Good day dear reader! I have yet to talk too much in-detail about my adventures this early Summer - Fuji hijinks, river swims, surprise visitors, and very thrilling evenings spent chained to my computer studying for the Japanese N4 exam (which - Good News! I passed!!). That last bit actually explains why this post is a tad (read: VERY) late. Huge apologies, but now I’m out of my post-exam funk and I’m ready to fill up your screen with my brain dribble. 🙂
As anyone within three degrees of separation from me will know very well, I am a huge fan of Studio Ghibli. Their movies, in my humble opinion, are some of the most gently mature and beautiful examples of filmic excellence we have produced as a species. Their range, scope, depth, and heart (apart from maybe one or two examples, sorry Earwig and Earthsea) are more than I could ever dream of creating. And yet, I still do dream of doing so one day, through hard work and discipline. Which I guess is the philosophy of Studio Ghibli - to not just dare to dream, but to strive ever forward.
Given how much I love these films, it would be a pretty huge waste if I were not to visit their establishments during my two years in Tokyo. I visited the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka within one month of moving here, but it took a little longer to reach the Ghibli Park in Nagoya. If you’re interested in the Studio’s works, I honestly cannot recommend either location enough. When it comes to the park, I would like to tell you why. So here is my review of my day at the Ghibli Park in July 2024.
Let’s Go! Advice for pre-park prep:
First things first, these tickets are like gold dust. You have to book them two months in advance via the park’s official website. I ended up in a queue for about an hour before I could access the site. It was well worth the wait though, as I ended up with a good number of options for the day I wanted to go. There are several tiers of tickets, ranging from the basic pass to a super premium ticket. I bought the highest-tier ticket for just over ¥7000, which at the yen’s current rate is about thirty five quid. I recommend that you spend the extra money for this pass - it grants access to many of the areas I enjoyed the most.
Another thing you should do early is arrive. My partner and I decided to stay in a hotel in Nagoya the night before, about a one-hour train ride from the park itself. I’m glad we did, because even though we arrived at the park a mere 15 minutes after its 9am opening time, it really did take us all day to get around and see all the park had to offer. If you were to travel from Tokyo station by bullet and then local train, I’m guessing the trip would take upwards of three hours. Which is fine if you don’t mind the early start, but would mean you miss the chance to explore Nagoya a little before your Ghibli day out.
A couple of last minute pre-park prep pointers: bring an umbrella, and be prepared to put away your camera. Much of the park is outside - and it's not like you can predict the weather two months in advance from booking - so set your expectations accordingly. It was tipping it down with rain for my visit, so I made sure to pack water-proof shoes (because you’ll be walking around LOTS). ‘Re the camera, generally outdoor shots are permissible, but most of the impressive parts of the park are accompanied by camera-bans. I personally like this regulation, as it gave me the chance to take in the park’s tangible wonders, and explore more effectively than if I’d been tied to the idea of a perfect shot. Because isn’t half of Ghibli’s wonder to be found in curiosity and exploration?
Valley of Witches
And so begins our journey into the Ghibli Park! We started the day at 9:15, travelling down in a whimsical elevator. We started this rather drizzly day by taking a trip into the Valley of Witches. As the title suggests this park area is themed around Ghibli’s various witches and wizards, from Kiki to Earwig to Howl. Valley of Witches is the most recent part of the park to open its doors to punters, and you can definitely tell. When it comes to theme park design and outdoor spectacle, this area impressed me the most. I won’t divulge too many details so as not to spoil the surprise, but I will give an overview of the few hours I spent there.
First things first: this place will leave an impression. As soon as Mitchell and I got through the gates, we were met with what I can only call a fantasy. Cobbled streets, tumbledown cottages layered upon crumbling towers upon colourful displays of circus posters in vintage matte. Then, towering above them all stood Howl’s Moving Castle in all its creaking splendour.
‘The castle?!’, you exclaim. ‘Howl’s actual castle?’
‘Why yes’, I respond. ‘But you’ll have to wait to find out what’s inside’.
