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Offered languages
- English
Most guests meet us at Seibu-Kyujo-mae Station (9:30). Ikebukuro (8:30) is also available; your guide travels with you by train.
Walk the forest widely believed to have inspired My Neighbor Totoro with a local guide who lives nearby and knows these trails in every season. It's a small-group tour (max 4 guests), so we keep an easy pace with plenty of photo stops.
The Sayama Hills are not a theme park. Since the early 1990s, local people have bought this woodland plot by plot to protect it, and each saved plot is numbered as a "Totoro Forest." You walk Totoro Forest No. 1, hear how it was saved, and learn to spot the birds and plants that live here.
Then visit a small Shinto shrine few tourists find, look out over Lake Sayama, and finish with fresh matcha and local Sayama tea at a family-run tea shop, a stop past guests call a highlight.
Cherry blossoms in spring, deep green shade in summer, red and gold leaves in autumn: a quiet day in nature, one hour from central Tokyo.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
The walk ends at Kotesashi Station. Travelers who started in Ikebukuro return with the guide to Ikebukuro by direct train (about 40 min).
Itinerary
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1Totoro Forest
Walk with your guide through Totoro Forest No. 1, the best-preserved section of the protected Sayama Hills woodland. Your guide explains the local wildlife and plants, and how local people saved this forest from development.
1 hour • Admission ticket free -
2
Views across one of the most scenic reservoirs near Tokyo — cherry blossoms in spring, deep green in summer, golden leaves in autumn.
20 minutes • Admission ticket free -
3Tokorozawa
Mikajima Hachiman Shrine (20 min) A small forest shrine rarely visited by tourists. Your guide explains Shinto customs and why shrines sit in forests.
20 minutes • Admission ticket free -
4
Kurosuke's House (20 min) View and photograph the house from the gate. The house is usually open on Saturdays only and may close without notice. Entry is optional and outside the tour; guides cannot accompany guests inside.
20 minutes • Admission ticket not included -
5Tokorozawa
Wada-en tea shop (20 min) Matcha break and local Sayama tea (pay on site).
20 minutes • Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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