Fans of Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke and other fantastic creatures created by animation genius Hayao Miyazaki have been waiting for this news. Reservations for the park dedicated to Japan’s Studio Ghibli have been open since yesterday. But entering your credit card number isn’t actually enough to win the Grail. The first visitors will be drawn by lottery after registering on the park’s website by August 22. The results of the draw will be announced on September 10, the date on which the classic reservation process will begin on a first-come, first-served basis. If the sweepstakes registration is free, the biggest hurdle will be deciphering the form, for now only in Japanese…
Ghibli Park, as it is called, will open its doors on November 1, 2022, and therefore will be dedicated to the universe of Japanese studios, populated by flying cars, crazy old men and unshy heroines who thrive in an enchanted nature. By nature, the park will be surrounded by it, as it was created on 7 hectares in the middle of the Aichi Forest near Nagoya, a two-hour train ride from Kyoto. Only part of this will be visible in the autumn, with two of the five subject areas not yet finalised.
First time visitors will still be able to discover three of them, including the main one, the Ghibli Grand Warehouse (which can be translated as Ghibli’s Grand Workshop). They will meet the most famous characters of the Japanese studio, Chatbus My neighbor TotoroThe Robot Soldier of the: Castle in the sky and reproductionsArrietty: The Little World of Pilferers. The second zone will be called “Hill of Youth” (or “Colline de la Jeunesse”) and will be dedicated to lesser known worlds. If you listen and: Kingdom of cats. Third, finally, “Dondoko Forest” (or “Dondoko Forest”) will house the recreation of the bucolic home of Satsuki and Mei, the two children. My neighbor Totoroas well as a movie-themed playground.
The two districts that will open later are “Mononoke Village”, dedicated to the film of the same name, and “Valley of the Witches” (“Valley of the Witches”), dedicated to Howl’s Moving Castle and to Kiki’s little witch.
More of a theme park than an amusement park
Will this park be the Disney of Japanese animation? At first, absolutely. The official website, quite abbreviated, bluntly says: “No big sights or big rides here”. The visitor will be invited instead “Walk, feel the wind, discover wonders” in one place “In harmony with the surrounding forest“. Therefore, we envision an immersive park that offers an immersion into the world of Japanese studios and their production secrets, rather than a roller coaster layout. So much better.
Online booking will be mandatory once tickets go on sale. It is impossible to buy a ticket on the spot. There will also not be a global entrance that offers access to the entire park, but a single zone ticket, the most expensive of which is, logically, the Ghibli Warehouse. It will cost 2,000 yen (15 euros) for an adult, 1,000 yen (7.50 euros) for a child. Very slightly higher price (€19 and €9) on weekends and holidays.
The uncertainty remains. Will Japan be open to international tourists in November? For now, only organized trips are possible through the archipelago, and a visa is required for French tourists. According to observers, a return to normal could occur between September and December. Which gives hope.
Source: Le Figaro