Eager to make sure every inch of this place didn’t escape my visit unexplored, I strained against every instinct to immediately knock on the castle door. Instead, I approached my adventure in traditional Capricorn fashion: methodically and diligently, starting with Bella Yaga’s house from Earwig and the Witch. Although this film places a frankly shameful second-from-bottom on my grand Ghibli film ranking, I must say it left one of the best impressions in all the park! Particularly, a realisation of the film’s grimy chaotic kitchen struck me as astonishing through its attention to detail. If you ever find yourself inside, be sure to look in the books around the room, and you may just find a few surprises! Goro Miyazaki, you may not have my heart as a film director, but no-one can deny your proficiency when it comes to scenic design. If Toshio Suzuki ever fancied topping up the company coppers through constructing a hotel, I know my vote of support is going to the younger creative Miyazaki!
We wandered around for another half an hour, marvelling at the various witchy wonders on display. We ducked through the stone ruins of Pazu’s house from Laputa, watched as children giggled astride various Ghibli vehicles on a charming ferris wheel. Queuing for Sophie’s hat shop, now transformed into a little sweetshop, didn’t take too long. But one look at the adult Ohmu-sized queue for Kiki’s ‘Good Cooking Pan Bakery’ had me wincing with more than sweet tooth. Seeing as I wasn’t expecting anything in the bakery to be vegan (Japan loves putting milk in their bread!), I made do with taking some cute Tombo-style photos in the rain.
One thing I didn’t mind waiting for, however, was the queue for Kiki’s house. Her mother’s laboratory/shop/tearoom sported one of the most awe-inspiring displays of dried flowers I’ve ever seen, right down to their scent. I don’t know how many of the delicious aromas wafting through the park were artificially pumped - more than I’d like to imagine, I expect - but they definitely did a lot to establish a uniquely calming atmosphere. Kiki’s house smelled of cotton and linen, fresh lavender swimming lazily belly-up beneath it all. In hindsight, it all put me in the most relaxed frame of mind, ready to be completely bowled over by Howl’s castle the minute I knocked on its door…
…
What? Did you expect me to tell you what’s inside? I’m ever so sorry dear reader, but that’s an adventure you’ll have to go on all by yourself… Or I can just tell you about it in person. Come on, I’ve got to preserve some of the magic. All I can say about Howl’s Real Life Moving Castle is that I couldn’t close my jaw for the whole time I was in there.
And the best was still yet to come…
The Ghibli Warehouse
After a quick cash-splash in the Valley of Witches shop, we skedaddled our way through the park to make our time slot for the grand Ghibli Warehouse!. The warehouse’s utilitarian metal and glass exterior serves as somewhat of a red herring. As soon as I stepped through the reception area I was met with a tumbledown interior, brickwork upon wood upon brightly-painted signs and light boards proclaiming ‘IRASSHIAMASE!’ (Welcome! Come on in!). It’s everything I could have dreamed of.
Crawling through tiny nooks and crannies as a borrower, rays refracted through the glass ceiling and reflecting off giant flower petals, I was directed to the Warehouse’s temporary exhibit room. Currently, there is an exhibition themed around Studio Ghibli’s relationship with food, sporting Japanese restaurant-style plastic recreations of meals from every movie - the large anpan from Spirited Away, Calcifer’s breakfast from Howl’s Moving Castle, a glass of wine and fine evening meal from Porco Rosso’s Hotel Adriano, and of course Ponyo’s famous instant ramen. Not for the first or last time that day, I shed a little tear at concept sketches for Whisper of the Heart’s Nabeyaki Udon scene in all its wholesome comfort. But there wasn’t time for anymore tears. No, dear reader, for the pictures were calling.
Both the Ghibli Park and Ghibli Museum are kitted out with tiny traditional cinemas where audience members are shown one from a selection of short fantastical films. On that lucky rainy day, we were treated to a showing of Mon Mon the Water Spider, a heartwarming tale of one little critter and his quest for love out of the pond. I love the little touches Studio Ghibli adds to their short films, made more exciting through watching in an old-fashioned theatre setting.
