Tansan Over The Years

First of all, happy belated 6th anniversary to ACNH and my town, Tansan!

I’ve been slowly working on updating my DA after the 3.0 update for a while now, and I’m finally done! I also took a complete detour from my initial plan of a regular blog post, where I wanted to share photos alongside descriptions of each area much like I did for Tinytree and Borei in ACNL. Instead, I decided to make a detailed video tour! I wanted to get this all up by the 20th but the video and gathering photos for this post took some time. But whatever, anniversaries are kind of abritrary anyways.

Since the full walkthrough is already covered in the video, I wanted to take the opportunity to focus more on how I planned the island as a whole and how I’ve continued to play and evolve it over time. Instead of my usual area by area tour, I will share some before and afters of the builds you see in the tour, as well as general photos from Tansan’s early days up until now (since I neglected this blog since 2019 lol). If anything, I hope it offers a bit of inspiration for building your own “forever island” as people call it. Above is also a map of each area that I drew a couple years ago and edited for the update. (Click to zoom in) 

If you found your way to this blog from the video… hello! This is going to be a long one, but it's something I've wanted to do for a long time. So much of my island's layout was created literally in the first year of the game's life, so it was very nostalgic for me to go back and look at how they evolved over time. 

I’ve always viewed Animal Crossing as an experience where the first few hours or days of playing determines the rest of your gameplay. Not as a strict rule, but just something that I guess is a result of my personality and how I get hooked onto something. 

I get sentimental about things easily and attached to experiences like “the naming ceremony” or the “first five villagers”. Thus, it’s hard for me to truly think of this game as only a designer’s paradise where the main draw is the ability to customize, curate, and demolish at will, even if this installment to the series and the content surrounding it might convince you to play that way. 

Tansan's map in 2020. Some areas still look similar in 2026.

I played ACNH most actively from 2020 to 2022. I played the game day by day as it was intended for as long as possible (as a former time travelling fan), especially to experience the seasonal events and critters to catch. I think it was after I had finished my fish compendium (where river mouths, tiers, waterfalls etc. were crucial to what fish spawns) when I really decided to put some muscle into terraforming whole areas at a time. 

lol

Looking back at these old photos, I realize that some of my main neighborhoods and their layouts have not changed much since late 2020, only the shops and builds within them. The map above was one I scribbled on to release my second ever DA update (2.0 meaning second update not the 2.0 update lol). The biggest change was the area towards the back where I was still experimenting with some "whimsical" builds. For example, Tabby town was just a beach town to make sense of Tabby's "hut" and I even had a named location called turd rock, lol. I also had a rock quarry that had the island's only "pond" (to catch the remaining pond fish) which also was home to some gnomes. 

This build was made in 2020 but I still have it today, just with a few updates.

I always take hiatuses from the game. For example, 2023-2025 was pretty quiet, only checking in for some events, to play HHP, or to take photos with villagers in Photopia. However, whenever I come back to the game I'm never itching to "start over". I've already experienced the best part of Animal Crossing New Horizons when I played through it at a slow pace in the beginning, so mentally I was more at a point where I wanted to improve areas I already made for the villagers I already grew to love. 

Anyways, let's get to some of the before & afters of the main areas that have seen considerable changes over the years! The photos from 2026 will be in real time, because I play in real time. But the Dream Address itself is in the summer time. 

Downtown

Some of the terraforming and bridge placements you see today were already well established in 2020 when I did some major terraforming work. So essentially I was just updating areas over time and refining previous areas. In some areas like the Residential neighborhood below, you can really see when the 2.0 update hit and I upgraded everyones homes and lawns with new items while still keeping to the same layout.

Before: "Market district" 2020

Even the Downtown area on my island has always had the same "composition" of buildings since as long as I could remember. I would say my style of decorating was more eclectic, busy, but natural. I had a lot of market places and stalls "selling" random items that I crafted or customized. The exact structures you see above are where Tansan's Internet Cafe and Tansan Pocha are currently located! I also found this image amusing because it's using the loft bed as a roof structure, which is something I used a lot back then but never do now. 

Before: Tansan Pocha in 2020 vs Tansan Pocha in 2022

Speaking of Tansan Pocha... back in the early days I loved to host and stage photoshoots in my “builds” (if you could even call it that back then). I was creating areas on my island with what limited items I had and trying to create memories in them with friends. 

