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“Find your inner Totoro you must,” my true love said to me.
“How do I find him?” I asked.
“Locate the Great Totoro of Noto,” she replied.
I enlisted Dr. Geoff-Geoff’s help. He and I would scour the Noto Peninsula. He thought it an exciting idea, and bid farewell to his friend. Besides, she thought it a pretty cool idea too. 
Dr. Geoff-Geoff found a perch for me, and off we went. 
We went up lots of mountains, pedal, pedal, pedal. We sped down lots of mountains, whiz, whiz, whiz. 
We made a pretty cool pair, don’t you think? 
I found a fish with a big mouth. “Where can I find the Great Totoro?”
He didn’t know.
I found some mackerel. “Where is the Great Totoro?”
He didn’t reply.
I asked a fish with a big ugly face. “Where is the Great Totoro”?
He just looked me in the eye.
I found another fish, and asked him too. “Where is the Great Totoro?”
He didn’t even look me in the eye.
I asked Crab. “Where is the Great Totoro?”
“Ask Grasshopper,” he replied.
I asked Grasshopper. “Where is the Great Totoro?”
“Ask Bear,” said Grasshopper.
I looked for Bear, but Dr. Geoff-Geoff warned me to watch out for bears. 
Every day, we scoured the horizon. 
And looked and looked. After a hard day on the road, Dr. Geoff-Geoff usually shared his ice cream with me. 
I asked a man with a funny mask and a funny voice. 
I asked a man building an ark. He said I needed to come back with Maria if I wanted a ride. 
I asked some North Korean sailors unloading shipments of plastic bags full of white powder in the middle of the night. 
I mailed a letter to the Great Totoro. 
Day after day, we pedaled hard, and ate well. 
But at the end of each day, the sun went down, and no Great Totoro. 
We pedaled and pedaled. All the way around the Noto Peninsula, up and down lots of mountains and into day-long headwinds we pedaled. 
We saw gorgeous shorelines. But we never saw the Great Totoro. 
At least, I don’t THINK we ever saw him.
Sophie Wore Blue 