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Ghibli Park is called the Studio Ghibli theme park however doesn’t include any rides. As an alternative, it’s an immersive expertise on the earth of Studio Ghibli movies.
You may stroll by scenes from the animations, snap a selfie subsequent to well-known characters like Totoro, and even go searching iconic buildings like World Emporium (the vintage store from Whisper of the Coronary heart).
Ghibli Park opened in Nagoya, Japan in November 2022. It options 5 areas unfold out over the massive, leafy Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park.
On this Studio Ghibli Park evaluate, I share tips on how to get tickets (which promote out quick), what to anticipate in every space, tips on how to get there, movies to look at earlier than you go to, and whether or not it’s price it.
Contents
Ghibli Museum vs Ghibli Park
Firstly, I wish to clear up some confusion about Ghibli Museum vs Ghibli Park.
Ghibli Museum is the unique Studio Ghibli attraction, which opened in 2001 in Tokyo. It options props, drawings, and details about how the animations are made in a unusual constructing.
Ghibli Park in Nagoya opened in 2022 and is way bigger, with 5 areas unfold over a park. There are recreations of scenes and even entire buildings from the movies.
Each are price visiting, however we desire Ghibli Park. That mentioned, Ghibli Museum is way simpler to entry on the common journey to Japan (most individuals go to Tokyo) and requires much less of a time dedication (just a few hours vs an entire day).
Ghibli Park Opening Hours
Ghibli Park Japan is open from 10am to 5pm (from 9am on weekends, nationwide holidays, and through faculty holidays).
It’s closed on Tuesdays and occasional additional days.
Ticket Choices for Ghibli Park
Ghibli Park ticket choices modified in 2024, and you may not purchase tickets to particular person areas. Actually, this makes reserving simpler, and if you’re travelling to Nagoya, you may as effectively see all of it.
Every ticket offers you an assigned entrance time for Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse, however you not get an assigned time for the opposite areas.
Observe that costs are 500 yen ($3) larger on weekends and holidays. It’s finest to go to on a weekday to keep away from the crowds (it’ll nonetheless be busy, although).
There’s additionally a 110 yen ($1) reserving price.
There are two ticket choices for worldwide friends at Ghibli Park:
Ghibli Park O-Sanpo Day Move Premium
Entry to all 5 areas and 5 buildings. That is the very best go if you wish to see every little thing (really helpful) however enable a full day.
Price: 7300 yen ($45) for adults and 3650 yen ($23) for teenagers aged 4-12.
Ghibli Park O-Sanpo Day Move
Entry to all 5 areas, however you may’t go inside 5 buildings. That is price contemplating if in case you have restricted time (or finances) and wish to give attention to Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse.
Price: 3500 yen ($22) for adults and 1750 yen ($11) for teenagers aged 4-12.
Ghibli Park Tickets on Klook
If you’re unsuccessful with the reserving course of under, or you might be on the lookout for last-minute tickets, test for Ghibli Park packages such because the Klook Ghibli Park Day Tour from Nagoya (O-Sanpo Day Move plus bus transport and bento lunch).
These will value greater than reserving your self, however they’ve late availability.
The right way to Guide Ghibli Park Tickets
You have to be ready to ebook tickets to Ghibli Park as they promote out shortly—often in beneath an hour.
Bookings open at 2pm JST on the tenth of every month for 2 months prematurely. So, on 10 September, tickets are launched for the entire of November.
You should be able to ebook earlier than the discharge time, so test what time 2pm Japan Commonplace Time is in your present location.
To extend our probabilities of a greater spot within the queue, Simon and I each used our laptops to ebook. The extra gadgets, the higher!
Right here’s tips on how to ebook:
- Determine which date (ideally with just a few backup choices), ticket, and time you need.
- From half-hour to five minutes earlier than 2pm JST, go to the Ghibli Park Worldwide Ticket Web page and click on by to the Lawson Ticket web page. You’ll be added to a queue and given an estimated wait time. That is given randomly (so long as you be part of earlier than 2pm), so although Simon joined after me, he had a five-minute wait time, whereas I had a 45-minute wait time.
