. Huge megalopolis with endless slums outside of skyscrapers.

-Saigon, Vietnam. A lot of e-scooters and neon lights, crowded, communist country

-Johannesburg, South Africa. Really gives off Purge vibes, even when I went in 2008. All the whites live behind huge fences while blacks live in shacks. Has the one giant skyscraper Ponte City Apartments which has become a 560 foot tall slum.

-Naples, Italy. Lived there in 2018 and I thought the mafia was just a meme but it very much alive and they control the city. Dark narrow alleyways full of graffiti, piles of garbage; I got accosted by the corrupt police for no reason, military personnel patrolling around, has some LED/neon aesthetic to it.
On the outskirts is a brutalist housing project called Le Vele di Scampia which is completely decayed and full of squatters and is a mafia HQ. Where the show Gomorra is filmed. Police don't bother going there.

-La Oroya, Peru. Highest inhabited place on Earth and most polluted place on Earth. Mining town. Poor indigenous people voyage there to find gold, silver and rare minerals and get exploited, has prostitution and drug problems etc. Pictures speak for itself.

-Tijuana, Mexico. Dangerous border town. Americans come there for prostitution and medical tourism due to healthcare expenses but has shady doctors and you can't basically get any drug there. In the desert so has a rustic vibe to it too.

Why not Osaka instead of Tokyo? It's a literal block of concrete, Tokyo has more parks and variety

unironically LA

HK is not cyberpunk at all. Have any of you been there? The British were like absentee parents, but the city still had that colonial vibe for a while. Now its just another whatever random Chinese megalopolis.

>>2685161
Cairo just needs to install some neon lights

>>2686741
>Mumbai
>Naples
punk - yes, cyber - not at all
>Johannesburg
>La Oroya
>Tijuana
these are just plain shitholes

>>2685161
Bangkok has too much of a Western style boring grid-like street layout to be true Cyberpunk. Cyberpunk cities have strange, dark winding tiny streets and alley ways littered with small shops and business and tiny houses against a backdrop of glitzy, bright mega skyscrapers and apartment blocks. For this reason, Tokyo and Hong Kong still take the cake in comparison. You can get lost in those tiny backstreets in those cities- "urban villages" if you will- where as thats not really the case in Bangkok. Bangkok is also becoming more bougie and boring as times goes and is trying too hard to be Singapore or Dubai these days, rapidly losing its more interesting, gritty and mysterious atmosphere with each passing year. China has also destroyed its pocket of "urban villages" in exchange for boring, neat grid-like streets. Seoul has some very, very small pockets that still have this feel, but overall is also way too sterile and organized and grid-like to be Cyberpunk anymore.

>>2686808
>Cyberpunk cities have strange, dark winding tiny streets and alley ways littered with small shops and business and tiny houses against a backdrop of glitzy, bright mega skyscrapers and apartment blocks
This is a great description of Bangkok. You're getting way too hung up on the city having some straight main streets, mostly the layout isn't at all gridlike

Seems like the consensus is.....
Tokyo
Hong Kong
Bangkok
Chongqing

Hong Kong seems cool as fuck but how the fuck could anyone justify learning Cantonese instead of Mandarin?

Hongkong

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Pittsburgh is quietly pretty cyberpunk

>>2685301
Manila

>>2686727
Thanks. On side note what shows and movies to watch that are cyberpunk?

>>2687253
how the fuck is this cyberpunk lol this place has no fucking neon signs anywhere, no in your face advertisements, nothing futuristic about it at all just some concrete brutalist buildings and brick buildings

you suck

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Toronto. Soulless decaying hellscape with shit weather and nobody speaks your language

>>2686727
São Paulo fits this description well, probably the most out of cities in the Americas, though it also leans more punk than cyber.

>>2687367
Misty rain, warrens of alleyways, heavy industry, robotics labs, fancy lights on the skyscrapers

>>2685161
Tokyo and Hong Kong are literally the inspiration for cyberpunk aesthetics

>>2685161
The city Cyberpunk is based on is Vancouver, Canada because it use to have an insane amount of neon lights. Other cities have since come along and done the aesthetic better tho. Many of them mentioned in this thread already.

