It only took ten years to revisit the “Totoro Shrine” to finally get photos I couldn’t get on my first visit due to all sorts of mishaps, all explained in this linked post! A big change in that ten years is that the monument at this shrine is now called “Totoro”, but ten years ago he was called “Tokoro”. There are some wintersweet (about 12) beside and in the area of Totoro and they are currently in bloom. In addition, it is still hatsumode (New Year / First Prayer) season at the shrine: Kōjiya Hachiman‑gū. Thus, they still have the wooden horse up and various horse amulets. There is also a giant horse ema (prayer plaque) – presumably that will be up all year.
Kōjiya Hachiman‑gū 糀谷八幡宮
Kōjiya Hachiman‑gū is a historic shrine in Tokorozawa, located in the wooded, Totoro‑like landscape of the Sayama Hills. The shrine is known for:
1. Beautiful, hand‑painted goshuin
- Goshuin drawn with mineral pigments (iwa‑enogu)
- Monthly changing designs
- Special seasonal stamps
The shrine isn’t always manned, so be sure to ring in advance or contact them via social media if you would like to buy one of their goshuin. You can can see the current offerings on their website which is linked at the bottom of the post. They also offer mail‑order goshuin.
In addition, they also sell fortune paper, amulets and prayer plaques too. They work on the honor system – put your money in the box provided. They also have hanachozu.
2. A long‑loved local shrine
The shrine has been cherished by locals for generations. It enshrines nine deities and is associated with:
- Protection from misfortune
- Safe childbirth
- Recovery from illness
- Good fortune
- Family safety
- Work success
- Directional protection (方位除け)
3. Special prayers
The shrine performs:
- Shichi‑Go‑San (including for children with developmental disabilities)
- Small, intimate weddings (including LGBTQ couples)
- Doll memorial rites (ningyō kuyō)
- Healing prayers
The priest has a background as a teacher for 37 years, including in special‑needs education, and emphasizes inclusive, individualized ceremonies.
4. Nature-rich environment
The shrine itself has gorgeous mature evergreen trees as well as wintersweet. The latter are currently in bloom. They are in the parking lot. And in the area of the shrine is surrounded by:
- Seasonal flowers
- Fireflies in summer – they do a firefly goshuin too
- Lush forest scenery
Visitors can enjoy the natural beauty of the Sayama Hills throughout the year.
🌳5. Totoro Shrine
But first, don’t miss: the best Totoro in Japan, also in Tokorozawa. And in other areas: an even larger Totoro in Saitama Prefecture. And these other secret Totoro spots too.
The shrine is famous as a “Totoro Shrine” in Saitama, partly due to the Totoro Monument. But also because it is in the official Totoro Forest, an expansive woodland area preserved by a foundation that Hayao Miyazaki himself contributed to. The Totoro Monument is made out of cedar-branches from the shrine. He wasn’t always known as Totoro though, he used to be called “Tokoro-chan”!
When I first discovered him, he was called “Tokoro-chan”! You can even see on the 10+ year old map above, that it refers to the monument as “Tokoro-chan”, with a note that he was inspired by Totoro. I had noticed people referring to him as Totoro on social media. I don’t know which came first: the shrine changed his name and then people started calling him Totoro on social media. Or they started calling him Totoro because that’s what he became on social media!
Totoro x Wintersweet
The wintersweet typically bloom around the second half of January to around early February.
Shrine information
Shrine: Kojiya Hachiman Shrine / Jinja (Hachimangu), 糀谷八幡宮
Address: 78 Kojiya, Tokorozawa, Saitama 359-1166. View on Google Maps.
Hours: there are no official hours at the office, as above, please contact the shrine before visiting if you wish to purchase goshuin.
Access: this shrine is most accessible by car. There are about 20 parking spaces. By public transport, there is no station within walking distance. The nearest are both at least an hour and ten minutes on foot. There is a bus that goes from Kotesashi station to Kojiya bus stop and that bus stop is about a ten-minute walk from the bus stop.
A note on AI
As of January 29th 2026, when you search for the “Totoro Shrine” on various AI sites, they say something along the lines of “there is no Totoro shrine, but people refer to Kurosuke House as a shrine to Totoro”. Meanwhile, when you search in Japanese it will bring up Kojiya Hachiman Shrine. It shows the limitations of AI. For example, it still can’t find information easily when it is in another language to your query. It also shows that AI is just one big content thief! As you will see, within a couple of days of me posting this, AI will steal the information and regurgitate it without referring to this website. Moreover, they will profit on it. Which is why, blogs like mine will cease to exist sooner rather than later. If you want to do your bit to support this blog, simply share it. Thank you.
Hopefully there will still be a place for our vlogs. AI though could replace so much sadly. Unique shrine you found there
There’s been talk of payments, I’ll believe it when I see it. But it’ll be too late by the time they introduce them, so many vlogs / websites have already cut their losses to stop feeding the machine for free!