Ghibli Park
Set to open sometime in 2023, ‘Ghibli Park’ is currently under construction in Nagoya, Aichi. While details aren’t fully known yet, we do know that the park will be a dedicated to everything Studio Ghibli – a celebration of Japan’s most successful and acclaimed animation company.
The park was originally scheduled to open in 2022 however has been delayed due to COVID-19. The opening will now be staggered across two years, starting with a ‘soft openning’ of the first areas in 2022, followed by the official opening in 2023 and completion of all areas by 2024.
The park will be divided into five themed areas, with the ‘Springtime of Life Hill’ based on ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ and ‘Castle in the Sky’ – including huge castle! – will be the first to open in 2022. The Ghibli ‘Giant Warehouse’ and My Neighbour Totoro’s ‘Dondoko Forest’ will open next in 2023 followed by the final two areas, the Princess Mononoke Village and ‘Witch Valley’ based on ‘Kiki’s Delivery Service’ opening in 2024.
Ghibli Park will be situated over 7.1 hectares on the former site of ‘2005 World Expo and Aichi Earth Expo Memorial Park’. With an expectation of around 1.8 visitors each year, expect the park to quickly become one of Japan’s most popular attractions. As more information becomes available we will update this page.
For further information regarding Studio Ghilbi and the life and work of founder Miyazaki Hayao, see our ‘Art Space Japan: Miyazaki Hayao & Studio Ghibli’ page. If you can’t wait until then, Tokyo’s ‘Ghibli Museum’ can be visited right now but make sure to book well in advance – tickets are always in demand.
