Studio Ghibli and the Chunichi Shimbun newspaper announced last Friday, November 1, that they have established the company Ghibli Park, Inc. that will be responsible for the management and operation of the planned Ghibli Park. The company will also plan and manufacture new merchandise for the park, and will operate the park’s restaurant and café.
The company’s also revealed the park’s logo (seen below).
The park’s Seishun no Oka Area (Hill of Youth), Ghibli no Ōsōko Area (Giant Ghibli Storehouse), and Dondoko Mori Area (Dondoko Forest) are slated to open in fall 2022, followed by the Mononoke no Sato Area (Mononoke Village) and Majo no Tani Area (Witch Valley) about one year later.
Work on the designs began this year, and construction will begin in 2020 and continue for about two or three years.
Aichi Prefecture agreed in May 2017 to establish the park, and confirmation documents were finalized this past March. The project’s planners then revealed the basic design plans in April 2018. The park was initially planned to open in 2020.
Aichi Prefecture and Studio Ghibli are collaborating to open the park in a 200-hectare area in Aichi’s Expo Park, also known as Moricoro Park, the site of the 2005 World’s Fair. The park already has “Satsuki and Mei’s House,” a replica of main characters’ house from the My Neighbor Totoro anime film. The house was the site of a Studio Ghibli exhibition in both 2008 and 2015.
The prefecture is aiming to make the park an attraction for both foreign and domestic tourists. Both Studio Ghibli and the prefecture are funding the operating company that will be in charge of the park.
While the park is being developed, the construction will not cause damage to the park through felling trees or other methods.
Studio Ghibli also maintains The Ghibli Museum, located in Mitaka in west Tokyo. The Ghibli Museum has interactive exhibits and replicas of iconic Ghibli creations, and it offers a rotating screening of different Ghibli-animated shorts.
Source: Chunichi Shimbun via Ghibli no Sekai