Come ride the Catbus (Nekobus), snap photos with Howl, and feast on magical Studio Ghibli food at Nagoya’s Studio Ghibli Park in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. If you’re a fan of anime, fantasy, or just pure childhood nostalgia, this theme park is where your Ghibli dreams finally come to life.
As a child, I was obsessed with Studio Ghibli movies. I wanted nothing more than to take Chihiro’s place and hold hands with Haku while crossing through the spirit world in Spirited Away. I dreamed of floating in Howl’s arms while dancing in Howl’s Moving Castle. (You can tell I’m a hopeless romantic, can’t you? LOL)
And don’t even get me started on the Studio Ghibli food that appears in the films. The ramen, the bento, the giant onigiri—they’re etched into every fan’s memory. So it’s safe to say that for every Studio Ghibli lover, visiting Ghibli Park in Japan is a bucket-list dream.
This incredible anime theme park opened in November 2022 inside the Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park. Ever since, it’s been booked and busy, drawing visitors from all over the world.
🕙 Hours: Open 10:00–17:00 on regular weekdays.
📍 Location: Aichi Prefecture, near Nagoya, Japan.
You can reserve your ticket here.
There are five magical areas inside Studio Ghibli Park:
˘Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse
˘Hill of Youth
˘Dondoko Forest
˘Mononoke Village
˘Valley of Witches
There a variety of ticket options, such as
˘Ghibli Park O-Sanpo day Pass Premium
(Access to all 5 main areas)
¥7,300–7,800
˘Ghibli Park O-Sanpo Day Pass Standard
(Access to Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse, Mononoke Village, and Valley of Witches)
¥3,300–3,800
This is the ticket my friend and I got.
If you want to go inside Howl’s Moving Castle, the Okino Residence (Kiki’s Delivery Service), or the House of Witches, you’ll need additional tickets (¥400–1,000 each). Luckily, you can buy these onsite.
Tickets go on sale on the 10th of every month, and they sell out fast! Even if the site says sold out, keep refreshing. Sometimes people cancel or misclick. Their loss might just become your lucky chance to step into Hayao Miyazaki’s world. 😉
And even if you can’t score a ticket? Don’t worry. You can still enjoy strolling the surrounding park grounds, snapping photos near the entrance, and exploring the wider Aichi Expo Commemorative Park.
(Stick around for my recommendation at the end to make the most of your trip)
Osaka → Nagoya
You can reach Studio Ghibli Park in Nagoya by bus, shinkansen (bullet train), or local trains.
I went by local train from Osaka to arrive near opening time. The cost: about ¥3,330.
Later, I took a Willer Express bus back to Osaka after the park closed (¥2,000–4,000 depending on the booking date).
Let me give you a play-by-play of my time at Studio Ghibli Theme Park.
As much as I love Ghibli, I knew nothing about the theme park if I’m honest LOL. My friend won the tickets and was kind enough to invite (Thank you, Sora!).
9:45 Arrival
I arrived close to the opening time.
The signs for Ghibli Park are everywhere. Just follow the crowds. You’ll first enter the Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park, which leads straight to the Ghibli entrance.
My friend was running late (she had our tickets!), so I wandered, grabbed a snack at Lawson, and soaked in the anticipation. They also had cute souvenirs.
Studio Ghibli Grand Warehouse
This is the heart of the park—basically a giant indoor Ghibli museum meets photo paradise. My friend finally arrived, flashing her adorable Studio Ghibli-themed nails, and we lined up to enter.
Yay, Arrietty and Kiki are finally together <3
12:01 Noh Face
From there, we waited in line for a bit and went to the main attraction, which was sitting on the train with Noh Face. The No-Face train photo spot is the most popular attraction here. Everyone wants their turn to sit next to No-Face (Spirited Away), so I recommend lining up for this first before it gets too crowded.
From there, it’s nonstop photo ops: Do you recognize any of these characters?
Honestly, you could spend hours here just recreating scenes from your favorite movies. ;D
You will spend most (if not all) of your time here taking pictures.
We even ran into other cosplayers (Surprisingly, there were not a lot. My friend and I were 2 of maybe 7 cosplayers we saw the whole day LOL)
13:10 Mini Movie
Your Warehouse ticket includes entry to a 15-minute exclusive Ghibli short film (shown only in Japan). No spoilers, but the one with the spider character was ridiculously cute. No Japanese skills needed—just enjoy the adorable sound effects!)
13:46
From there, we walked around and saw the other areas that had posters, brochures, and things of the such from when the movies premiered in theatres.
14:02 Arrietty’s World
One of my favorite areas. You shrink down to The Secret World of Arrietty’s scale, with giant props and immersive design. It felt magical exploring everything from a tiny borrower’s perspective. It was my time to shine! It’s a small area, but I really loved exploring everything and seeing it from Arrietty’s perspective.
There are sooooo many fun things to do inside the Warehouse, but since we were on a time crunch and my friend had already been to the park before, we went to the next attraction. Be sure to check out the souvenir shop.
15:02 Witches Valley
Here’s where my husband—AKA Howl—lives. You can climb towers, take pictures with Kiki’s broom, or ride the magical merry-go-round inspired by Howl’s Moving Castle. This section is smaller than the Warehouse, but it’s gorgeous and full of charm.
Feel free to explore the area, climb the towers, ride all the rides (this is where you’ll buy those extra tickets), and ride Kiki’s brooms. I thought it was so cool that they have brooms set up for people to take pictures with here.
I didn’t go on Howl’s Merry Go Round, but I certainly will next time!
Don’t forget your picture with him, too!
15:40 Mononoke Village
Finally, we rushed to Mononoke Village, where you can find mochi-making experiences, atmospheric souvenir shops, and photo-perfect statues of Princess Mononoke characters. Sadly, we didn’t have time to eat the themed food (next time for sure!).
I love how Instagrammable this theme park is.
From there, I saw my friend off at the entrance. I technically could have walked back to the main area and entered the Witch’s Valley again, butttttt my feet were killing me. As you can see, I was very committed to cosplaying Arrietty perfectly. Which meant wearing painful hot boots in 95 degree (35 celsius) weather :,). My feet were done LOL.
So I sat in the information center at the entrance for a bit before walking to the mini cafe area and other souvenir shops close by.
16:41Final Picture
To fully end my trip, I walked to the top area that leads to the train station and took my last video/pictures here. 🙂
This was a trip to remember, and I hope you can go too! My inner child was so happy to see some of my favorite characters, especially my husband haha. Definitely for the first time, getting access to the main 3 areas is best because you may not even have time to go to everything; you just saw how quickly my day went by.
Next time, I’ll try to get tickets for the last two areas we didn’t get to see time, as well as Witches Valley and Mononoke Village again just to go on the rides, go inside Howl’s Moving Castle and to eat at the cafe.
I really recommend you do the same and really just try to explore the Warehouse as best you can your first time. Please go and enjoy taking pictures <3
Until next time, stay happy, safe, and say hi to Howl and Noh Face for me when you go.
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