Ghibli Park: the inauguration of the Studio Ghibli theme park has been announced
Ghibli Park
The eagerly awaited Studio Ghibli theme park finally has an opening date: Parco Ghibli will open its gates starting November 1, 2022. Ghibli Park is located in Nagakute, a city in Aichi prefecture near Kyoto in Japan, and will feature a series of attractions based on some of the legendary animation studio's feature films. The news of the official opening date of the park was spread by the official Twitter account of Studio Ghibli.Announced in 2017, the Ghibli Park cost about 300 million dollars and reuses with a new destination to the area previously used for the 2005 World's Fair.
The exact reconstruction of the house of Satsuki and Mei (My neighbor Totoro) will be reused in the park area, flanked by a new statue of Totoro, previously built on the occasion of the fair to which new thematic areas will also be added. Other places familiar to fans of Ghibli films that can be found inside the park will be the antique shops of I sighs of my heart, an exhibition space and a theater. The park, currently under construction, will also feature areas inspired by films such as Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke and Kiki - Home Delivery.
『ジ ブ リ の 大 倉庫』 の 目 玉 で す。 pic. twitter.com/w6GsIgaGdc
- ス タ ジ オ ジ ブ リ STUDIO GHIBLI (@JP_GHIBLI) January 27, 2022
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For Ghibli enthusiasts who will go to Japan after November Nagakute will therefore become an obligatory stop along with Mitaka, formerly home to the Ghibli Museum, and Tokyo for Shirohige's Cream Puff Factory, where being able to enjoy Totoro-shaped cupcakes. Alternatively, to appease the imagery linked to these magical films, it is available for purchase online In the kitchen with the films of Studio Ghibli.
Studio Ghibli Theme Park to Open in November
The Japanese theme park, based on the works of the Miyazaki Hayao-led animation firm Studio Ghibli, has set Nov. 1, 2022, as the date for its official opening.
Having previously teased ‘Fall 2022’ as the park debut, Studio Ghibli announced the confirmed date in a simple tweet alongside an image of its Totoro character.
The park is being built within the Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park, near Nagoya in Central Japan on a site that is 200 hectares (494 acres). That puts it about three hours from downtown Tokyo by train.
The project is a JPY34 billion ($295 million) joint venture involving Studio Ghibli, the government of Aichi Prefecture and the Chunichi Shimbun newspaper. Construction began in 2019. Ghibli is handling the creative side of the project.
The park will eventually have five themed areas. The section based on “My Neighbor Totoro” will be the first to open. Two more areas — one themed around “Princess Mononoke,” the tale of a girl raised by wolves in a forest, and another inspired by “Kiki’s Delivery Service” and “Howl’s Moving Castle” — will open next year, local officials said on Thursday.
It has previously been reported that the final two sections will open by the end of March 2024. Visitor numbers are expected to total around one million in the early stages and hit 1.8 million annually when all sections are completed.
At the time of the ground-breaking ceremony in 2020, Studio Ghibli producer Suzuki Toshio jokingly told reporters about Miyazaki’s interference in the park project. “He can’t leave anything up to other people. He’s a meddlesome old man.” Miyazaki’s only son Goro Miyazaki “is working hard (on the park project), but (Miyazaki) is not the type to look on supportively from a distance,” Suzuki continued. “He starts in right away with ‘do this’ and ‘don’t do that’.”
Local media in Japan report that there will be rides, but not large-scale rollercoasters. Nature trails are favored instead, and Miyazaki has reportedly insisted that no trees be cut down.