>>2687253
There is nothing cyberpunk about yankeeland. If you are looking for methheads and low IQ yankee stupidity, then you found your paradise.

>>2687442
Tron Legacy was filmed there too. That's a big indicator.

Las Vegas.

>>2687369
Vancouver in the 1960s.

>>2687725
mad

>>2685301
>There needs to be drugs, whores,
Well that rules out most of China
>and people with tattoos
Unfortunately most of the world has tats.

>>2685350
>Seoul
>cyberpunk
You must be from the most boring vanilla car centric Amerimutt city to actually think Seoul is cyberpunk.

>>2687442
>Vancouver
Yeah it USED to have an insane amount of being lights. Go to the city now and it's full of homeless meth heads, jeets and just boring as fuck. Everything closes at 6pm and everything costs an arm and a leg. No thank you

There’s no such thing. Keep dreaming.

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>>2685161
it's Chongqing
by a big margin

it has everything
>the impressive lights at nights
>the led signs everywhere (although not neon, the city is too "modern" for them)
>the architecture
>big skyscrapers everywhere, with mid to high rise housing as far as you can see
>but old decaying buildings as soon as you take a side street
>the geography
>mountains with the architecture to match this
>you immediately feel lost
>the impending "doom" when walking through the less flashy parts
>prostitution everywhere (well "massage" parlors)
>the contrast between the richer, more touristy parts and poor streets right next to them

i still think China deliberately planned to make the city feel like this
compared to other Tier 1s it's astounding

>>2687788
also other Chinese cities just don't feel the same
>Beijing
way too spread out
>Shanghai
way too modern
>Hong Kong
feels to "friendly" and modern nowadays - maybe 10y ago
>Shenzhen
kek, it's sterile - maybe 15y ago
>others like Chengdu or Qingdao
they miss the geography and history, mostly just lit up skyscrapers and a few shopping streets with lots of lights

>Tokyo, Seoul
both are way beyond their "bad" past
you can still see some oldish buildings in Seoul
both have insanely "chaotic" city centers but are missing the contrast for it to be cyberpunk

>cities outside Asia
other than New York there isn't really any developed city with the needed density
except when you count some Indian or African cities, but these are missing the high tech / developed part then

just the origin story of Chongqing is dystopian cyberpunk
>they deliberately flooded the city and rebuild it

>>2687793
What does sterile mean? Too clean? Boring? Or going by the threads theme, cyber but not punk?

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>>2687253
One of the only cities in the USA that's even close to cyberpunk is probably Minneapolis. Very modern skyline mixed with some old industrial buildlings, some seedy stuff but honestly it feels more cyber than punk. Not enough neon signs but the place that checks that box is probably Las Vegas.

>>2687964
>Or going by the threads theme, cyber but not punk?
exactly

Shenzhen by now is 50% just corporate glass offices with shiny lights that are sometimes blue and purple (which admittedly makes for nice photos)

but the local vibe?
has nothing to do with cyberpunk
if you ever been to Shenzhen, go to Chongqing and just walk around for day and compare it
the differences are like night and day

>real cyberpunk has never been tried!

Good thread. I'm interested in visiting Seoul, Hong Kong or maybe even China this year.

Which one do you recommend the most? Don't say Japan, I already live here.

>>2688267
>Seoul, Hong Kong or maybe even China
>Which one do you recommend the most
what's your budget and planned duration?
And what do you wanna see / experience?

Seoul is a really cool city on it's own but not if you are searching for a true cyberpunk vibe
though you can easily spend a week there and as japanese person you have good chances to actually get into night clubs

China is a bit harder to navigate, as you need Alipay / WeChat set up
and some cities can feel a bit "boring", like I wouldn't necessarily spend a whole week in Chongqing
Hong Kong is way better / easier in these regards

>>2688273
One week. I just want to walk around and check the vibe.

>>2687788
Ok but are those chonquing hookies willing to play wit a whitebois pecker?

