Your first sword in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the Kokiri Sword, hidden in a chest inside the Forest Training Center on the western side of Kokiri Forest.
You need it before anything else can happen, because Mido will not let you see the Great Deku Tree without both a sword and a Deku Shield.
We recorded ourselves getting the Kokiri Sword on Switch 2 for the video at the end of this guide. The screenshots in this guide come from the same recording.
Finding the Training Center
Head to the western side of Kokiri Forest and look for a fenced area up on a hill. Your mini-map helps here, because the entrance is not obvious from ground level.
Work through the fences to the far end and you will find a crawlspace in the wall. Press the prompt to crawl through.
The Rolling Boulder
Inside is a narrow passage with a large boulder rolling along it, and walking straight in gets you flattened.
The passage has alcoves set into the walls. Duck into one when the boulder is coming toward you, wait for it to pass, then move on to the next. It is a timing puzzle rather than a speed one, and there is no penalty for waiting.
Reaching the Chest
From where you enter, zigzag left then right to the end of the passage. In the Switch 2 remake you climb a ladder to reach the chest; in the original it sits on a tree stump at the end of the maze. Open it for the Kokiri Sword.
Why You Cannot Skip It
Mido is guarding the path to the Great Deku Tree and he will not move until you are carrying both the Kokiri Sword and a Deku Shield.
The shield is bought from the shop in the village for 40 rupees, so between the two you have a small errand before the game proper starts. Players who wander off looking for the Deku Tree first end up stuck at Mido with no explanation of what is missing.
Tips Most Players Miss
- Cut the grass for rupees before the shop trip. The shield costs 40 and the game does not hand it to you.
- The boulder cannot hurt you in an alcove. Patience beats sprinting every time.
- Both items are required, not either. A sword alone will not get you past Mido.
The Kokiri Sword stays useful far longer than it looks, and it is the weapon you carry until the Master Sword. Our full Zelda guides cover the series, and if you are here for the Switch 2 version, everything that has changed covers what is different this time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Kokiri Sword in Ocarina of Time? In a chest inside the Forest Training Center, on the western side of Kokiri Forest, reached through a crawlspace.
How do you get past the rolling boulder? Duck into the alcoves in the passage walls when it rolls toward you, then move between passes.
Why won’t Mido let me through? You need both the Kokiri Sword and a Deku Shield. Having only one is not enough.
Where do you get the Deku Shield? From the shop in Kokiri Forest, for 40 rupees.