Excited? You should be. An official Studio Ghibli theme park will be built in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The first concept art we saw looked great. The latest concept art does, too.
The park will be divided into different areas. Ghibli’s Giant Warehouse is filled with all sorts of Ghibli stuff; Dondoko Forest is Totoro-themed; Princess Mononoke Village is self-explanatory; Springtime of Life Hill has attractions modeled after Whisper of the Heart; Witch Valley features Kiki’s Delivery Service and Howl’s Moving Castle attractions.
As you can see (above), via Asahi and Nikkan Sports, the Ghibli’s Giant Warehouse is a large covered plaza, which brings all sorts of Ghibli movies to life.
For example, here is a dining area modeled after Spirited Away.
This building in the Springtime of Life Hill (Seishun no Oka in Japanese) has an elevator to give parkgoers a bird’s eye view.
Previously, Kotaku posted concept art for the Princess Mononoke area and Witch Village.
As you can see via Abema TV, the areas consist of lots of nature, which is expected (this is Studio Ghibli after all!).
The map below shows the different areas: Ghibli’s Giant Warehouse in purple; Dondoko Forest in green; Witch Valley in red; Princess Mononoke Village in light green; Springtime of Life Hill in orange.
According to Asahi, the Ghibli’s Giant Warehouse, Dondoko Forest and Springtime of Life areas are slated to open in 2022. Princess Mononoke Village and Witch Valley will open a year later.
But why should I be so optimistic? Easy. Back in 2005, a full replica of Mei and Satsuki’s house was constructed, bringing it to life in a way that fans could only hope.
With Studio Ghibli being notorious perfectionists, expect nothing less than perfection for the upcoming theme park.
Update February 3, 2021 - 5:54 AM: This article has been updated.