- Once you attain the entrance of the queue (you’ll be notified), choose the month and ticket kind. I like to recommend Premium tickets.
- On the subsequent web page, choose your most well-liked time for Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse (I like to recommend 11am or 12pm) from the date on the calendar.
- Choose the variety of folks after which your e mail and telephone quantity. Undergo authentication.
- Enter particulars of your group chief and create a 4-digit password for the location. Observe you’ll want the passport variety of the lead particular person and your handle in Japan (simply put your first lodge in case you’re undecided).
- Enter your bank card particulars. Our Visa didn’t work, however our Mastercard did (a typical subject on Japanese web sites). Be sure you have backups.
- Success!
Observe that the group chief should convey their passport to Ghibli Park, and it might be checked (ours was).
You may present your ticket in your telephone, however you will need to have a smartphone and web connection (pre-saved PDFs aren’t allowed).
To be on the secure aspect, print out your ticket. We used the printer in Lawson comfort shops, which have an English choice. It prices 10 yen (6¢) and also you want cash to pay for it.
Ghibli Park Suggestions
- You can’t eat outdoors meals in Ghibli Park areas, however you may in the remaining areas within the park.
- Meals choices embrace a Mos Burger truck within the Mikazuki Relaxation Space (outdoors the official park areas), Transcontinental Flight Café inside Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse, Flying Oven in Valley of Witches, a cafeteria close to the primary park entrance, and some snack stands.
- You’ve got one hour out of your allotted time to enter Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse. Count on an extended queue.
- Different areas don’t have allotted instances, however there could also be queues. Dondoko Forest and Hill of Youth are most crowded after 3pm.
- There’s no reentry to the areas apart from Valley of Witches.
- Plan your time properly, because it’s onerous to suit every little thing right into a day. Our Ghibli Park information under has estimated instances for every space. Begin with the areas which might be most essential to you.
- Be ready to take your sneakers off to go inside the home in Dondoko Forest.
Ghibli Park Areas, Images, and What to Count on
Ghibli Park contains the next 5 areas unfold out amongst Aichi Commemorative Park.
You’ll want to point out your ticket (and passport of lead particular person) for entrance into every space. Some buildings require a premium ticket.
Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse and Hill of Youth are closest to the park entrance/station and are a couple of minutes stroll aside.
Valley of Witches and Mononoke Village are 5-10 minutes from Grand Warehouse.
Dondoko Forest is essentially the most distant and is a ten to 15-minute stroll from Grand Warehouse alongside a beautiful forested path.
There’s additionally a real-life Cat Bus shuttle that runs between Mononoke Village and Dondoko Forest. It prices 1000 yen ($6) a method, and you should buy tickets from merchandising machines within the park.
Hill of Youth
Time to Go to: 15 – half-hour.
Distance from Station: 300 metres.
Services: Bogs and water fountain on the entrance.
Images: Not allowed inside.
Hill of Youth is impressed by the movies Whisper of the Coronary heart and The Cat Returns.
The primary attraction is the World Emporium, the antiques store from Whisper of the Coronary heart. A premium ticket is required to go inside. At 11am we solely had a brief wait.
Outdoors the Emporium is the Cat Bureau, somewhat home which you’ll peek in to see the Baron inside.
The World Emporium is a walk-through attraction with so many particulars to discover—cuckoo clocks, vintage furnishings, dolls, and the Baron as he initially seems within the movie.
Better of all is the grandfather clock from the movie. Be sure you wait to see the present the place the sheep turns right into a fairy. You’ll admire the Emporium far more in case you’ve seen Whisper of the Coronary heart.
Downstairs you may see the violin workshop and even play the violin and piano. Each flooring have terraces with views of the park.
Hill of Youth is simple to slot in earlier than you go to the Grand Warehouse. Apparently, it’s busiest after 3pm.
Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse
Time to Go to: 3-4 hours.
