Revealed: The £218million theme park based on anime films by Japan’s answer to Walt Disney is set to open this November

• Ghibli Park will open in a huge area of parkland in Japan’s Aichi region, 250 kilometres west of Tokyo
• The park, based on the renowned anime films of celebrated Studio Ghibli, will be divided into five sections 
• The first three areas to open will be known as ‘Dondoko Forest’, ‘Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse’ and ‘Hill of Youth’ 

A theme park based on the anime films of Studio Ghibli, renowned for titles including the Oscar-winning Spirited Away, will open in central Japan on November 1.

The opening date for the eagerly awaited ‘Ghibli Park’ – which first made headlines in 2017 – was revealed on the studio’s Twitter account alongside an illustration of cuddly forest spirit character Totoro. The studio, co-founded by Japan’s answer to Walt Disney, also unveiled a series of renderings that offer a glimpse inside the park.

The site is currently under construction within a huge area of parkland in the central Aichi region, 250 kilometres (150 miles) west of Tokyo, at a total cost of 34billion yen (£218million), documents show.

‘Ghibli Park’, based on the films of Studio Ghibli, will open in central Japan on November 1. Above is an artistic impression of the new theme park 

The ‘Dondoko Forest’ section of the park will include a life-size model of the house (pictured) where the main characters of the 1988 classic My Neighbor Totoro lived

The opening date for the eagerly awaited park was revealed on the studio’s Twitter account alongside an illustration of cuddly forest spirit character Totoro (pictured)

The park will be divided up into five areas – three of which will open in November. The first, known as ‘Dondoko Forest’, includes a life-size model of the house – which has already been built – where the main characters of the 1988 classic ‘My Neighbor Totoro’ lived.

‘Visitors will be able to go inside a Totoro-like statue built at the back of the house,’ a local government official told AFP. 

Next up will be the ‘Hill of Youth’ section of the park, where visitors will find the ‘World Emporium’ –  the antique shop that features in the 1995 film Whisper of the Heart.  

Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse, shown in an artist’s illustration, will feature ‘fantasy-filled exhibitions’

Other attractions opening in November include the ‘Hill of Youth’, shown in a rendering above. There, visitors will find the ‘World Emporium’ – the antique shop that features in the 1995 film Whisper of the Heart

Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse will also open this year – it will be an indoor space that ‘stores all of the studio’s secrets’. Visitors can wander through ‘fantasy-filled exhibitions’ about Studio Ghibli’s films, with displays themed around characters such as Robot Soldier and Catbus. 

The final two areas of the park will open at some stage next year, according to officials, but exact opening dates have yet to be announced.  

One, named Mononoke Village, will revolve around Princess Mononoke, the 1997 film about a girl raised by wolves in a forest. The second, inspired by Kiki’s Delivery Service and Howl’s Moving Castle, will be called the Valley of Witches.

The opening date for the Mononoke Village section of the park (pictured), themed on Princess Mononoke, has yet to be announced 

The Valley of Witches area of the park (pictured) will be inspired by the films Kiki’s Delivery Service and Howl’s Moving Castle

A map shows the park’s five areas in Japan’s central Aichi region, 250 kilometres (150 miles) west of Tokyo

Studio Ghibli was co-founded by Hayao Miyazaki, pictured, known internationally for directing 2001’s Spirited Away

A statement reveals: ‘There are no big attractions or rides in Ghibli Park.’ Instead, visitors will be invited to ‘take a stroll, feel the wind, and discover the wonders’. Further attractions will include an ice rink and a Japanese garden. 

Studio Ghibli is Japan’s premier animation studio.

It was co-founded in 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki, who is frequently compared to Walt Disney.

He began his career in 1963 and created his first feature length film in 1979 – The Castle of Cagliostro.

He gained critical acclaim and a cult following for Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind in 1984 and a best-animation Oscar for Spirited Away in 2003.    

Other popular films from Miyazaki’s repertoire include Castle in the Sky (1986), Porco Rosso (1992) and 2008’s Ponyo. 

Studio Ghibli already operates the hugely popular Ghibli Museum on the outskirts of Tokyo. Tickets for the museum only go on sale at the beginning of each month and regularly sell out within hours.

Information on ticketing for Ghibli Park is not yet available. For more, visit ghibli-park.jp/en.  

Studio Ghibli already operates the hugely popular Ghibli Museum, pictured above, on the outskirts of Tokyo

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