>>2688277
you could do Chongqing and Chengdu (both for like 3-4 days)
they are like 1h by HSR
awesome food in both cities with plenty of hole in walls
and Chengdu especially with it's tea houses

Hong Kong is great too, though I'd definitely plan a day in Macau and Shenzhen each

Seoul kinda depends on what you wanna see / do walking around
if you include nightlife or you'd enjoy short hikes through "suburbs" and nature, then Seoul is 100% a recommendation
because a lot of Seoul is very "commercial"
though you could definitely fill a week coffee hopping

>>2688281
it's China, of course they will

>>2688260
Just like the meme you are referring to, you are correct in both.

I haven't seen Taiwan mentioned here? Does it count? I've never been, but from the pictures I've seen it seems it counts at least in aesthetics.

>>2688303
Do you need to know Chinese to get around? How do you pay for shit? How do you get Alipay in your phone without an ID card or whatever.

Heard it’s a pain in the ass. Elaborate briefly if you can

>>2685161
Tokyo

>>2688567
>Do you need to know Chinese to get around?
No, I don't speak Mandarin either and was fine
But,
you need a good translator app, preferably multiple and at least on with offline support and one with image / live translation

depends of course on your style of travel
It's rare to find an English speaker, but people are friendly about it
but you won't make any local friends

even Tier 1 cities sometimes don't have English signs

but you can auto translates mini apps in WeChat / AliPay
and EVERYTHING runs through mini apps

>How do you pay for shit?
WeChat Pay (Weixin Pay) and AliPay
get BOTH, sometimes one doesn't work and some vendors only take WeChat Pay

but you can also pay cash
everyone has to, by law, take cash
though be prepared to not get any change

>How do you get Alipay in your phone without an ID card or whatever.
there's an international version for both AliPay and WeChat
you can simply connect your credit card with it

>Heard it’s a pain in the ass.
yeah China can be a bit overwhelming
but it's a super diverse country with a lot of very cool things to see

two last tip
>use trip com
it's chinese platform, usually works best and the most options
you can even book the trains there
>make sure your hotel / hostel accepts foreigner
technical there's no rule against foreigners
but they have to report you to the local police and not every hotel want to do this extra work
(theoretically you could do this yourself too, but no clue how)

its São Paulo 100%
everyone saying clean safe asian cities is retarded and does not know what cyberpunk means

>>2688750
>São Paulo
there's nothing cyber about São Paulo

>clean
most Chinese cities are not really clean as soon as you leave the main streets
but yes that's the reason why Tokyo, Seoul or Hong Kong aren't really cyberpunk
>safe asian cities
same thing as with clean
crime in China is usually just less visible

>>2688761
The most dangerous neighborhood of the most dangerous city in china is safer than the safest street in São Paulo
Cyberpunk "started" with the ttrpg and in Brazil youre always ready to enter combat

>>2685168
fpbp

>>2688765
anon that's called just a ghetto

there has to be something high tech / technology in the city to be considered cyberpunk
high crime and endless midrise apartment buildings are not enough to qualify

also there is a lot of crime and violence in China (not as much as São Paulo, you're right about that)
official statistics just don't show much of it and you don't see it directly because Chinese social Media is very isolated from the west

>>2688770
>high tec
>its just cameras, EVs and reddit lighting
Also youll hear way more languages and see more races in SP

>>2685302
>Warsaw as the NYC of Europe
Unironically I've only seen Americans say that.

Closest thing to NYC visually would be Frankfurt I guess.

>>2685168
sucky sucky fucky fucky hong kong hong kong

>>2685161
Berlin

Osaka by a mile. How has only one anon mentioned this?
Hookers, street punks, neon lights, and dirty

>>2688912
Kansai is too low tech compared to Tokyo for the cyber.

>>2687253
there is literally nothing remarkable about this picture. you are a fucking retard jesus.

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>>2688775
people don't know shit about sao paulo

mike pondsmith himself has said sao paulo is the most cyberpunk city he's ever been to

>>2685313
Well it's a good thing you're here to tell us what is and isn't cyberpunk

>>2688909
>Berlin
that's roachpunk

>>2685350
>zomg there are street signs!
>zomg are those letting I can't understand
>I'm going insaaannneee