Totoro Forest

[Haley R]

Have any of you been here? Is it worth the trip from Tokyo? I’m thinking it’ll be too far but considering it. Ds is 3 and obsessed with Totoro but the Ghibli museum isn’t something he would enjoy. I thought maybe hiking the forest and going to the house would be fun but wanted to see if anyone here has been there.

I’ll take ideas for any other Totoro ideas. I’m having a hard time finding things in Tokyo or close by. A lot of the places are too far

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Donguri Republic at Tokyo Skytree.

 

[Agent 86]

Your toddler may be different to mine, but I know that mine would vastly prefer the Studio Ghibli Museum over a forest.

This may help: https://tdrexplorer.com/studio-ghibli-merchandise-japan/

 

[Haley R]

Your toddler may be different to mine, but I know that mine would vastly prefer the Studio Ghibli Museum over a forest.

This may help: https://tdrexplorer.com/studio-ghibli-merchandise-japan/

My ds is all about being outside and likes hiking. Dh and I went to the Ghibli museum in 2019 and didn’t really enjoy it so I’m not sure ds will either. He doesn’t do great with museums that aren’t extremely interactive.

 

[Kwami]

But it has a catbus that the kids can play in!

 

[Haley R]

But it has a catbus that the kids can play in!

I saw that! I’m just not sure there’s enough at the museum to keep him entertained and last time we were there it was so busy we had a hard time seeing things inside and the line for the cafe was extremely long

 

[Agent 86]

My ds is all about being outside and likes hiking.

I'd consider doing a shorter day trip, perhaps to Mt Takao, and seeing how that goes. If it goes well, perhaps go ahead with the Totoro Forest day trip?

Maybe try asking on r/ghibli at Reddit too?

 

[soniam]

We plan to go to the Ghibli Park in June. Just waiting for tickets to be released. I am so excited that all of the areas will be open. We plan to go there on our way from Kyoto to Tokyo. We will just plan to spend the day there. We might hit the museum in Tokyo too. We are all adults, well 2 parents and an 18 year old But we love Studio Ghibli.

 

[Haley R]

We plan to go to the Ghibli Park in June. Just waiting for tickets to be released. I am so excited that all of the areas will be open. We plan to go there on our way from Kyoto to Tokyo. We will just plan to spend the day there. We might hit the museum in Tokyo too. We are all adults, well 2 parents and an 18 year old But we love Studio Ghibli.

If we were going to Kyoto I would definitely go to the Ghibli park.

 

[Haley R]

I'd consider doing a shorter day trip, perhaps to Mt Takao, and seeing how that goes. If it goes well, perhaps go ahead with the Totoro Forest day trip?

Maybe try asking on r/ghibli at Reddit too?

We have Mt Takao listed as an option for one of our day trips but they’re actually close to the same distance from where we’re staying. We’ll probably end up skipping the Totoro forest. Maybe ds will be content with just shopping for Totoro stuff. He may not care that much about the forest. We’re for sure doing day trips to Hakone, Enoshima, and Yokohama. Enoshima will be a long one but I think it’ll be worth it

 

[Agent 86]

Pre-kids, we didn’t enjoy Enoshima very much. I personally wouldn't have it on my list with a toddler. The cave/s, lookout tower, etc were okay, but not really worth the travel time for us.

 

[Haley R]

Pre-kids, we didn’t enjoy Enoshima very much. I personally wouldn't have it on my list with a toddler. The cave/s, lookout tower, etc were okay, but not really worth the travel time for us.

Wow really? I was pretty excited about it. I thought the caves looked awesome. Did you go to the aquarium there?

Do you have a suggestion for a better day trip? We have Hakone and Yokohama as our other day trips

 

[Kwami]

Enoshima looks pretty great to me. Lots of outdoor stuff to do, some neat caves, a nice aquarium. A good sunny day trip.

 

[Haley R]

Enoshima looks pretty great to me. Lots of outdoor stuff to do, some neat caves, a nice aquarium. A good sunny day trip.

I thought so too. It’s a little far for a day trip (about 1 hr 40 min from where we’re staying). We’re also planning on Hakone which is just as far. They will be long days but we didn’t want to change hotels constantly with ds. We thought doing day trips would be easier.

 

[Kwami]

I thought so too. It’s a little far for a day trip (about 1 hr 40 min from where we’re staying). We’re also planning on Hakone which is just as far. They will be long days but we didn’t want to change hotels constantly with ds. We thought doing day trips would be easier.

That's what I always do, too. I hate packing up and unpacking all the time. So, we usually pick a few cities to use as home bases and then take day trips. We'll move about once every 4 nights or so.

 

[Haley R]

That's what I always do, too. I hate packing up and unpacking all the time. So, we usually pick a few cities to use as home bases and then take day trips. We'll move about once every 4 nights or so.

We decided this time to stay in Tokyo the whole trip. We’ll have a whole house to ourselves. We’re spending about 2 weeks there but taking things slow so we don’t overwhelm ourselves. Then moving to Tokyo Disney. I don’t really mind unpacking and packing. The biggest pain for me is dealing with checkout and checkin times. I don’t like being homeless during the day

ETA: Actually after talking to dh I think we’re gonna book a hotel for one night in Hakone and just take a backpack with us, leaving our suitcase in Tokyo. Enoshima will still be a day trip

 

[Kwami]

We decided this time to stay in Tokyo the whole trip. We’ll have a whole house to ourselves. We’re spending about 2 weeks there but taking things slow so we don’t overwhelm ourselves. Then moving to Tokyo Disney. I don’t really mind unpacking and packing. The biggest pain for me is dealing with checkout and checkin times. I don’t like being homeless during the day

ETA: Actually after talking to dh I think we’re gonna book a hotel for one night in Hakone and just take a backpack with us, leaving our suitcase in Tokyo. Enoshima will still be a day trip

That's very close to what we did last time. We stayed at a great apartment in Tokyo for a bit more than two weeks and during that time we took backpacks for a quick weekend in Kyoto. It was a great trip. I hope that yours is, too!

 

[Agent 86]

Did you go to the aquarium there?

No. I think we ran out of time after the caves, etc?

I don’t have any other day trip suggestions as we tried to minimise any big day trips when we travelled with our 2.5 year old.

We’re considering Mt Takao or Mt Mitake for our next trip later this year.

 

[Haley R]

That's very close to what we did last time. We stayed at a great apartment in Tokyo for a bit more than two weeks and during that time we took backpacks for a quick weekend in Kyoto. It was a great trip. I hope that yours is, too!

Did you let them know you would be gone for the weekend? I’m trying to decide if we need to let the owner know we’ll be in Hakone for a night.

 

[jofo]

I read recently that there are Totoro cream puffs at Shiro-Hige’s Cream Puff Factory in Tokyo. The pictures are adorable!