AOMORI -- A large hole in a beach-side volcanic rock formation has been attracting tourists to Rokkasho in Aomori Prefecture. The hole has been nicknamed "Tomari no Totoro" on the internet as the hole's outline resembles the popular fluffy and mysterious Studio Ghibli Inc.'s animation character Totoro, and also Tomari, the village district where the hole is located, closely resembles the first word in Ghibli-produced animation title "Tonari no Totoro" (My Neighbor Totoro). Visitors to the rock hole often solely rely on information gleaned from social media.
According to the tourist association of the village, the rock hole is about 8 meters tall and 4 meters wide. Over time, ocean waves eroded the Totoro-shaped hole into the volcanic rock. Seen from the land toward the sea, the hole looks like an outline of Totoro's round figure when standing sideways.
The place was long known to locals, but it became a hot topic on the internet last year. The village picked the rock hole for the cover photo of its publicity magazine for July to promote it as a new sightseeing spot. The tourist association is planning to set up direction boards pointing to the rock hole and indicate it on the village's sightseeing map.
"I hope it will become a good starting point for tourists to learn about other places of interest in our village, such as odd-shaped rocks and a waterfall," an official of the association said.
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