Some things as simple as inviting my guests over for "a drink" at my seedy bar district was such an entertaining concept to me that I was determined to keep it around. In doing so, it was always a satisfying feeling to experience that build’s upgrade or glow up over the years, and you get attached to the progress of your island. 

Before: Tansan Pocha (2021)

Here's another early version in 2021 before Tansan Pocha shop sign changed to the standing electric sign. You can even see the remnants of the market district with the blanket shop next door. Part of me wish I still kept the blanket shop in my newer version as it was such a classic mom and pop shop in my old neighborhood back home. 

And here's another view of Downtown in 2020 with both the Tansan Pocha and my first ever "Tarot reading" build. 

After: Tansan Pocha and some tourists! (2026)

After: Tansan Pocha at night (2026)

I initially upgraded Tansan Pocha early on and settled with some structural look or "fake building" for it (like in the 2022 version), even though Pojangmachas are usually tents. 

When the 3.0 update came around, I was inspired to really try to recreate that tent feeling to give it the look it truly deserved. I actually went into slumber islands to plan out several ideas which was super helpful. I ended up demolishing everything and drew the tent design myself, then rebuilt it around a truck for accuracy. It's one of those builds that I'm truly proud of sticking with and improving because it finally looks like how I envisoned.

After: Tansan Pocha (2026)

Before: Me and Cyd's house and "auto repair shop" near the airport. (2022)

Cyd was a villager I got at some point early on through trade because he was my favorite of the new villagers introduced in ACNH. His design and color scheme worked perfectly with the developing downtown area, pre-HHP. Back in the day when I was more active trading and hosting people, I decided to move my house next to Cyd's so I was close by to the airport and all the main buildings. Cyd remained here after I moved away to a more quiet location. If I remember correctly, Cyd's house is one of the closest to his original design. I just changed the door.  

After: General electronics repair shop (2026)

He went through one big career change in the current version you see in the video. Before, Cyd ran an auto repair shop with me because I wanted to make use of the cars and vehicles introduced in 2.0. Later on, I decided to change it to a general electronics repair shop because I figured not many villagers even have cars, and it was my way of rationalizing a new build.

Japanese Village to Fishing Village

Having this kind of lore tied to certain builds helped me to connect to my island and look at it as a second home rather than a future clean slate. It became harder for me to demolish certain things “just because I can” and instead, inspired me to keep updating it in the context of my island. It became part of the fun to me! 

Before: Hamphrey and Ken's isolated village at the back of the island (2020)

In the same way, the villagers that I had in early game were very important to me and the way I shaped the story behind my island and what I wanted to create in it. For example, I got Hamphrey as my first Cranky on my initial mystery island hunts after my first five villagers. Later on, I moved Ken in by Amiibo. The addition of Ken gave me the idea to create a small village or community with Ken and Hamphrey as neighbors because of the similar look of their houses and both had the same color palette.

After: Hamphrey and Ken's fishing village (2026)

This resulted in my island having a closed off Japanese village build in a few versions, to eventually turning it into a fishing village after the update brought Redd’s treasure trawler to their backyard, since the private beach was located in their village. Ken and Hamphrey always being neighbors and in that back portion of the island became canon to me. 

Before: Grizzco Industries (2021)

After: Grizzco Industries (2026) 

The Salmon Run area was also a must have for me with Redd's update. Splatoon and Animal Crossing are probably the only games I truly stick with and still play regularly to this day. 

I was super excited to see the 3.0 update bring some Splatoon items to decorate with! Before, I simply had my slop suit outfit displayed with retro gas pump customized with my golden egg. But the new update inspired me to expand and create a whole designated head quarters for Grizzco Industries on the area on top of the incline. 

Neighborhood / Central Tansan

Before: Freya's Laundromat and Flower shop (2021)

An old villager Freya, my first Snooty, also helped inform some of the buildings that I’d keep around in my current version. In my Tansan universe, Freya ran a few different businesses on the island, such as the island’s laundromat and the flower shop. This was mainly because back then, her pink house stood out so much that I felt the need to cover it completely in pinks and blues to make it work. 

After: Tasha's laundromat and Freya's pink car. (2026)

When I decided to move Freya out after many years for Tasha, I made Tasha take over Freya’s laundromat business and I even imagined that Freya left her pink car to her, which is why it’s always parked out in front of the GS25 next to her house. I thought it was a cute way to remember some of my past villagers, especially those I had a hard time letting go of. 

