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Legendary anime director Hayao Miyazaki is a huge friend of the environment, and the Oscar-winning director has been known to donate tons of money and effort into the preservation of one particular forest in Japan which was said to inspire him to make one of his greatest masterpieces, My Neighbor Totoro.
The 5,700-square-meter Fuchi no Mori forest is found in the outskirts of Western Tokyo and the legendary Ghibli co-founder has led a group of over 260 volunteers into the forest which inspired his anime classic to clean-up and get rid of unwanted vegetation.
Miyazaki has donated over 300 million yen just to preserve the forest and save it from a housing development project. According to Japanese newspaper, Asahi Shimbun, “Miyazaki said every morning he heads to his studio after going for a walk in the forest to pick up trash along the path.” The anime legend also serves as the chairman of the Fuchi no Mori no Kai group which heads up the cleaning efforts for the forest.