Distance from Station: 400 metres.
Services: Bogs and cafe.
Images: Allowed in most areas (not in meals exhibit).
Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse is the point of interest of Ghibli Park. The massive indoor area options many reveals, a cinema, playrooms, cafe, and present store.
You’ll have to enter inside an hour of your allotted time and count on an extended queue. We joined the queue 25 minutes earlier than our 12pm time and entered at 12.05pm.
As soon as inside we went down the steps then to the left and straight to the Central Exhibit Room (a pink constructing). That is the most well-liked space and we’re glad we went first because it was loads busier by 1pm.
You received’t wish to miss it because it options 14 scenes from Studio Ghibli movies the place you may take your picture as in case you have been a personality within the scene.
We had a 15-minute wait to get inside, and there have been particular person queues for every movie scene (5 minutes for No Face, however most have been shorter).
Highlights have been sitting subsequent to No Face from Spirited Away, catching Sheeta as she falls in Citadel within the Sky, and combating Porco Rosso.
Different points of interest in Grand Warehouse are:
The spectacular mosaic Central Staircase with the Big Flying Ship.
Backyard within the Sky, the place you may see an enormous robotic soldier from Citadel within the Sky (the queue was lengthy for a photograph right here, so we skipped it).
The Director’s Room from Spirited Away—see Yubaba at work. We waited a couple of minutes to look inside.
Milk Stand Siberi-An. We waited 5 minutes to purchase a castella cake sandwich with candy bean filling (koshi-an is creamy, whereas tsubu-an is chunkier). The deal with is from The Wind Rises.
It’s important to eat your cake on the stand—there are just a few benches.
Cinema Orion exhibits a altering Ghibli quick movie about 3 times an hour. It’s in Japanese, however we nonetheless acquired the gist of the lovable Mei and the Cat Bus.
There are a number of particular exhibitions, together with one on meals within the Ghibli movies (no images allowed).
This results in the Every part Ghibli exhibit, which options film posters, a room the place you may chat with Totoro at a bar, and the possibility to go inside a Cat Bus.
There’s additionally a kids’s playroom, Minami-machi the place you may store in actual tiny retailers, and far more!
It takes so lengthy to discover that except you eat earlier than you go inside, you’ll doubtless want to go to the Transcontinental Flight Café, which is outdoors (however throughout the ticketed space).
The meals wasn’t nice, however we have been glad to take a break. After all, we needed to queue for quarter-hour to order.
The counter-service menu contains sandwiches, pizza slices, and sweets. We have been grateful for vegetarian choices—we acquired pizza slices and a guacamole sandwich. I consider the guacamole and hummus sandwiches are vegan.
There’s additionally a gelato stand subsequent to the cafe (no queue on a chilly day).
Your ultimate cease within the Warehouse will doubtless be the Adventurous Flying Squadron store. There are some enjoyable Ghibli souvenirs, nevertheless it was so crowded I couldn’t get close to some cabinets. Checkout was quick and environment friendly, although.
Three hours (12-3pm) was simply sufficient for our go to (together with lunch) however we may have performed with extra time.
Dondoko Forest
Time to Go to: 1 hour (together with stroll there).
Distance from Station: 1000 – 1300 metres (relying on route).
Services: Bogs, small memento store with drinks (each on technique to space).
Images: Not allowed inside the home.
You’ll discover all of the My Neighbor Totoro points of interest in Dondoko Forest. (You must positively watch the movie earlier than visiting.)
It’s a 10-15 minute stroll from the Warehouse. We took the shorter route by the temple-like gate and over the hill on a forest path. It wasn’t very steep, however if you need a flatter however longer route, you may go across the hill.
We discovered it a bit onerous to search out, so see Google Maps and search for Dondoko Forest written in Japanese on indicators (どんどこ森).
Mei and Satsuki’s home is the spotlight of Donodoko Forest. You’ll want a premium go to enter this Japanese-Western home from the movie and should take off your sneakers.