Straight after the movie, we were guided through yet more vintage worlds - a long line of cozy shops stocking old-fashioned Japanese sweets, pop, books and craft supplies. Seeing as I’d already splurged a not-insignificant portion of my paycheck in the Valley of the Witches shop, I managed to quell the raging desire to chuck more of my money at Toshio Suzuki & Co. Luckily I didn’t need to ward off the tempting spend-devils for too long, though. Because both of our bellies were rumbling. It was time to buy lunch! Very, very overpriced lunch…
Which was entirely worth it and I’ll hear nothing else said because - guess what? VEGAN SANDWICHES! Themed around Porco Rosso’s intercontinental travel interests, the sandwiches and pizzas offered by the warehouses’ restaurant cater towards a variety of dietary needs. As someone who usually can’t eat bread in Japan (curse you again, the influence of French brioche!), I was pleasantly surprised with my choice of three sandwiches. I plumped for the hummus and vegetable roll and, let me tell you now, I’ve not had better hummus in Japan. Tangy and tart, creamy, not too smooth, decent dusting of paprika. My god, it made me feel at home again (please, if you’re coming to see me bring hummus xoxo).Which is for the best really, as the queue to even order our food was the best part of a half-hour long. So I would recommend bringing your own food if you hate queuing, or waiting until you're outside to sample the various street-food vans under a cover in the centre of the park.
Talking of queuing, we were greeted upon exiting the cafe with a vast line of visitors leading to a door. Of course, there’s nothing so strange about a queue in such a studio of delight, but what perplexed me most was that right next to this mysteriously attractive door was an exactly identical entryway into what looked like the same building? We decided to investigate, which meant that my partner got to flex his Japanese skills by interviewing a very helpful employee. In the end we figured out that this hour-long queue was for a photo opportunity recreating the famous train scene from Spirited Away. The adjacent door led to the tens of other movie scene recreations ranging from Ponyo to Laputa to When Marnie Was There. We decided to skip the one hour plus queue in favour of visiting all these other photo opportunities, which were in surprisingly low demand given the number of warehouse punters. I find it quite sad that I had not to wait even a single second for the criminally unattended Only Yesterday and Ocean Waves scenes - setups that actually produced two of my favourite photos from the trip. Though I can’t say that same empathy is applied to the Tales from Earthsea barn scene. I did take a photo as there was no-one else queuing - but I wasn’t happy about it. Much.
My heart and other adventures
After another quick stop for postcards in the Ghibli warehouse gift shop (oh woe is my bank balance), it was finally time to exit this grand building in search of greener pastures. Which is quite a fortunate turn of phrase in this instance given what came next was a literal walk through green pastures to the Hill of Youth. Even though my feet were aching from six hours of loitering, walking and standing in reverie, I was more excited for this part of the park than any other.
Why, you might ask? How on earth could Charlotte be more excited than previously communicated? Well, Reader, it is simply because this humble little house on a hill is themed after that inhabited by none other than Seji Amasawa, the original anime bookish dreamboy. That’s right - it’s the antiques shop from Yoshifumi Kondo’s Whisper of The Heart, otherwise known as my favourite film from Studio Ghibli. It’s the heartwarming yet surprisingly uneventful story of aspiring writer and voracious reader Shizuku (only in Japan could this be seen as a negative thing - ReADinG instead of StUDYinG?!? Oh the inhumanity!). In the film, we follow her daily life in Tokyo - arguments with her family, hanging out with friends, searching for the mysterious boy whose name keeps appearing in the borrowing card of all her favourite library books. We watch whilst Shimizu struggles with the notion of who she wants to become, and what she’s willing to sacrifice in order to pursue her craft as a writer without really knowing yet whether she has any talent. Eventually Shimizu meets the mysterious library boy Seiji Amasawa, who turns out to be an aspiring violin-maker. The two teenagers inspire each other to pursue their individual passions with classic Ghibli determination. They navigate a blossoming relationship and the pitfalls of self-doubt that come from dating an ambitious partner. All of this is backdropped by beautiful grainy sketches of Tokyo and underscored with five different versions of the song Take Me Home, Country Roads.
