The world of Oscar-winning animator Hayao Miyazaki is to come to life as a theme park set to open in central Japan in 2022, the regional government said yesterday.
Miyazaki is the cofounder of Studio Ghibli and renowned internationally for films such as Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.
Studio Ghibli has released a basic concept for the vast park to be built by 2022 near Nagoya in Japan’s Aichi Prefecture.
It would feature rides and forest trails based on the master animator’s popular fantasy films, including My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service and Howl’s Moving Castle, the Aichi government said.
The park would also be dotted with the European-themed brick towers that appear frequently in Miyazaki’s works, as well as giant installations of spider and boar-shaped spirits in imaginary landscapes that evoke Japan’s mythical and idyllic past.
The park is to be built at the Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park in Nagakute, the local government said.
Its construction cost and other details are yet to be decided, an Aichi official told reporters.
Studio Ghibli already operates the hugely popular Ghibli Museum outside Tokyo, which regularly sells out tickets within hours.
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