It’s splendidly recreated and you may discover so many particulars and even look inside cabinets. There’s a tatami mat front room, kitchen, rest room, and the dad’s book-filled workplace.
Dondoko-do is the opposite attraction up stairs on the hill above the home. It’s a 5-meter-tall wood construction of Totoro the place children 12 and beneath can play inside. We skipped it because it was getting late.
Mononoke Village
Time to Go to: 10 minutes (or longer in case you make gohei-mochi)
Distance from Station: 800 metres.
Services: Small store.
Images: Allowed.
We discovered Mononoke Village essentially the most disappointing space, so I’d depart it till final in case you run out of time.
It was a 15-minute stroll from Donodoko Forest previous Valley of Witches.
The world is impressed by the Japanese mountain village panorama in Princess Mononoke, however we didn’t recognise a lot from the movie.
There’s a Lord Okkoto mosaic slide and a demon spirit statue.
The primary construction is the grass-roofed home Tatara-ba. The one factor inside is the chance to make a neighborhood speciality known as gohei-mochi (rice truffles) on a charcoal grill (1200 yen/ $7.50 per particular person). There was an extended wait, so we skipped that.
Valley of Witches
Time to Go to: 1 – 2 hours
Distance from Station: 800 metres.
Services: Bogs, cafe.
Images: Allowed (TBC)
Valley of Witches is the most recent space at Ghibli Park (opened March 2024) and wasn’t but open on our go to.
It’s the second largest space within the park and sounds improbable, celebrating witches from Studio Ghibli movies.
I’d make this a precedence, maybe heading right here at 10am earlier than a 12pm reservation at Grand Warehouse.
It contains:
- The Okino Residence (premium wanted) and Guchokipanya Bakery (actual bread offered) from Kiki’s Supply Service.
- Howl’s Citadel (premium wanted) and Hatter’s Millinery (promoting hats, sweets, and books) from Howl’s Shifting Citadel.
- The Home of Witches (premium wanted) from Earwig and the Witch.
- Carousel – One of many solely actual Ghibli Park rides, nevertheless it’s extra for teenagers. It prices 500 yen ($3) for teenagers/ 1000 yen ($6) for adults.
- Flying Machine – One other paid trip for teenagers (500 yen/ $3). Adults can solely trip when accompanying a toddler.
- Flying Oven – A restaurant with European-style pies and quiches.
There’s additionally a sizzling canine stand, present store, play space, clock tower, fountain and extra to discover.
The right way to Get to Ghibli Park
Ghibli Park is situated outdoors Nagoya, between Tokyo and Kyoto/Osaka, however nearer to the latter.
Nagoya is on the Shinkansen line, so it’s straightforward to achieve from main cities. Nonetheless, you’ll then have to take two native trains to achieve Ghibli Park, and the journey can take some time.
Use Navitime to test practice instances.
Ghibli Park is doable as a day journey from Kyoto or Osaka. Or you might cease on the way in which between Tokyo and Kyoto (depart your baggage in lockers at Nagoya Station or use an in a single day baggage forwarding service). An in a single day keep in Nagoya isn’t vital except you wish to shorten your day.
It’s finest to get an early begin and purpose to reach at Ghibli Park for the 10am opening (9am on weekends). You’ll want the total seven hours of opening to see all of it.
Nagoya Station to Ghibli Park
Most guests will go by Nagoya Station on the way in which to Ghibli Park.
Depart Nagoya Station and observe indicators for the Higashiyama Subway Line. Take this line to Fujigaoka Station (the final station). This takes just below half-hour.
At Fujigaoka Station, exit and switch to Linimo, a Magazine-Lev (magnetically levitated) practice. Take it to Aichikyūhaku-kinen-kōen (Expo Memorial Park) Station. This takes about quarter-hour.
Take Exit 2 to achieve the doorway to Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park.
Outdoors the station, you’ll discover a Lawson comfort retailer (for snacks and a few Ghibli souvenirs), bogs, an data centre with lockers, and a restaurant.
