A visitor attraction featuring IP owned by Japanese anime legend Studio Ghibli is to open in Japan
More than five years in the planning, the park opens to the public on 1 November
There are no rides – instead, the site is literally a themed park
The park will initially open with three main sites: Hill of Youth, Dondoko Forest and Ghibli Grand Warehouse
The world’s first visitor attraction featuring IP owned by hugely popular Studio Ghibli is set to launch in Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
More than five years in the planning, the anime park opens to the public on 1 November and is based on the stories and characters created by the animation studio.
While it is being described as a theme park, the site – located inside the Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park – will feature no rides nor Disney-style fireworks displays.
Instead, the park will offer visitors the opportunity to “discover all the secrets hidden in the world of Studio Ghibli”.
“It is a park that represents the world of Studio Ghibli,” the studio says.
“With close consultation with the surrounding forest, it is being built so there are no big attractions or rides.
“Instead, we invite guests to take a stroll, feel the wind, and discover the wonders we have created.”
The park will initially open with three main sites: Hill of Youth, Dondoko Forest and Ghibli Grand Warehouse.
According to Ghibli, the Grand Warehouse has been built inside an expo hall and is the largest of the spaces opening in the first wave.
It will feature an exhibition room, a children’s playground, restaurants, retail areas and a separate area featuring large exhibits from Studio Ghibli movies.
There is also a small cinema with 150 seats.
Those familiar with Studio Ghibli’s work are treated to a number of iconic features from the film sets.
For example, there is a reproduction of the airship from ‘Laputa: Castle in the Sky’, which hangs from the ceiling.
“Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse is an indoor facility that stores all of the studio’s secrets, from large to small artifacts and exhibits from past Studio Ghibli movies,” Studio Ghibli says.
“Inside, guests will find everything from fantasy-filled exhibitions – such as Robot Soldier, Cat Bus, and kid-sized film studio exhibitions – to materials and resources that reveal the secrets of Studio Ghibli films.
“On the Hill of Youth, there stands World Emporium, the antique shop from Whisper of the Heart.
“In Dondoko Forest, “Dondoko-do” awaits you at the top of the forest hill that sits behind Satsuki and Mei’s House.”
The park will be expanded on a regular basis, with two other areas — Valley of Witches and Mononoke Village — expected to open by spring 2024.