I Followed a Cartoon Cat

I discovered the place where I would want to live if I ever decided to settle in Japan. I feel reluctant to share it with the world. This little town is a lovely little secret which I almost want to keep that way.

I have always loved the Miyazaki film 耳をすませば, or Whisper of the Heart. It features the John Denver song "Country Roads" (the result of which being that every Japanese person knows that song by heart) and is a charming and touching tale of young love. 

I decided that while I am in Japan, I should check out some of the places that inspired Miyazaki films. I did some research and found that Whisper of the Heart takes place in a small city in West Tokyo called 

多摩ニュータウン, Tama New Town, accessible by the rail station Seiseki-Sakuragaoka on the Keio line. 

When I arrived, I felt discouraged. It took about an hour to get there, and the small city seemed nothing more than a typical city with way too much concrete and not nearly enough foliage. Little did I know, this was merely a farce, for hiding behind the expanse of buildings lie the loveliest neighbourhood nestled into the hills.

After wandering aimlessly around the station and taking a photo of the famous Keio store sign from the movie, I decided to give up on finding real life areas of town portrayed in the movie. 

However, just at that moment, I saw a little sign near one of the entrances to the station. It depicted the path that the cat in the film takes when the main character decides to follow it. I made up my mind to follow the path of the animated cat as well.

Doing so turned out to be a wonderful decision. It led me away from the heart of the city up a winding road and multiple steep staircases into a beautiful and neighbourhood. 

The homes were massive by Japanese standards and nestled inconspicuously into the hillside. Stunningly beautiful trees of every colour formed a canopy over many parts of the neighbourhood and gave off the earthy aroma of the earlier rain. As a side note, one of my hands-down favourite things about autumn in Japan is the intense juxtaposition of colours. Some trees are void of leaves, some are vibrant red, some yellow, and some are still as green as they were in summer. 

Walking through the silent streets brought me immense peace, and led me to the decision that if I ever decided to stay in Japan forever, it would be in that neighbourhood.

One of my favourite parts of visiting that town was how off-the-beaten-path of a destination it was. The only other foreigner I saw was a man sitting in the Starbucks in the station. 

I am sure the locals were figuratively rolling their eyes when they saw me snapping photos of the buildings featured in the Miyazaki film, thinking “yep, another American obsessed with Japanese animation.” I also imagine they are sick of hearing a digitized version of “Country Roads” playing every time a train arrives at the station, but I found it charming.

I’m immensely glad I decided to follow the cat from the movie. Even if it is just a cartoon.