Forum - View topicINTEREST: Hayao Miyazaki Does Volunteer Work at 'Totoro's Forest'
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Spoofer
 Posts: 356 Location: NY |
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Am I the only one who woke up with hazy vision, and misread the current top article on the site as "Hayao Miyazaki Dies something something"...?
That certainly woke me up... And nearly gave me a heart attack... |
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Mohawk52
 Posts: 8202 Location: England, UK |
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Knowing his age and the amount for fags he smokes daily I'm surprised it didn't give him one as well.
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_V_
 Posts: 619 |
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I am shocked to discover that this forest, which I've often heard referred to as a national treasure as one of the few really beautiful natural forests they have....is only slightly bigger than a *football field*?
Has the natural environment of Japan already become so deteriorated that this is all that's left? |
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Mohawk52
Posts: 8202 Location: England, UK |
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TJ_Kat
Posts: 362 Location: Saskatoon, Canada |
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was i the only one who read this then pictured miyazaki 'helping' by standing around yelling the japanese equivalent to 'stay off my lawn! damn kids!'
he's really gotta kick the crotchety old man image he's made for himself. i want to think nice things about him, it just doesn't usually happen that way. |
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BleuVII
 Posts: 672 Location: Tokorozawa, Japan |
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TJ_Kat, seriously?! Is that the image than an active environmentalist brings to mind for you? I happen to LIVE in Tokorozawa (the city where he lives) and work in Higashi-Murayama (where this park is), and I've been to Mitaka many times (where the Ghibli Museum is). I can tell you that Tokorozawa and Higashi-Murayama are some of the most beautiful places that Tokyo has to offer, largely due to the efforts of this crotchety old man. As for Mitaka... 30 years ago the place was a dump, with its river one of the most polluted in all of Japan. Miyazaki spearheaded a clean-up project, and now the city is filled with lush vegetation, the river looks so clean I'm tempted to fill my water bottle in it, and it's so beautiful that people will take the train there just to take a walk in the numerous parks.
The man is a local hero, and for good reason. I only wish I would have known about this cleanup project so I could have biked down to join them. |
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Sora/Sanctuary
 Posts: 18 |
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Isn't that the same river Miyazaki talked about pulling a bicycle out of when he was younger that was his inspiration for no face in Spirited Away? |
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bravetailor
Posts: 817 |
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I'm only 32 and I'm already a crotchety old man. And I wouldn't at all be offended if someone thought of me that way. There's a lot in this world to be grumpy about. Today's youth is just but one of them! |
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Ranmah
 Posts: 294 Location: Stomp'n on Tokyo Tower |
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I hope to visit that park when I come back to Tokyo.
Such an uplifting story. 
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TJ_Kat
Posts: 362 Location: Saskatoon, Canada |
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sorry, i didn't mean to suggest miyazaki hasn't made huge, selfless contributions in reality. i don't doubt it.
however, he does have a bit of a reputation for being a crab, and what i said was the first image that came to mind. and he had that smug look on his face like in the clip where john lasseter introduces him on all disney's ghibli releases. it was a funny mental image, so i shared. |
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BleuVII
Posts: 672 Location: Tokorozawa, Japan |
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Short answer, yes. One day, I set out on a bike with a picnic lunch and a map trying to find the place (which is known around here as Hachi-Koku Yama [The 8-Country Mountain], not Fushi no Mori), and when I got there, my first reaction was "This is it?" There is a cell phone tower literally 4 feet outside of the park. Not very Totoro-ish... It is, however, a beautiful forest. TJ_Kat, sorry to misintepret you. Had there actually been a picture of him in the ANN article, your comment would have been more understandable. With no picture, I assumed you were getting "crotchety old man" from the context of the story itself. My bad. I understand what you mean now. |
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