Good news, Studio Ghibli fans: the animation studio’s theme park is still set to open its gates in 2022 as originally planned, despite delays to construction due to coronavirus. Specifically, the park is planned to open in autumn 2022, as reported by Sora News 24 last week.
Located in Japan’s Aichi Prefecture, the park will be split into five distinct zones. Three – based on locations from Whisper of the Heart, Spirited Away, and My Neighbour Totoro, respectively – are currently under construction.
Two other areas are yet to start construction: Witch Valley, which will apparently draw from both Howl’s Moving Castle and Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Mononoke Village, which is modelled after locations in Hayao Miyazaki’s environmental epic, Princess Mononoke (obviously).
Recently, a campsite planned to open in 2021 in Japan’s Uga Valley also drew obvious comparisons to some of the breathtaking locations in Princess Mononoke. Though it’s not explicitly tied to Studio Ghibli, the Hygge Circles Ugakei site is definitely an alternative for fans wanting to experience a version of the films firsthand.
Obviously, 2022 is still a long way off, and even then travelling to Japan might not be an option. In the meantime, you can revisit the prototype images for the official Ghibli park from 2018, or watch all of the studio’s films at home, since they came to Netflix earlier this year.
