Sayama Hill (狭山丘陵) is an inselberg or isolated hill like Ayers Rock in the middle of flat Musashino. It is like a green island in the densely populated Tokyo suburb.
Japanese animation movie titled Tonarino Totoro (となりのトトロ My Neighbor Totoro) directed by Hayao Miyazaki (宮崎駿) is a nostalgic story set in Sayama Hill in the 1960s when it was a typical rural area but it is not like the movie anymore.
Sayama Hill strides over several municipalities in Tokyo and Saitama prefectures. This photo was taken in Higashi-yamato city (東大和市), Tokyo.
It is a typical Satoyama (里山), traditional agroforestry, in which a forest is maintained according to the needs of neighbouring communities (里 Sato) that exploit its resources such as fire woods, construction material, food, fertiliser, etc.
Loading contexts...