Tokyo Totoro Inspired Forest Lake Sayama and Local Tea Walk

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.

1. 1

   Totoro Forest

   1 hour

   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.

2. 2

   Lake Sayama

   20 min

   Views across one of the most scenic reservoirs near Tokyo — cherry blossoms in spring, deep green in summer, golden leaves in autumn.

3. 3

   Tokorozawa

   20 min

   Mikajima Hachiman Shrine (20 min) A small forest shrine rarely visited by tourists. Your guide explains Shinto customs and why shrines sit in forests.

4. 4

   kurosuke's house

   20 min

   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.

5. 5

   Tokorozawa

   20 min

   Wada-en tea shop (20 min) Matcha break and local Sayama tea (pay on site).

• 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

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.