Ghibli Theme Park to Open Next Week

With the opening the Ghibli Park in Aichi Prefecture less than a week away, the park operator, Ghibli Park Co., Ltd., announced details Wednesday for visitors, including the many Ghibli anime fans abroad who, after more than two years of pandemic restrictions, are finally able to visit Japan.  

Neither they nor the millions of local fans will be able to immediately experience all the park has to offer, however. Only three of the five planned areas will be open on November 1: The Hill of Youth, Ghibli’s Large Warehouse and the Dondoko Forest. Meanwhile, Mononoke’s Village will open in the fall of 2023 and the Valley of Witches in March 2024.  

None of the areas feature the sort of thrill rides found at other theme parks. Instead, visitors can explore buildings and other attractions modelled on beloved Ghibli films, from the antique shop in the 1995 “Whisper of the Heart” to the Catbus of the 1988 “My Neighbor Totoro.” There is also a small cinema showing Ghilbi shorts.  

Tickets may be hard to come by. They are by reservation only, with visitors currently either entering a lottery three months before admission or buying tickets on a first-come, first-served basis two months before admission. The lottery will be discontinued, however, and tickets will be sold only on a first-come, first-served on the 10th of every month, with the next such sale on Nov. 10. Tickets, which are currently for domestic visitors only, can be bought online on the Boo-Woo ticket site (Japanese-language only) and at Lawson and Mini-Stop stores nationwide.  

There will be no parking at the park itself, so visitors are encouraged to use public transportation. To celebrate the park’s opening, the interiors of cars on the Nagoya City Subway Higashiyama Line, which services the park, will have a Ghibli theme, from opening day to Nov. 15.  

The park has not yet announced when tickets will go on sale for overseas fans. But rather negotiate the complicated ticketing procedure online, they can instead sign up for a tour operated by JTB that includes tickets to the park.