Before: Villager neighborhood most similar to today's layout (2021)

I also still have 4 out of 5 of my first five villagers (Scoot, Ursala, Jambette, Tabby) and not even their ugly starter houses crossed my mind when determining whether or not they should leave or stay. My early villagers always grew on me in a way that made it hard for me to accept the concept of finding villagers just to fit a theme. 

Before: Very first neighborhood with my first 3 villagers (2020)

In the case for Scoot, Ursala, and Jambette, my first ever three villagers, the trio also had very similar house exteriors so I always kept them in the same neighborhood. Eventually when we were able to customize their exteriors and interiors, I decided it was only right to keep these 3 close to each other in newer versions. Dizzy, who is my favorite villager of all time, was also put in that neighborhood with them along with Tabby. I always thought he needed a community to take care of him because he’s a big baby.

Bonus - here's an even earlier picture of how close I kept my starters Scoot and Ursala at all times!

Before: Tansan viewpoint (2021)

View point with houses before (2021) and after (2026)

The villager neighborhood that you see today is basically a "reskin" of the one I made in 2021. I wasn't 100% happy with the look despite loving the terraforming, and I think it was mostly because I wasn't that fond of the style of Scoot, Ursala, Jambette, and Dizzy's houses (altthough they have cohesiveness going for them). Of course, it was a very welcome surprise that we could customize the exteriors after the HHP update. I tried to keep to their "colors" as close as possible with their redesign, and I was so happy with how the neighborhood eventually turned out after I neated it up. 

After: Ursala, Scoot, and Dizzy's houses with their new redesigns. (2026)

Old Town

Before: Erik's spot above the stationery store (2021)

And finally, Erik was one of the villagers I had the hardest time moving out because he’s a cutie pie and was one of my first five villagers. Erik lived on top of the island’s stationery shop in later versions for the longest time before he moved. The stationery shop was modeled after my neighborhood’s stationery shop in real life, and was also an early island staple that I continued to build around and informed some of my island’s “districts”. 

"Old Town" was the name originally given to Ken and Hamphrey's Japanese neighborhood, but after I turned it into a Fishing Village I gave the name to the South East portion of the map. I still wanted to designate an "Old Town" because I believed the rest of the island was more modernized. The Old Town neighborhood had very similar shops to the neighborhood I grew up in.

Tansan Stationery Store before (2021) and after (2026)

The road in front that you see there has not changed since 2020, but the shops on that street got a few upgrades or got moved around. One of the main reasons for the "big road" (main road) in front was so that I had a clear running path around the island because it was soooo full of stuff back then! Now I believe I made the 2026 version a lot easier to navigate and cleared up a lot of the clutter. 

The same Tansan Stationery Store street, before and after

After: Tarot reading (2026)

After: PC Bang in Downtown (2026)

The signage for the PC-bang (Internet Cafe) and the tarot reading was kept for their later upgrades, but they were moved to the Downtown and North Neighborhood districts. The tarot reading stall went back even further (you can see the older version above in the Downtown section in 2020). 

Before, I used the changing rooms to imply "booths" that you can go into to get your reading. It very common back then, but now a lot of tarot reading places are actual shops. In the upgrade I decided to give the tarot reading shop it's own building as well. 

Cake shop before (2021) and after (2026)

Erik's 2021 build you see above also had a cake shop behind him because we got so many specific cake items in the game that I figured it needed a special shop. I didn't have room to keep a cake shop and there was no space in my tiny bakery build, so I moved the cake shop to inside my boyfriend's character's house. 

To rewind even further, below is a picture of Erik's house in early 2020 before I created the Japanese Village (and now Fishing Village). He previously lived in a more mountainous area when I wasn't sure if I was going to go the modern town route. Erik always had a pumpkin patch by his home, which followed him to the most recent Old Town build. 

Before: Erik's home on the mountain, before Tansan modernized a bit. (2020)

Maddie's home where Erik's once was. And his pumpkin patch! (2026)

I decided to move him out to make room for Maddie, who represented my beloved beagle who passed away. Erik stayed around until about 2024 when I could see my beagle was getting older (but she wasn't sick at the time). I knew I wanted to finally move Maddie in, a plan I had for quite a while because she looked so similar to my beagle. So moving into his old spot, Maddie also reprised some of Erik's roles as a pumpkin farmer. I took it a little further and made a bakery that sold pumpkin pastries. 

