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Ghibli Park, the highly anticipated new theme park in Japan from Studio Ghibli, will open its doors to visitors on Nov. 1, 2022.
Only three of the five sections of the site in central Japan's Aichi region will be accessible initially, with the remaining two areas opening at a later date.
The attraction features large open-air areas in line with the emphasis on nature and the outdoors in Ghibli works.
It is spread over 7.1ha of the 194ha park where Aichi hosted the 2005 International Expo.
Built at a cost of 34 billion yen (S$332 million) over five years and five months, the park is expected to become a major tourist draw for Aichi.
Studio Ghibli, founded in 1985 by animators Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, is the creator of "My Neighbour Totoro" and Oscar-winning "Spirited Away".
Hill of Youth, the gateway to the park, will be among the three sections opening to the public.
It features an elevator tower inspired by several Ghibli films including "Castle in the Sky" and "Howl's Moving Castle".
All five areas of the park are open from 2023.
This latest attraction is an addition to the already wildly popular Ghibli Museum on the outskirts of Tokyo operated by Studio Ghibli.
Ghibli Museum offers tickets only at the beginning of each month, regularly selling out within hours.
What to expect at Ghibli Park
The doors to the mysterious and whimsical world of Hayao Miyazaki’s creations will open soon and many will want to be spirited away to Japan from their desks.
Here’s a definitive list on what you need to know about the highly anticipated Ghibli Park.
All aboard the Catbus
The park is located in Nagakute city near Nagoya, within the Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park.
Photo via Ghibli Park website
It's three hours by train from Tokyo, but once you reach Nagoya station, the journey only takes about 40 minutes.
From Nagoya station, you can first take the Higahiyama Line to Fujigaoka Station, then make a transfer to Linimo and and head to Aichikyuhaku-kinen-koen Station.
The theme park will be divided into five areas: Hill of Youth, Ghibli's Large Warehouse, Mononoke's Village, Valley of Witches, and Dondoko Forest.
Note that only three of the five sections will be accessible at first.
The three areas are the Hill of Youth, Dondoko Forest, and Ghibli's Grand Warehouse.
The two other areas, Mononoke's Village and the Valley of Witches will be open to the public in late 2023 and even 2024.
Hill of Youth
Located near the park's north entrance, the Hill of Youth is likely the first area that you will enter.
The main gate features an old pedestrian overpass that has been transformed into an observation tower, featuring fictitious ornaments and furniture reminding one of "Castle in the Sky" and "Howl's Moving Castle".
In the distance, an orange house is amongst trees.
It's an Easter egg for "Whisper of the Heart" fans, designed to replicate the antique shop featured in the movie.
Photo via Studio Ghibli
Dondoko Forest
This section of the park features scenes from "My Neighbour Totoro", in particular, Satsuki and Mei's house.
The rural landscape, reminiscent of the Showa era, is resplendent with the retro vibes with a giant statue of Totoro.
Ghibli's Grand Warehouse
The park's piece de resistance is Ghibli's Grand Warehouse, an indoor portion that features 14 sets from 13 Ghibli classics.
It houses an exhibition room, a playground, shops and restaurants.
The area incorporates elements of Japanese and Western architecture.
Cinema Orion stands out, housing 170 seats to showcase 10 short Studio Ghibli films in rotation.
Photo via Studio Ghibli
The three exhibitions in the exhibition room showcase life-seized recreations of famous Ghibli scenes.
Currently, the exhibitions feature scenes from "Spirited Away", such as the scene with "No-Face" on the red-velvet covered train.
Photo via Studio Ghibli
A recreation of Yuyuba's office from the Oscar-winning "Spirited Away" is also in the works.
In a recent Twitter Q&A session, Hayao Miyazaki's son, Goro Miyazaki, revealed that the iconic tunnel Chihiro travels through at the start of "Spirited Away" is being built inside the park.
Photo via Studio Ghibli
Mononoke's Village and Valley of Witches
These two areas are slated to be open in the next few years.
According to TimeOut, "Mononoke's Village" won't be ready until late 2023, and the "Valley of Witches" is slated to open in March 2024.
"Mononoke's Village" will focus on scenes from its namesake film, "Princess Mononoke".
Valley of Witches draws inspiration from movies "Howl's Moving Castle" and "Kiki's Delivery Service".
Unforgotten
Studio Ghibli has captivated fans around the world with works blending nostalgia, courage, greed and interaction with the natural world.
Photo via IMDb
Coupled with compositions from longtime Ghibli longtime composer, Joe Hisashi, who scored the trailer for Ghibli Park, Ghibli works will continue to tug at heartstrings for generations to come.
Goro told reporters on Oct. 12 that the park was originally conceived as a way to leave Studio Ghibli's works to future generations, in anticipation of his father's expected retirement.
"We didn't want people to forget Ghibli's works," he said of Hayao.
"But we were betrayed again," he added with a laugh. "He's making a feature film now!"
The spirit of Ghibli
One should note that the park features no roller coasters or rides, nor does it feature mascots running around, ready to take photos.
The park is designed to be as genuine and authentic to the Ghibli universe as possible, hoping to thoroughly immerse visitors into the world of Ghibli.
Goro has also claimed that the theme park had been designed to have "minimal impact" on surrounding nature, with instructions that "trees shouldn't be cut down or changes made to the environment".
Brb booking tickets
Okay, so the ticketing process is a little confusing.
Tickets cost between 1,000 yen (S$9.77) to 2,500 yen (S$24.44) per area for adults.
They are obtained through a lottery process.
You can enter the lottery through the official Ghibli Park website, and apply for the lottery two to three months prior to the visiting day.
For example, if one intends to visit in December, the balloting period will be from Sep. 10 to Sep. 21.
Winners will then be announced on Oct. 4 at 2pm.
After the lottery, a limited amount of tickets are sold on a first-come-first-served basis on a ticket dispensing system Loppi located at Lawson convenience stores on the 10th of each month.
Get that? Don't worry, I'm still a little confused too.
Alternatively, you can visit Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo, if buying tickets to the park is too much of a hassle.
Only 15 minutes away from Shibuya station, it's another place to immerse oneself in Ghibli-mania.
In the meantime, I'll be counting down the days till I get to set foot in Japan.
Top Photo via @ghibliparkjp Twitter