The Find:
My Neighbor Totoro
passport cover
Original asking price:
$15
Where Found:
Fa Yuen
Street Market

Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro is one of the most internationally beloved Japanese movies of all time. American film critic Roger Ebert not only placed it squarely among his ‘Great Movies’ selection but also described it in a review as “a children’s film made for the world we should live in, rather than the one we occupy”. Out here in East Asia, though, fans of the magical creature(s) known as Lung Mao (Dragon Cat) in Cantonese include the young at heart as well as the youthful. Consequently, a variety of Totoro paraphernalia like this My Neighbor Totoro passport cover is readily available and snapped up by even those adults who cannot imagine a year passing by without going on holiday in foreign climes. At the same time, though, these individuals are not above stooping to get unofficial Totoro items - if they want this particular one - since Studio Ghibli and its affiliates haven’t come up with an official My Neighbor Totoro themed passport cover just yet…

Unless they live in the area (or are in transit to Tuen Mun), not many people would step off the train at Wong Tai Sin station. But it is the stop-off for the Taoist Wong Tai Sin Temple, the most famous attraction in the area, where, on Chinese New Year’s eve, thousands of people wait outside until midnight when they rush in, believing the earliest in to worship will have the most good fortune in the coming year. And during the next few days, the 18,000 sq metres of temple grounds has the worst air pollution in Hong Kong – incense smoke pervades the place and you can barely keep your eyes open, never mind breathe. But the temple isn’t the only place you can go in the district. Our next best pick is Nga Tsin Wai Village, which originated in the Nan Song Dynasty and is now one of the oldest villages in the urban area. The squatter houses made of iron sheets are visually amazing but the food stalls inside some are even more astounding. The Creative Arts Playground, with more than 50 game booths, shops and food stalls, is next to the temple and is also worth a look. Well, okay, it is not a very splendid fair, but as it is only a minute from the temple, why not drop in?