My beagle passed away some time in 2025, which I'm still having a hard time processing. But I feel a bit comforted seeing Maddie running around the island!

How I Planned My Island & Other Thoughts

(Accompanied by more random photos of Tansan in 2026)

For me, the organic game play that just happened during those 2 years likely stopped me from exploring the full "potential" of ACNH’s design possibilities in terms of themes. I didn’t go into the game knowing I wanted a certain theme with villagers to match. 

By the time I had upgraded all my buildings, saw the types of villagers and homes I was working with, I had already settled on somewhat of a “towncore” theme, if I were to give it a category. 

I knew I wanted to do something rooted in modernity (so not a fantasy themed or a forest theme, etc) simply because my desire to seamlessly work in those public buildings without having to build around them or hide them.

It was one of my biggest gripes about this installment of the series. It seemingly dangles the possibility of fully fleshed out themes in your face but wont give us the satisfaction to take it all the way by being able to customize buildings like RS, Nooks, Ables, etc to make the themes actually make sense.

Before even owning the game and based off trailers alone, I had somewhat imagined an island that could be more fantasy based, because at the time I was really into Fantasy Life 3DS and BOTW, and wondered if I could create an island inspired by that. However, that one detail about not being able to customize public and permenant buildings is what made me settle on the theme of a general beach town or rural town. It also helped that I already knew there were a few buildings such as my “bar” and stationery shop that I wanted to keep around.

Another requirement I had for myself after I decided on the theme, was to make my island somewhat based on personal experiences and my life. I tried my best to create an island that felt unique to me and places I knew and grew up around. That’s why I opted to create most of the custom designs on the island myself, especially the signage of the shops.

I also tried my best not to “repeat” too much of the decor used for each unique shop or villager’s lawn, so that they really stand out against each other. Often times I visit some islands where the theme is almost so unified that every single corner has a stack of books or the same potted plant outside of each house. Not that it's a bad thing and it certainly looks beautiful, but I wanted it to be clearly distinguisable whose yard I am decorating for or what the shop is. 

I did not upload my text signages to the code database, but I did upload some of my other structural designs such as tiles and sidings which you can download when you dream of my island or by entering the codes here, so feel free to download and use them. But I really do recommend and encourage making your own signage at the very least. It’s super easy (some are literally just one color!) and definitely makes your island feel unique to you. I sacrified space on road QRs and instead used the in-game paths to make sure I had enough spaces for signage. Now, I still have enough spaces to possibly try out more designs for my home.

And finally, my last requirement was that the island should be easy to navigate and is somewhat practical and playable. My early days trading essentially informed by my current “big road” and downtown layout. When trading for items, I loved that it was super fast and convenient to get traders to drop things on the big space in front of the airport, and the proximity to shops allowed for them to quickly pop in and out if they wanted. I even put the warp pipe next to Nook’s Crannys, allowing villagers to quickly visit Grizzco Industries ahem.. Redd’s Trawler when Redd was there. 

I do admit that my island is PACKED with items so lag and pop ins are inevitable, but I am proud of the fact that it’s quite practically impossible to get lost on this island unless you have the proclivity of a cave diver and insist of squeezing into small spaces that you’re not meant to go. I tried my best to make it easy to move through the different neighborhoods in a manner that makes sense. The outer most edges of the island with a beach have a clear walkable path, with the edge of the island by the rocks having their own clear path, meaning I can easily run quite literally around the whole island in a circle if I wanted to.

That being said, I wouldn’t say my island is the easiest to do events on or to catch certain bugs or fish. But that’s not something I’ve thought of for a very long time because I’ve already completed the museum. Sure, there’ll be times where I find wisp’s spirit floating in the middle of the big lake towards the distant lighthouse tower, but for the most part, I don’t often feel the need to interact with some of the visiting NPCs anymore.

Anyways, that was a bit long, and I think I said I wasn’t going to make these kind of long posts, but I really wanted to make a post dedicated to overall before and afters since this is afterall, my first and only island and I did miss out a lot of years I could have documented some progress. I also figured I’d write a blog post since I committed to unearthing this and I wasn’t about to yap all over my island tour video.

If you visited Tansan in 2026, thank you so much for dropping by and I really hope you enjoyed your visit. And if you read through all this nonsense, I hope it gives a little context about why I love this game so much and what it means to me. :’) Until next time.