Pom Poko tanuki to once again run around Tama Hills.

Studio Ghibli’s anime film Pom Poko follows a group of tanuki as they use their shape-shifting abilities and other powers to cope with changes and challenges as they come into closer contact with human communities. While the mystical elements of the 1994 theatrical feature are flights of fancy, the setting, Tama Hills, is a real-world place.

Sitting on the border of Tokyo and neighboring Kanagawa Prefecture, Tama Hills is a mix of forested land and residential developments. Starting later this month, visitors to the area will want to keep their eyes peeled when trains go by, because they just might spot some of the Ghibli movie’s characters.

A special Pom Poko train will be running along the Tama Monorail line beginning on October 17. The four-car train will be wrapped in artwork from the film, and will travel along the entire length of the line, between Kamikitadai and Tama Center Stations.

▼ The Tama Monorail (also known as the Tama Toshi Monorail) line

An exact timetable for the Pom Poko train is yet to be announced, but the Tama Monorail operators have said that they’ll be offering a one-day unlimited-rides ticket priced at 890 yen (US$6) for adults or 450 yen for kids featuring illustrations of the anime’s tanuki (regular single-ride tickets can also be purchased as usual at the station).

▼ Adult (left) and kid (right) one-day tickets

A Pom Poko stamp rally will also be held, in which passengers who mark their entry paper with special stamps at Tama center, Tama Dobutsuen, Tachikawa Kita, and Kamikitadai Stations can receive a special image-changing art card that, depending on the angle it’s viewed from, shows either a quintet of tanuki or their in-disguise human forms.

The Pom Poko train, and its stamp rally, are scheduled to run from October 17 to December 21, and during that period pre-production artwork for the anime will also be on display inside Tama Dobutsuen Station. And if you’re looking for something to do in the Tama Hills area after taking the train there, Tama Lake is one of the best bicycling spots in Tokyo.

Source: Tama Monorail
Featured image: Tama Monorail
Top image: Studio Ghibli
Insert images: Tama Monorail
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