In ancient times, the land lay covered in forests… Hayao Miyazaki is the master storyteller known for weaving magical tales about nature and the need to protect and respect it; passing on his environmentalist mentality to future generations. Now suggesting that he might just be a forest spirit himself, since announcing his departure from the movie world earlier this year, the 74-year-old will make his movies a reality with the best retirement plan we’ve ever heard.
In true Studio Ghibli style, he will create a nature retreat for children in a forest clearing on Kumejima, a remote Japanese island near Okinawa. With construction beginning next April and scheduled completion in 2018, Miyazaki will reportedly invest $2.5m into the project, which will be designed and created by local companies using local materials. As he has stated in the past, “utopia exists only in one’s childhood life.” Could this be his utopia?