Hachikokuyama Woods & Taiken-no-Sato
Hachikokuyama Woods
八国山緑地 / 八国山たいけんの里
Satoyama woodland in the Sayama Hills — said to be the model for “Shichikokuyama” in My Neighbor Totoro.
highlights
Highlights & things to do
A metropolitan park at the eastern end of the Sayama Hills. Long and narrow from east to west, it lets you take a relaxed satoyama walk through coppice woods.
It is said to be the model for “Shichikokuyama,” the hill in Studio Ghibli's My Neighbor Totoro (a fan tradition — never officially confirmed).
Some also say the hospital that inspired the film's “Shichikokuyama Hospital” lies within the green space.
The name “Hachikokuyama” (Eight-Provinces Hill) is said to come from how, long ago, eight old provinces could be seen from here (traditionally given as Kozuke, Shimotsuke, Hitachi, Awa, Sagami, Suruga, Shinano and Kai).
Adjacent is “Hachikokuyama Taiken-no-Sato,” with exhibits on the area's history and nature.
photos
Photo gallery
Photo credit: Photo: Asanagi / Wikimedia Commons (CC0 / public domain). A path through the coppice woods.
This is the forest I most want my Ghibli-loving Taiwanese friends to walk through. That feeling of “Totoro could really live here” is genuinely in the air.
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