News Reporting

“Ghibli Park” Shows Art for Howl’s Moving Castle, Kiki, Mononoke Inspired Areas


Thought yesterday’s tease was all we’d get for Ghibli Park? guess again!

Earlier today, Aichi Prefecture released several new pieces of concept art for the planned “Ghibli Park” attraction, along with a map. Each piece of art corresponds to a location on the map, which are as follows:

Ghibli Park Concept Art - Planned Location Map

Hill of Youthful Days Area (1)

Inspired by Howl’s Moving Castle. Thi slocation will also include the replica of the Whisper of the Heart antique shop.

Great Ghibli Warehouse Area (2)

Ghibli Park Concept Art -Great Ghibli Warehouse Area 002

Ghibli Park Concept Art -Great Ghibli Warehouse Area 001

 

This region will host a number of exhibits, though no specifics have been specified.

Mononoke Village Area (3)

Ghibli Park Concept Art - Mononoke Village Area 001 - 20180425

This area is inspired by the dual settlements of Irontown and Tataraba from Princess Mononoke

Witch Valley Area (4)

Ghibli Park Concept Art - Witch Valley Area 001 - 20180425

An area inspired by Kiki’s Delivery Service and Howl’s Moving Castle, this will include replica buildings and a general play area.

Dondoko Park Area (5)

Ghibli Park Concept Art - Dondoko Forest Area 001 - 20180425

Area based on My Neighbor Totoro, which includes the previous replica of Mei and Satsuki’s house.

Ghibli Park is slated to open in 2022. The location was originally slated for a 2020 launch.

Ghibli Park will be built in Nagakute City’s Moricoro Park on a 200-hectare (2 square kilometer) space. 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.

The attraction was originally announced in 2017. At the time, it was announced that Ghibli Park would recreate the environments of Hayao Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro.

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.

Satsuki and Mei's house replica, found in Aichi Prefecture's Moricoro Park.

Sources: Hachima Kiko, Anime! Anime!

About the author

Samantha Ferreira

Samantha Ferreira is Anime Herald’s founder and editor-in-chief. A Rhode Island native, Samantha has been an anime fan since 1992, and an active member of the anime press since 2002, when she began working as a reviewer for Anime Dream. She launched Anime Herald in 2010, and continues to oversee its operations to this day. Outside of journalism, Samantha actively studies the history of the North American anime fandom and industry, with a particular focus on the 2000s anime boom and bust. She’s a huge fan of all things Sakura Wars, and maintains series fansite Combat Revue Review when she has free time available. When not in the Anime Herald Discord, Samantha can typically be found on Bluesky.

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