What could be better than that?
I will probably do a post about why Whisper of the Heart means so much to me later on down the line, but for now just know I’m not too proud to admit I shed a little tear as I crossed the threshold into this little house on the hill. Finding myself in a room full of half-finished violins I was struck with the spirit of Awen, of inspiration , and the urge to pursue my own creative desires. Surrounded by the sum of one studio’s work, a thought that has been slowly gestating for most of my conscious existence finally unfurled into the light:
There’s nothing more worthwhile we can leave behind than something to touch another person’s heart and soul.
I couldn’t help this enlightening experience - the smell of woodwork and varnish just smells too good, your brain wakes up at its call. If you feel similar sentiments, or any other, you can pop them on a postcard and post them over. Or even better, you can send them from Seiji Amasawa’s house, which had been made into a wee little postbox Ghibli Park visitors can use to reach out into the rest of the world. I instead send my words out over the internet, and tell you of my tears in a more digitally-friendly format.
By the time I’d dried my tears it was time to walk back down the hill and into Mononoke Village, a small green area fenced off and dotted with various sculptures of the monsters from (who could have guessed it?) Princess Mononoke. Inside the village, there is an old hut where visitors can take dango making classes (grilled glutinous rice balls). We didn’t take any workshops, both due to time constraints and the fact that our pockets were already gasping on the floor, begging for the money drainage to stop. So we only spent around fifteen minutes toddling around the village. I was impressed at the usage of space. The park staff had set up allotments for environmental programmes, following the Ghibli ethos of caring for our natural world - very Mononoke indeed. I will say that this part of the day felt far more akin to a Ghibli-themed green space than an exhibition. But it’s okay - Mononoke Village is above all fit for purpose, not pleasure. And that purpose is growing things.
Talking of growing things, it’s time to talk about Studio Ghibli’s biggest, furriest, friendliest gardener. His species may be a mystery, but his fame is beyond overlook. That’s right reader - as we limped with damp shoes and worn-out umbrellas to the last stop on our grand Ghibli day out, it was finally time to meet Totoro! Donguri Forest is a 20-odd minute walk out of the main park area, dotted with National-Trust-style wooden platforms and nestled below the buzz of trees. Nestled in a small clearing lies Satsuki and Mei’s house - one of Ghibli’s first additions to the memorial park. Walking through this reincarnated building conjured up straight out of the film, it almost felt like a house in a Japanese living museum, and the tired tour guide was more than eager to give history lessons on the genuine artefacts inside. After a good explore and a quick wave to a hilltop Totoro, we decided to splurge one last few hundred yen on our very own trip in the Catbus! Whizzing through the trees alongside similarly fatigued tourists, I took one last look around this truly magical kingdom before we trudged our way back to the station.
The thought struck me, then, that this park, this place, this studio’s legacy, was so much older than the decades it took to construct. Such a legacy must also be quantified in the years of life every studio member invested in each story, the hours every movie has spent on screens large and small across the world, and of course in the number of hearts every frame has touched beyond forgetting. This, reader, is the magic of storytelling. It is a magic I one day aspire to wield, gracefully and well.
Final Thoughts
And that’s it for the Ghibli Park! The pros? Magic, Mayhem, wonder as far as the eye can see. Cons? Well apart from hurting feet I would have to say that it’s really only worth going if you can dedicate an entire day, and can get there early as some parts of the park are very crowded. It’s definitely more of an art exhibition than a theme park, so don’t go expecting thrills of the fairground variety. It’s not a museum either - I would personally say I enjoyed the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka a little bit more as a fan who likes to learn about the things they’re seeing. But the pure spectacle of this place is still something I’ll never forget and will still highly recommend to Ghibli fans big and small . Fabulous work Goro - three differently-sized totoros out of three!
I’ll see you next month, dear reader, for more hijinks - hopefully in poetic form!
Keep safe, keep well, keep shining.
All my stars,
Char x
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