Geocache Description
This is a cache series which highlights the works by Japanese filmmaker and artist Hayao Miyazaki, a co-founder of Studio Ghibli. He has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and as a maker of anime feature films and is widely regarded as one of the greatest animation filmmakers. This is a puzzle cache that will take you to where the Kodama Tree Spirits likes to hang out. The cache is NOT at the posted coordinates. Solve the puzzle below to find your way to the Kodama Tree.
Note: This cache has a keyword that is required to unlock the Totoro Forest Bonus cache for this series. Please leave laminated clue cards in the cache containers. See the links at the bottom of this listing to access all of the caches in the series.
Kodama Tree Spirits
Kodama Tree Spirits are prominently featured in Hayao Miyazaki's anime film Princess Mononoke. They are portrayed as small, white humanoids with large, rattling heads and mask-like features, with asymmetrical black dots for eyes and mouth (and move similar to bobbleheads). They are a sign that the forest is healthy. In Japanese folklore, Kodama are Spirits that inhabit trees, similar to the dryads of Greek mythology. The phenomenon known as yamabiko, when sounds make a delayed echoing effect in mountains and valleys, is sometimes attributed to this kind of spirit, and may also be referred to as "Kodama".
Kodama Puzzle cache
Kodama Tree Spirits like to play Rīchi Mahjong, a variation of mahjong. Solve the simple puzzle below to find where the Kodamas likes to hang out.
You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.
Links to the series of caches. These caches can be found in any order.
For Best Mystery/Puzzle Cache and For Best Theme/Series
NOTICE: This cache is hidden with the permission of the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) Park manager at Burke Lake Park. Geocachers must abide by all Park Authority rules, regulations and other restrictions. This specifically includes park access times. Unless posted otherwise, all Park Authority parks are open from Dawn to Dusk. Night Caching in Park Authority parks is expressly forbidden. Please note: There may be a fee to enter the park at certain times of the year for Non-Fairfax County residents.
Source: Much of the information in this puzzle was sourced from the Ghibli Wiki and Wikipedia.