Studio Ghibli · 1988 · the Sayama Hills, Mitaka and Aichi
Miyazaki lived in Tokorozawa, on the edge of the Sayama Hills, and said the film would not exist without it. Donors have been buying that woodland since 1990 so it stays. These are the places linked to the film’s making and its inspiration.
Green islands
The Totoro Fund calls the Sayama Hills rare green islands across Tokyo and Saitama. It buys woodland with donations and keeps it.
Sayama Hills
The Totoro Fund, based in Tokorozawa, raises donations and fees to buy forest land and keep it as satoyama, rural woodland rich in wildlife.
SoraNews24 reported that Miyazaki said Totoro would never have been born had they not lived in Tokorozawa. It called the hills the real-world birthplace of Totoro.
Totoro Forest
The Totoro Fund says the Totoro Forest is woodland across Tokyo and Saitama, bought with donations, with fields and paddies made by people and open to children for hands-on nature experiences.
On 2 June 2022 Tokorozawa’s mayor announced the city would preserve it, at about 2.6 billion yen, with city funds, crowdfunding, 300 million yen from Miyazaki and money from Studio Ghibli.
Kurosuke’s House
Japan Travel described it as the head office of the volunteer-run Totoro Fund and a registered tangible cultural asset.
The Totoro Fund’s page says the house opens Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays by advance reservation, with the south rooms and storehouse open while the back room is closed from 6 October 2026.
Tokorozawa, Saitama
The foundation that keeps the forest lists the house’s opening days, by reservation. Pictured: woodland in the Sayama Hills, 2026.
Check opening daysEight lamps
The name means Eight Country Mountain: Wikipedia says the summit once gave views of eight provinces around Musashi. They were Suruga, Kai, Izu, Sagami, Hitachi, Kozuke, Shimotsuke and Shinano. Put one lamp out and the hill reads as the film’s.
All eight lamps are lit.
Eight Country Mountain: the ridge in Higashimurayama, named for eight provinces seen from its summit.
8 of 8 lit
Wikipedia describes Hachikokuyama as a ridge of about 39 hectares in Higashimurayama, on the border with Tokorozawa, within the Sayama Hills. It opened as a green zone in 1990 and is free to enter.
The same page says the park is famous for inspiring parts of My Neighbor Totoro and that Miyazaki has acknowledged it as a significant inspiration for the setting.
A wooded ridge and public green zone with a trail along the top; free to enter. It is a short walk from Seibu Kyujo-mae and Higashimurayama.
SoraNews24 said the book follows Toshio Suzuki to Shin-Yamanote Hospital, which served as the model for the hospital in the film.
A guide seen in search results says the film’s hospital is Shichikuniyama, seven countries, against the real Hachikokuyama, eight, a play on one number.
A working hospital. Look at it from the public road only and do not go in or photograph patients; the nearby ridge path is the place to walk.
Remade
The film has been rebuilt in three places away from the woods.
Tokorozawa Station monument
Anime News Network reported a 170-centimetre bronze statue of the Catbus, Mei and Totoro unveiled at Tokorozawa Station in November 2020.
From the Tuesday before the unveiling, a song from the film played as the departure jingle at the station, in the year of the city’s 70th anniversary.
Just outside the east exit of Seibu Tokorozawa Station, on the Seibu Ikebukuro and Shinjuku lines. Free to see at any time.
Satsuki and Mei’s House
Wikipedia says Ghibli Park’s Dondoko Forest holds the Kusakabe family house from the film, a replica that was already built for Expo 2005.
The house closed in November 2021 for renovation and reopened with the park on 1 November 2022.
Part of Ghibli Park’s Dondoko Forest. The park says advance reservations are required; see its official site for tickets and prices.
Ghibli Museum, Mitaka
The museum opened on 1 October 2001 in Inokashira Park, Mitaka. Wikipedia says Miyazaki designed the building himself, using storyboards like those for his films.
A Totoro figure watches from the box office and reminds visitors to buy tickets in advance. A replica Catbus is in the museum, and a stuffed one fills a children’s playroom.
Every visit is by advance reservation, says the museum’s official site. Check its calendar and tickets page before travelling.
Mitaka, Tokyo
The museum’s official site says all admission is by advance reservation only. Pictured: the building, 2024.
See the museumNagakute, Aichi
The park’s official site says advance reservations are required. Pictured: the house at Expo 2005.
Plan a visitGo and walk
The woodland is free to walk. The hospital is a working one, so see it from the road. The museum and the park need booking ahead. The Fund’s house opens by reservation.
7 places linked to the film’s making and its inspiration, from the Sayama Hills to Aichi.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
Area reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Open woodland and paths on the Tokyo and Saitama border; free to walk. Seibu Sayama Line to Shimo-Yamaguchi, then about ten minutes on foot, is one way in.
Site reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Woodland bought by donors and kept by the Totoro Fund. Walk the paths and keep to them; the foundation asks visitors to treat it as a citizens’ forest.
Site reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A wooded ridge and public green zone with a trail along the top; free to enter. It is a short walk from Seibu Kyujo-mae and Higashimurayama.