To succeed in Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse, head straight forward and go down the Elevator Tower.
There is no such thing as a official entrance to Ghibli Park, and also you solely have to point out your ticket to get into every of the 5 areas.
We arrived at Nagoya Station at 9.15am and reached Ghibli Park at 10.15am, so enable round an hour.
We used our Suica playing cards (we had the Apple Pockets model) to faucet in for native transport in Nagoya.
Kyoto to Ghibli Park
We visited Ghibli Park as a day journey from Kyoto, which took about 1.5 hours from Kyoto Station.
We acquired the 8.45am Nozomi Shinkansen from Kyoto Station, which solely takes half-hour to get to Nagoya (it’s expensive, although), then adopted the instructions above.
We left Ghibli Park at 4pm and arrived on the Shinkansen tracks at Nagoya Station at 5.10pm. The practice again to Kyoto was very crowded (we needed to sit aside), so that you may wish to ebook seats for a small price.
Osaka to Ghibli Park
To get from Osaka to Ghibli Park, take the Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka Station to Nagoya, which takes 50 minutes.
Then observe the instructions above from Nagoya to Ghibli Park.
Permit round two hours from Osaka to Ghibli Park.
Tokyo to Ghibli Park
Travelling from Tokyo to Ghibli Park takes longer, so I don’t advocate it as a day journey. It makes extra sense to cease there in your technique to Kyoto or spend the evening in Nagoya.
The Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Nagoya takes 1 hour 40 minutes then observe the instructions above.
Ghibli Park Map
Movies To Watch Earlier than Visiting Ghibli Park
Hopefully, you’re a Studio Ghibli fan if you’re visiting Ghibli Park, however if you’re an off-the-cuff viewer, I like to recommend watching as most of the movies as you may to get essentially the most out of the expertise. You’ll admire the park particulars a lot extra.
Studio Ghibli movies can be found on Netflix outdoors the US/Canada (the place I consider they’re on Max).
Listed here are the Ghibli movies I’d prioritise:
Earlier than Visiting Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse
- My Neighbour Totoro – A delicate, iconic Ghibli movie. You may meet Totoro and see the Cat Bus within the Warehouse and go inside a duplicate of the ladies’ home in Dondoko Forest. A must-see.
- Spirited Away – Within the Warehouse there’s a photograph op with No Face and you may see inside Yubaba’s workplace. One of the vital widespread Ghibli movies.
- Citadel within the Sky – The Warehouse incorporates a robotic soldier, airship, and a few cool scenes within the Central Exhibit Room.
You’ll additionally discover scenes from The Secret World of Arrietty, Porco Rosso, From Up on Poppy Hill, and extra.
Earlier than Visiting Valley of Witches
Valley of Witches options buildings from all three of those movies.
- Kiki’s Supply Service
- Howl’s Shifting Citadel
- Earwig and the Witch
Earlier than Visiting Hill of Youth
- Whisper of the Coronary heart – You may go contained in the Emporium vintage store that options on this candy teen love story set in Tokyo. You’ll take pleasure in your go to a lot extra in case you watch this primary.
- The Cat Returns – A spin-off of Whisper of the Coronary heart that includes Baron the cat. You may peek contained in the Cat Bureau in Hill of Youth. Much less essential than watching Whisper.
You might additionally watch the darkish and epic Princess Mononoke earlier than visiting Mononoke Village, nevertheless it felt like much less of a connection than the opposite areas. There are just a few scenes within the Warehouse, although.
Is Ghibli Park Value it?
Ghibli Park is effectively price visiting if you’re a Studio Ghibli fan. The extra Ghibli movies you’ve seen, the extra you’ll get out of the expertise.
We liked seeing scenes from the animations come to life and strolling by retailers and homes that had been recreated with such element.
It’s a full and tiring time out, and it is advisable to be ready for crowds and queues, nevertheless it was price it for us.
When you have restricted time in Japan (or are on a decent finances), you may desire to go to the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo as an alternative.
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