After Studio Ghibli opened a theme park in November 2022, we’ve been desperate to explore the beautiful lands from the legends responsible for gracing our drab world with wholesome animated classics like Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro.
Unlike other major theme parks like Disneyland and Universal Studios though, there won’t be any rollercoasters in the space situated within the Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park in Nagoya. Rather, the park focuses on trails, small rides and architecture that gives visitors the chance to touch, smell and experience the Ghibli world in a serene and calming yet encompassing space. However, something exciting that you can ride is reportedly coming to the park before the end of the year: Catbus!
Located within close proximity to the park is the Toyota headquarters, and the carmakers are reportedly building half a dozen of the eco-friendly, electric-powered Toyota APM (a car designed for the Tokyo Olympics that holds six passengers) in the shape and look of the beloved character from My Neighbour Totoro. The Catbuses will also be in operation throughout the Expo Park, meaning you can still have a go on one even if you don’t have one of those incredibly elusive tickets for the Ghibli theme park just yet!
Other sights within the park come from movies such as Kiki’s Delivery Service, Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and their latest 3D venture, Earwig and the Witch. The Grand Warehouse will hold rooms that recreate iconic scenes from the Ghibli archive, meaning you can take a photo riding the train with No Face, chill at the bar with Totoro or get a job from Yubaba. The Hill of Youth will act as an entrance to the park and features elements of the Earth Shop from Whisper of the Heart. An elevator that takes patrons from the metro station into the park, has been styled to resemble Ghibli architecture: dark wood, nautical insignias and old time faces.
Then there’s the Dondoko Forest, which holds a replica of Mei and Satuski’s house from My Neighbour Totoro. There’s even some of that delicious-looking food on display as well (although it sadly doesn’t look actually edible). Other elements of the park — such as the Valley of Witches (which features aspects of Howl’s Moving Castle and Kiki’s Delivery Service) and Mononoke Village — are expected to open in Spring 2024.
Previously, a trailer — created by Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki and founder Hayao Miyazaki’s printmaker son Keisuke for the Aichi prefecture tourism bureau — showed a young girl running through a series of local attractions, including the Ghibli Park. After discovering an old suitcase in the ethereal woodland, she follows the wind all the way to the life-sized recreation of Satsuki and Mei’s house.
The forests we see at the beginning of the trailer play a major role in the space, and the park was made to have as minimal an impact on the local natural world as possible. Each of the visitable sites were made to live discreetly within the forest and were crafted out of locally-sourced and recycled materials (The Grand Warehouse was converted from an old indoor pool attached to a skating rink). Hayao Miyazaki’s son, Goro, has also said any trees that had to be removed for construction were replanted elsewhere.
In 2021, we were given a sneak peak of other My Neighbour Totoro park features. An illustration, drawn in traditional Ghibli style, shows the park with several streams running through it, just like the one that Mei and Satsuki stare into in the original movie. Alongside the character’s home, there will also be a Catbus to play in and a gigantic replica of the tree Totoro perches on top of in one of the movie’s most iconic scenes.
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Tickets to the theme park are available through a lottery system and on a first-come, first-serve basis online or in person at a Lawson or Ministop. The park is also gradually rolling out International tickets, with reservations available to book only a couple of months ahead. You can purchase your tickets here. But with Japan now once again welcoming international tourists, and with the park just a three hour train journey from Tokyo, they’re expecting to see over 1.8 million visitors per year. You can count us amongst them!
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