Totoro is hungry for acorns, and it’s all for a good cause.

Every autumn, acorns fall from the trees in Japan, where they’re picked up by children and woodland creatures, including the character of Totoro from the Studio Ghibli film My Neighbour Totoro.

This joint love of collecting acorns, shared by Totoro and children, has given birth to a unique service at Donguri Kyowakoku (“Acorn Republic“), the Studio Ghibli-affiliated retail chain that sells official Ghibli goods. The service being offered is the “Donguri Bank“, or “Acorn Bank“, and it rewards you for every acorn deposited.

▼ When we say “acorns” we do mean actual, real acorns.

Like any official institution, the Donguri Bank comes with terms and conditions, and the first rule is that the acorns collected must be fresh and naturally fallen. Our reporter Puniko Ninoude has an abundance of acorns near her house, and a little child who loves collecting them, so they took great care in selecting the most beautiful ones they could find for Totoro.

The bank recommends collecting acorns from different areas so as not to disturb the natural ecosystem, so that’s what they did before moving on to the next step — the water test.

For this step, the acorns need to be rinsed and soaked in water, and only those that settle to the bottom are considered fresh acorns worthy of depositing into the bank.

These acorns then need to be air dried, taking care to avoid exposing them to too much sunlight as this will cause them to crack.

By the time they’d finished cleaning and drying their acorns, Puniko and her little one counted a total of 135 and placed them in a bag to take to the bank, being sure to write the total on the outside of the bag.

Though there was a bit of work involved in getting the acorns bank-ready, it turned out to be a fun parent-child project. Plus, the care they’d put into the process only increased their level of excitement when they stopped by a Donguri Kyowakoku that had the “どんぐり銀行” (“Donguri Ginkou”) or “Donguri Bank” sign by the cash register.

Upon handing their bag of acorns to the clerk, they were issued with their long-awaited Donguri Bank passbook, which came with an issuance fee of 110 yen (US$0.73).

It was a small price to pay for the book, especially when Puniko saw the smile of joy it brought to her daughter. Her little one then took great care in writing her name on the passbook, and after opening it, they were able to see…

▼ …their bank balance!

The passbook has “deposit”, “withdrawal”, and “balance” columns, and one acorn is equivalent to one “D”, which stands for “donguri”. So what do acorns get you at the Acorn Bank?

▼ 100 acorns will get you one seedling!

You can choose to either receive the seedling to personally nurture yourself or entrust the company to plant one for you on your behalf, in Okawa Village, Kochi Prefecture, where the bank’s head branch is located. Acorns can be traded in once a year, between January and February, with seedlings distributed from May to June.

Some of the acorns given to the bank go on to become fertiliser while others are used in folk crafts, creating a cycle of sustainability in line with the values of the studio. From September this year, new passbook holders are given a free sticker upon opening their acorn account, but unfortunately, there’s some sad news, which Puniko discovered after receiving this leaflet from staff.

▼ The Acorn Bank will close its doors and cease to exist in February 2025.

With acorns being accepted until February 2025, this is your last chance to collect acorns and open an account with the Donguri Bank. Acorns are becoming scarcer at this time of year, which closes the door even further on the opportunity, so you’ll want to act fast and visit your nearest branch to get in on this fun way to help the environment.

Anyone who deposits 100 acorns by the end of February will be able to receive a seedling at the end of May, but if you aren’t able to collect enough to plant a tree, you can always deposit a few by February to get the Donguri Acorn passbook, in the hopes that one day the bank might open again.

Related: Donguri Kyowakoku
Photos © SoraNews24
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