My quest to find Totoro!

I was first introduced to Totoro in the late 80s when my high school friend, Matt, first showed me the movie, "My Neighbor Totoro". That was before there was an English version, so we watched it in Japanese with English subtitles.

I've always been enchanted by the Totoro character. There's just something about him that makes me smile.

At one point, I think I bought a VHS version of the movie, which came with a small plush Totoro. I gave it to my friend, Kimi, who was also a fan.

I've always enjoyed spotting Totoro plush dolls on occasion, especially when I go shopping in Japantown in San Francisco. I hadn't felt the need to own one, until recently. Sometime in the last year, Dick and I were in a bookstore in Japantown that carries a lot of merchandise from Japan. They had a large Totoro display, including the cutest plush Totoro I have seen! They were so cute, that even Dick told me that I should get one. Unfortunately, they were VERY expensive at that store, as I imagine they were imported from Japan, and their prices were raised. The large version (which is probably at least 2 foot tall, maybe larger) cost more than $500. The medium version was around $100. Now, I loved these guys, but that was just too much money.

Over the last few months, I've looked online for plush Totoro. There are many varieties out there, but I didn't find any that I liked as much as those at the bookstore in Japantown. When we made plans for this trip to Tokyo a couple of months ago, I realized that I would have the opportunity to hopefully find my Totoro here!

So today, I fulfilled my Totoro quest.

There is a toy store in Harajuku called "Kiddy Land" which is quite famous, and known for their large selection of Japanese toys. Dick and I popped into the store on Sunday, and that's when we realized that Snoopy Town was in the entire basement level. Dick became thoroughly overwhelmed by the whole atmosphere (lots of people, merchandise and loud, cutsie music blaring) that we had to leave as soon as I was done shopping in Snoopy Town. It wasn't until later that I realized that Kiddie Land would be the best place to find a Totoro.

So, I made plans to return this morning...

The store didn't open until 11:00am. When I arrived just before 11:00, there was a decent line outside, waiting for the doors to open.

Once they opened, I checked out all levels of the store - there are four levels, as well as Snoopy Town in the basement. The store's footprint isn't huge, but it was plenty large. Each floor featured large sections devoted to different characters or themes. Totoro (and other GhibliMiyazaki characters) were on the second floor.


Kiddie Land - just as the doors were opening at 11:00am


At last! Totoro!

The style of plush Totoro that I've been looking for is the larger, dark grey versions. They are slightly more detailed than some of the other versions. After a long time of pondering, I decided to buy two different sizes. A medium, (which is about 12 inches tall) and a small, smiling version (which is about 6 inches tall.)


wall of Totoro!

I only had 30 minutes to shop in Kiddie Land before I had to leave to take meet Dick and his colleagues at work. We went out to lunch (more on that in another post) in Ginza, where we found another toy store called Toy Park. Dick's colleague, Steve, needed to buy some toys for his two kids at home. His young daughter is a Hello Kitty fan, and I told him about the special Japan-only Hello Kitty merchandise I had seen (Hello Kitty wearing a kimono, etc.,) at Kiddie Land. He was going to make a special trip to Harajuku to shop for his kids, but when we saw the other toy store in Ginza, we decided to check that out. He was able to find what we wanted, and of course, I again go stuck in the Totoro section.

I made a last-minute decision to buy a Cat Bus (a character from the Totoro movie) which I've always loved, but again, they are usually quite expensive. Anyhow, once I realized how much less expensive I could get them for here in Japan, I bought a small cat bus, which I showed Dick as we were leaving the store. He told me he was surprised that I didn't buy the larger Cat Bus, which had a small Totoro plush that actually can go in and out of the Cat Bus! WHAT?! How did I miss that? Upon hearing this news, I steered the 4 men that I was with back to the toy store, and exchanged my Cat Bus for the larger, more elaborate Cat Bus, complete with Totoro!


Totoro section at Toy Park

And so ends my Totoro quest. I am coming home with three new friends, which really cracks me up. I can't remember the last time I bought a stuffed animal while on vacation. Even funnier, I think Dick likes them just as much as I do. :)


My new Totoro friends - happy and excited to come home to San Francisco with me!