Site reference · Public access · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays by advance reservation. The Fund’s page notes a closed back room from 6 October 2026 and a closure notice dated 27 June 2026; check it before going.
The hills · Sayama Hills, Tokorozawa, Saitama, and Higashimurayama, Tokyo
The Totoro Fund, based in Tokorozawa, raises donations and fees to buy forest land and keep it as satoyama, rural woodland rich in wildlife.
Open woodland and paths on the Tokyo and Saitama border; free to walk. Seibu Sayama Line to Shimo-Yamaguchi, then about ten minutes on foot, is one way in.
The hills · Totoro Forest first area, Tokorozawa, Saitama
The Totoro Fund says the Totoro Forest is woodland across Tokyo and Saitama, bought with donations, with fields and paddies made by people and open to children for hands-on nature experiences.
Woodland bought by donors and kept by the Totoro Fund. Walk the paths and keep to them; the foundation asks visitors to treat it as a citizens’ forest.
The hills · Hachikokuyama green zone, Higashimurayama, Tokyo
Wikipedia describes Hachikokuyama as a ridge of about 39 hectares in Higashimurayama, on the border with Tokorozawa, within the Sayama Hills. It opened as a green zone in 1990 and is free to enter.
A wooded ridge and public green zone with a trail along the top; free to enter. It is a short walk from Seibu Kyujo-mae and Higashimurayama.
The hills · Tokorozawa, Saitama, near the Sayama Hills
Japan Travel described it as the head office of the volunteer-run Totoro Fund and a registered tangible cultural asset.
Open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays by advance reservation. The Fund’s page notes a closed back room from 6 October 2026 and a closure notice dated 27 June 2026; check it before going.
Stay
A library hotel in the town beside the hills.
Tokorozawa, Saitama
A library hotel in Tokorozawa, the town beside the Sayama Hills, listed on the Sakura Town site. Pictured: Tokorozawa Station, 2020.
See the hotelGo there
The museum and the park both need advance reservations; the Fund’s house opens three days a week.
Mitaka, Tokyo
The museum’s official site says all admission is by advance reservation only. Pictured: the building, 2024.
See the museumNagakute, Aichi
The park’s official site says advance reservations are required. Pictured: the house at Expo 2005.
Plan a visitTokorozawa, Saitama
The foundation that keeps the forest lists the house’s opening days, by reservation. Pictured: woodland in the Sayama Hills, 2026.
Check opening daysTokyo
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Nothing dated for the film is listed at these places now.
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Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
8 of 8 places · 13 of 13 stories
Sayama Hills, Tokorozawa, Saitama, and Higashimurayama, Tokyo
Miyazaki says Totoro would never have been born had he not lived in Tokorozawa, SoraNews24 reported in 2018.
Totoro Forest first area, Tokorozawa, Saitama
The Totoro Fund’s National Trust begins in April 1990 and buys Totoro Forest number 1 in August 1991.
On a 2018 walk through the forest Miyazaki says this scenery gave birth to Totoro.
Tokorozawa announces on 2 June 2022 that it will preserve the forest, with Miyazaki giving 300 million yen.
Hachikokuyama green zone, Higashimurayama, Tokyo
The ridge is named for views of eight provinces: Suruga, Kai, Izu, Sagami, Hitachi, Kozuke, Shimotsuke and Shinano.
Wikipedia says Miyazaki has acknowledged the ridge as a significant inspiration for the film’s setting.
Higashimurayama, Tokyo, beside Hachikokuyama
The film’s hospital is called Shichikuniyama, seven countries, against the real Hachikokuyama, eight.
Shin-Yamanote Hospital is the reported model for the hospital where the mother stays.
Tokorozawa, Saitama, near the Sayama Hills
The Totoro Fund’s head office opens Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays by reservation.
Seibu Tokorozawa Station, east exit, Tokorozawa, Saitama
A 170-centimetre bronze of the Catbus, Mei and Totoro is unveiled at Tokorozawa Station.
Dondoko Forest, Ghibli Park, Aichi Expo 2005 Commemorative Park, Nagakute, Aichi
A replica of the sisters’ house is built for Expo 2005 in Aichi.
After renovation from November 2021 the house reopens with Ghibli Park on 1 November 2022.
Inokashira Park, Mitaka, Tokyo
The Ghibli Museum opens in Mitaka on 1 October 2001, with a Totoro at the box office and a replica Catbus.
Places to stay
A notable hotel in Tokyo.
Tokyo · Source · Check dates on Expedia (Ad / affiliate)
The Shinjuku hotel where Lost in Translation was set and filmed.
Junisha-dori, Nishi-Shinjuku 3, Shinjuku, 160-0023 · Source · Check dates on Expedia (Ad / affiliate)
A notable hotel in Tokyo.
Tokyo · Source · Check dates on Expedia (Ad / affiliate)
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Links go to each venue’s or organiser’s own site. Check dates, access and availability there before you go.
Every place in My Neighbor Totoro leads somewhere else.
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