The beloved Japanese animation studio released images of the much-anticipated theme park, set to open near Nagoya, Japan in 2022.
At a news conference late last month, the company announced plans for the park which will bring to life buildings, locations and characters from some of the studio’s films such as Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro and Howl’s Moving Castle. It will include nature trails, rides and attractions, as reported by Forbes and be built in Aichi Memorial Park, which had previously hosted several Ghibli exhibitions.
According to officially released photos, the park will be split into five main zones: Seishun no Oka (the Hill of Youth), which involves 19th-century science fiction architecture from Howl’s Moving Castle and the Chikyuya farmhouse from Whisper of the Heart; Mononoke no Sato (Mononoke Village), a nature-filled area containing a replica of the Tatarba irontown from Princess Mononoke; Majo no Tani (Valley of the Witch), a section housing a replica of the baker’s home where Kiki of Kiki’s Delivery Service lives as well as a replica of Howl’s moving castle; Dondoko Mori (Dondoko Forest) an already partially developed area dedicated to My Neighbor Totoro; and Ghibli Daisoko (Ghibli Warehouse) which will contain exhibitions, memorabilia and screenings.
The park replaces previous plans for a 2020 nature-themed Ghibli park that was planned for an island near Okinawa, Japan. The company already runs a wildly popular museum outside of Tokyo which contains artwork, a cinema, library, shop and restaurant.
The announcement comes at a time of transitions for the heralded studio. Last month, Isao Takahata, the Studio Ghibli co-founder and director of Grave of the Fireflies died at age 82. The other co-founder, Oscar-winner Hayao Miyazaki, recently announced he will come out of retirement and make one final feature set for release in 2020.
Check out more of the images below:
Correction: This article originally stated that the park will be located near Nagano. It will be located near Nagoya.
[Illustrations via Spoon & Tamago]
