Soon, Totoro can be your neighbor, even if it’s only for a short while.
Yesterday, Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki and Aichi prefectural governor Hideaki Ōmura announced that Studio Ghibli is planning a “Ghibli Park.” The announcement was made at a press conference at Nagoya City. Aichi hopes that the park will attract tourists from Japan and abroad. Both Ghibli and the prefecture will fund the company that will operate the park.
Aichi prefecture will collaborate with Studio Ghibli to produce the park, which will recreate the environments of Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro. Ghibli Park will cover 200 hectares (494.21 acres) on Nagakute City’s Moricoro Park. The installation will not disturb local greenery, and forest will not be cleared. Rather, through careful maintenance, it will highlight the natural beauty of local plantlife year-round.
Moricoro Park, also known as “Love Earth Expo Memorial Park,” currently hosts a replica of Satsuki and Mei’s house from My Neighbor Totoro. The house was shown off during the 2005 World’s Fair. The exhibit has since served host to Studio Ghibli exhibitions in 2008 and 2015.
Source: Otakomu
