Tickets for Japan’s Upcoming Studio Ghibli Theme Park Go on Sale This August

Super Nintendo World isn’t the only exciting theme park on our must-visit list when Japan reopens its borders. Studio Ghibli, the renowned Japanese animation studio, is set to open its own theme park on November 1, 2022, with tickets available starting this August.

Distinct from the existing Ghibli Museum in Tokyo, Ghibli Park will be situated within Aichi Earth Expo Memorial Park, the site of the 2005 World Expo, approximately an hour east by train from Nagoya. As Japan's fourth largest city, Nagoya can be reached via bullet train in about 1.5 hours from Tokyo.

Ghibli Park will ultimately feature five areas inspired by some of director and screenwriter Hayao Miyazaki’s beloved films. When it opens in November, three themed zones will be completed, including “Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse,” “Dondoko Forest,” and “Youth Hill.” The “Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse” area will be an indoor space featuring shops, exhibition areas, and dining options inspired by the 2001 film Spirited Away, as depicted in the rendering above.

The “Dondoko Forest” section is inspired by the film My Neighbor Totoro. A fully constructed replica of the house from the 1988 movie already exists on the site from the 2005 World Expo, and the park developers plan to incorporate this landmark into the new Ghibli Park. The “Youth Hill” area will draw partially from Howl’s Moving Castle and feature replicas of buildings from the film Whisper of the Heart.

In 2023, the park aims to introduce a “Mononoke Village” area featuring a replica of Irontown from the film Princess Mononoke, as well as a “Valley of Witches” inspired by both Kiki’s Delivery Service and Howl’s Moving Castle. Plans include constructing a four- to five-story replica of Howl’s castle—though it won’t be movable—according to Tokyo Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper.

While the park will include rides, don’t anticipate the giant roller coasters typical of other theme parks. The park doesn’t intend to cut down any existing trees to create new attractions, aiming to preserve the natural features that are prominent in many Studio Ghibli films.

How to purchase tickets and their prices

Tickets for Ghibli Park are set to become available in August 2022 via Ghibli Park’s website. Each section of Ghibli Park will have its own separate ticket fee, which must be reserved in advance for specific dates and times. (Children under 3 years old do not require tickets, while kids aged four through elementary school can purchase discounted tickets.) The ticket prices are as follows:

Ghibli Warehouse

Weekdays: ¥2,000 (children ¥1,000)

Weekends and holidays: ¥2,500 (children ¥1,250)

Youth Hill

Daily admission: ¥1,000 (children ¥500)

Dondoko Forest

Daily admission: ¥1,000 (children ¥500)

To give you a clearer picture of these prices, as of publication, ¥500 equates to just under US$5, ¥1,000 is nearly US$8, and ¥2,000 translates to approximately US$15.50.

The park will operate from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during long school holidays. On Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays, the hours remain 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The park will be closed on Tuesdays, except for national holidays and its opening day on November 1, which also falls on a Tuesday.

While you await the opening of Ghibli Park this fall, consider rewatching your favorite Studio Ghibli films on HBO Max with a monthly subscription.

This article was originally published in April 2021 and updated with new information on May 17, 2022.