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My Neighbour Totoro train jingles now playing at Tokorozawa Station【Videos】

Oona McGee Nov 4, 2020
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Have a listen to the five new Ghibli departure melodies delighting passengers in Japan right now.

Ever since it was revealed that Studio Ghibli would be getting its first-ever train station jingles, we’ve been counting down the days to 3 November, when the new melodies would be making their debut at Tokorozawa Station in Tokyo’s neighbouring Saitama Prefecture.

The five new departure melodies are snippets of songs from the hit movie My Neighbour Totoro, made all the more special due to the fact that Tokorozawa is famous for being the real-life birthplace of Totoro from the film.

Tokorozawa is also home to Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki, who credits its Saitama Hills area for inspiring him to come up with the idea for the character, saying, “If we didn’t live in Tokorozawa, Totoro would never have been born.”

▼ Miyazaki’s love for the area was detailed in the 2018 book, “The Place Where Totoro Was Born“.

So it’s nice to see the area now giving some love back to the studio that helped to preserve it and put it on the map, by way of the new melodies now ringing out at the train station every few minutes.

Passengers have instantly fallen in love with the new jingles, so let’s listen to the music that’s putting a smile on their faces, starting with the melody being played on platform one at the station, which is a snippet from the “Sanpo” opening tune (known as “Hey Let’s Go” in English).

▼ Trains on this platform head to Honkawagoe Station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line.

では、まずは、所沢駅1番ホームの発車メロディー🚉🎶

西武新宿線本川越方面ホーム
「さんぽ 1番ホームver.」#西武線 #西武新宿線 #所沢駅🚉 #1番ホーム #本川越方面 #さんぽ pic.twitter.com/10OdoeUCHw

— とっちゃん (@loveseibutochan) November 3, 2020

On platform two, where trains on the Seibu Shinjuku Line take passengers to Higashimurayama, Kodaira, and Seibu Shinjuku stations, we have an excerpt from the beginning of the “Sanpo” opening tune.

続いて、所沢駅2番ホームの発車メロディー🚉🎶

西武新宿線東村山・小平・西武新宿方面ホーム
「さんぽ 2番ホームver.」#西武線 #西武新宿線 #所沢駅🚉 #2番ホーム #東村山・小平・西武新宿方面 #さんぽ pic.twitter.com/kUsX4FiT5Y

— とっちゃん (@loveseibutochan) November 3, 2020

Over on platform three, where trains head to Akitsu, Ikebukuro, Shin-Kiba, Shibuya, and Yokohama stations, there’s the the beginning of the hook from the film’s closing song, “Tonari no Totoro” (“My Neighbour Totoro“).

所沢駅まで行ってトトロの発車メロディを聴いてきた！ pic.twitter.com/e5Q6sGTCMU

— クマSeoul (@kumaSeoul23105) November 3, 2020

On platform four, where limited-express trains head off to Honkawagoe Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line, there’s another snippet from “Tonari no Totoro“.

今日から所沢駅の発車メロディが変更されました。
4番線　飯能方面（主に特急）
となりのトトロ　Bメロ部分#西武鉄道　 #所沢駅　 #発車メロディ　 #となりのトトロ pic.twitter.com/gRvaOWX33T

— Hero-Roto (@rotono_tsurugi) November 3, 2020

And lastly, on platform five, where trains on the Seibu Ikebukuro line head into Hanno, Yokoze, and Seibu Chichibu stations, there’s a third snippet from “Tonari no Totoro“, and it’s the last part of the song’s hook.

今日から所沢駅の発車メロディが変更されました。
5番線　飯能方面
となりのトトロ　サビ部分後半#西武鉄道　 #所沢駅　 #発車メロディ　 #となりのトトロ pic.twitter.com/Mdyqjyi69Z

— Hero-Roto (@rotono_tsurugi) November 3, 2020

▼ This tweet puts all five different Totoro train jingles together in one clip.

https://twitter.com/TokyoRapidTrain/status/1323486983184769024

According to Tokorozawa City, the use of Ghibli songs as train departure melodies is a first for Japan, and they believe the studio’s director, Hayao Miyazaki, approved of the project as a way to further promote green conservation efforts in Totoro’s birthplace.

With a statue of Totoro due to appear at the station by the end of the year, it’s the perfect incentive to get Ghibli fans to take the short 30-50-minute train ride out of Tokyo to visit the place where Totoro was born, and visit Miyazaki’s beloved Totoro’s Forest as well.

Source: Nippon News Network
Photos © SoraNews24
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