[Japan 2023] Ghibli Park in Nagoya [Winter]
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Located in the expo park, the one and only Ghibli Park (not to be confused with the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka!) is a little green paradise that offers visitors a peaceful and healing day trip.
We bought our tickets for two parks, i.e. Grand Warehouse & Dondoko Forest. The newly opened Mononoke Village was included for free, however we didn't have time to visit. You can purchase the ticket online here 2-3 months before the date you visit.
On the skytrain to the park - the journey took around one hour from Nagoya city centre.
Our first stop is the biggest area in the park - Grand Warehouse. As the name implies, it's an indoor area with different themed sections.
We queued for around 15 mins to take photos with the Laputa (Castle in the Sky) robot.
Laputa is my favourite Ghibli movie - there were times I always wondered if there was an ancient, forgotten city hidden behind those huge clouds...
We only noticed there was actually a second robot buried by the roots after someone took a photo for us...
We also queued for a while to take a clear photo of the old lady from Spirited Away.
We realised we could also take it from the other side without queueing lol. Another angle, not front-faced, but also decent enough...
Then we went through the gallery that showcase photos of delicious food scenes, and also a section with real-life sets of the movies that you can't take photos of.
You can sit inside the cat bus - be prepared to sit among the kids hahaha.
There is a super cute Totoro chair, and bar "manned" by bartender Totoro in the end.
Gin and tonic please.
Quite like this little bookstore set titled "Philosophy research club" but I don't know which movie this is based on.
Shopping time! The souvenir shop was so crowded...
I picked the Spirited Away badges as gifts because of the cute design + embroidery + the excitement/uniqueness of blind boxes. Kaonashi is super popular so I was expecting one of my friends/siblings would get it but eventually no one got him ahahaha... it's a rare pokemon! For myself, I got the Laputa keychain (always dreamed of having the flying blue stone) and the sketchbook because the design looks so sleek...
This was the super long queue for the section with classic Ghibli scenes, where you could take the most Instagrammable pics ever (like Spirited Away train). It's too long... We didn't want to stuck in the queue and miss the chance to see other stuff so we gave it up.
Maybe I'm too old to be eager to complete all must-go spots, also because what I love about Ghibli is the relaxing vibes it offers - I don't want to be in a hurry and get anxious on this trip, so I didn't get to experience much like the others which I'm totally happy with it haha.
FYI the whole Ghibli Park area is huge...so do factor in time to travel from one area to the other.
After Warehouse we departed for the Dondoko Forest and gosh...it is SO FAR!
It felt like a hiking trail.
You have to take a small tramcar up the hill.
Very slow and also very short tram ride.
After all the hiking you'll be welcomed by a huge Totoro - kids can climb up and peek out from its teeth! If you feel like the Totoro is too dark, maybe it's because you took the wrong side! We just discovered the lighting on the other side was better haha.
Continuing the path, we arrived at the Satsuki's village house!
There are so many small details like this that you could feel the efforts. You can open each drawer and able to see and touch those Showa-period retro-style accessories/furniture.
Dad's study room.
The ancient bathtub! This scene left a really strong impression when I was small because it seemed so much fun!
You can really get water out of the well with the old pumping tool.
Chilling on the "genkan".
View of the house from atop the hill.
There is actually a shuttle bus run between areas in the park but it's quite crowded.
Chilling under the dead tree in winter.
I think it's the poppy hill's house? We didn't buy ticket for this, which is actually a wise decision actually because we wouldn't have enough time to visit!
The clock tower lift looks really majestic during the golden time.
There are some cafes/shops around the entrance area with nice ambience.
But we are cheapskate so we just went straight to Family Mart for a quick bite of the piping hot Fami Fried Chicken!
The sunset view on the skytrain was super pretty. It gave a roller coaster vibe with the ferris wheel view but it was actually super slow hahaha.
End of the adventure!
I'd say Ghibli Park is quite different from the usual theme park - it is more like a museum with interactive elements than a theme park. It's the perfect spot for Ghibli movie lovers to imagine themselves as adventurers exploring the vast nature just like the movie characters; to escape from the bustling city and enjoy a slow-paced, relaxing journey in the fairy tale world.
I'd recommend Nagashima Spa Land Amusement Park instead if you are after fun and thrill~
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