Countryside where farms and woods mix

What does the Totoro no Furusato fund do?

Buys forest plots to protect them

What is Kurosuke's House?

An old farmhouse used by the trust

Sayama Hills Quiz: The Real Forest Behind My Neighbor Totoro

This Sayama Hills quiz walks through the wooded hills on the edge of Tokyo that inspired My Neighbor Totoro. Play 10 interactive questions on Hayao Miyazaki's home in Tokorozawa, satoyama countryside, the Totoro no Furusato fund that buys forest plots, two reservoir lakes, the old farmhouse called Kurosuke's House and how the film's name echoes the town.

Start Sayama Hills Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Film
Which Ghibli film did the Sayama Hills inspire?
Town
Which nearby town did Miyazaki live in?
Region
Which two areas do the hills straddle?
Land
What is satoyama?
Fund
What does the Totoro no Furusato fund do?
Donor
Who donated to help start the trust?
Lakes
Which reservoirs lie in the hills?
House
What is Kurosuke's House?
Name
Which word may echo in the name Totoro?
Era
In which decade is My Neighbor Totoro set?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which Ghibli film did the Sayama Hills inspire?
Answer: My Neighbor Totoro
It was released in 1988.
Q2: Which nearby town did Miyazaki live in?
Answer: Tokorozawa
It is in Saitama Prefecture.
Q3: Which two areas do the hills straddle?
Answer: Saitama and Tokyo
They sit northwest of central Tokyo.
Q4: What is satoyama?
Answer: Countryside where farms and woods mix
People shaped it over centuries.
Q5: What does the Totoro no Furusato fund do?
Answer: Buys forest plots to protect them
It began in 1990.
Q6: Who donated to help start the trust?
Answer: Hayao Miyazaki
He also painted signs for it.
Q7: Which reservoirs lie in the hills?
Answer: Lake Sayama and Lake Tama
They supply Tokyo with water.
Q8: What is Kurosuke's House?
Answer: An old farmhouse used by the trust
Kurosuke means soot sprite.
Q9: Which word may echo in the name Totoro?
Answer: Tokorozawa
Mei also mixes up the word troll.
Q10: In which decade is My Neighbor Totoro set?
Answer: The 1950s
Rural Japan was still common then.

The Real Woods Behind Totoro

The Sayama Hills rise on the border of Saitama Prefecture and Tokyo, northwest of the city center. Hayao Miyazaki lived nearby in Tokorozawa, and the hills' mix of woods, rice fields and farms, known as satoyama, inspired the setting of My Neighbor Totoro, released in 1988.

As suburbs spread, local people started the Totoro no Furusato fund in 1990 to buy forest plots and protect them. Miyazaki donated to the trust and painted signs for it. It now cares for many small woods, known together as Totoro's Forest, and an old farmhouse called Kurosuke's House.

Two reservoirs, Lake Sayama and Lake Tama, lie within the hills and supply Tokyo with water. The film is set in the 1950s, when rural life was still common. Some fans note how the name Totoro echoes Tokorozawa, while in the film Mei mixes up the word troll.

What This Quiz Teaches

Ghibli fans will enjoy these questions.

Where the hills are
How they inspired the film
How the forest is protected
Which places to visit
How the name may echo

Did You Know?

Seibu Railway lines reach the hills.
Rhinoceros beetles live in the woods.
Volunteers help clear trails.
Autumn colors fill the forest.
Ghibli Museum is in nearby Mitaka.