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Azumi Inoue · My Neighbor Totoro · Tonari no Totoro OP
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Synced lyrics
arukō arukō watashi wa genki
Let's walk, let's walk — I'm full of energy!
Let's walk, let's walk, I [topic] energetic
aruku no daisuki dondon ikō
I love walking — let's keep going!
Walking [nominalizer] love, steadily let's go
sakamichi tonneru kusappara
Slopes, tunnels, grassy fields
Slope, tunnel, grassy-field
ipponbashi ni dekoboko jarimichi
A log bridge, a bumpy gravel road
Log-bridge and bumpy gravel-road
kumo no su kugutte kudarimichi
Ducking through spider webs, down the hill we go
Spider-web duck-through, downhill-path
mitsubachi bunbun hanabatake
Honeybees buzzing in the flower fields
Honeybee buzz-buzz flower-field
hinata ni tobidase nukarumichi
Jump out into the sunshine, through the muddy road
Sunny-spot into jump-out, muddy-road
hachiawase shita no wa konnichiwa
When we bump into someone — hello!
Chance-encounter did [explanatory] [topic] hello
tomodachi takusan ureshii na
So many friends — how happy I am!
Friends many, happy [emphasis]
kitsune tanuki wo yokome de mite
Glancing sideways at a fox and a tanuki
Fox, raccoon-dog [object] sidelong-glance with looking
Kitsune (foxes) and tanuki (raccoon dogs) are iconic animals in Japanese folklore, often depicted as mischievous shapeshifters. They frequently appear in Studio Ghibli films.
mori no naka wo hashitte ikō
Let's run through the forest!
Forest's inside [through] running let's-go
kusamura no naka kara nozoita
Peeking out from inside the thicket
Thicket's inside from peeked
chiisana me chiisana me chiisana me
Little eyes, little eyes, little eyes
Small eyes, small eyes, small eyes
This ending evokes the small forest creatures (like Totoro's soot sprites) peeking curiously from the bushes — a recurring Ghibli motif of nature's hidden, watchful magic.