Designed by Goro Miyazaki, son of Hayao Miyazaki and director of several Ghibli films, Ghibli Park is no ordinary amusement park. Instead of rides, the park features full-scale recreations of key locations from various Studio Ghibli films—life-size, exploreable versions of Howl's Moving Castle and the village from Princess Mononoke, to name a few. The Ghibli Park & Ghibli Exhibition recently opened in Tokyo, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Ghibli Park, the Ghibli Museum, and the works of Goro Miyazaki. ANN was on hand to snap a few photos for those who couldn't make it in person.
Ghibli Art and Ghibli Museum
Photography by Richard Eisenbeis
The first area of the exhibition focuses on Ghibli's artwork—mainly architectural concepts. This includes, of course, the Ghibli Museum (which, like Ghibli Park, was designed by Goro Miyazaki). This area also features a life-sized Totoro and Catbus—you can even go in and sit in one.
Photography by Richard Eisenbeis
The next area of the exhibition revolves around Goro Miyazaki's Earwig and the Witch. It's full of props, models, and lots of design documents showing everything that went into making a CG anime look the way it does.
Ghibli Park: Satsuki and Mei's House
Photographer Richard Eisenbeis The rest of the exhibit is filled with blueprints, models, and actual works of various Ghibli Park attractions. First up is Satsuki and Mei's house from My Neighbor Totoro. At the full Ghibli Park attraction, you can enter the house and open every drawer and cabinet (aside from their father's office) to see what they keep inside.
Ghibli Park: Cat Department
Photographer Richard Eisenbeis' Cat Bureau is based in an area of Ghibli Park called the Hill of Youth, which was used in the films Whisper of the Heart and The Cat Returns. This exhibit shows the design process of some of the models used there.
Ghibli Park: Ghibli Big Bus Room
Photography by Richard Eisenbeis Chibli Park's Grand Warehouse has a children's-only area that adults are not allowed to enter. It fills several rooms and includes a patchwork Catbus for children to play in. Here we can see the materials and patterns used to design the area.
Ghibli Park: Mononoke Village
Photography by Richard Eisenbeis Mononoke Village, a recreation park located on the same site as Princess Mononoke, features life-size, stylized recreations of both the Oni and Lord Okkoto. The exhibit includes scale models and finished, actual sculptures.
Ghibli Park: Howl's Castle
Photography by Richard Eisenbeis The centerpiece of Ghibli Park's newest area, Witch Valley, is a life-size recreation of Howl's Moving Castle from the film of the same name. You can even go inside and explore—and this collection of props and scale models shows exactly what it would look like.
Ghibli Park: House of the Witch
Photography by Richard Eisenbeis The Witch's House is also located inside Witch Valley and is a recreation of Bella Yaga's house in Earwig and the Witch. The exhibit features several miniature models of the house as well as some props from it.
Ghibli Park: Photo Locations and Park Decorations
Photography by Richard Eisenbeis
Finally, scattered throughout the exhibit are some fun details and finishes. These include a manhole cover from the area near Ghibli Park, as well as a portion of the main gate. There are also some great photo spots. You can ride Yakul and Moro versions of Princess Mononoke taken from the Witch Valley carousel. You can also see a replica of Yubaba’s office or sit next to No-Face on the Spirited Away train. (Both of these came from Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse.)
If you're in the area and want to check it out, the Ghibli Park & Ghibli Exhibition will be running until September 23, 2024, at Warehouse Terrada in Tokyo. It's open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and costs ¥1,900 for adults and ¥1,200 for children.
