2024-03-21 21:05:08
After the new area “Witch’s Valley” opened on March 16, the area planned by Ghibli Park has been fully opened. The five areas of Ghibli Park are scattered in the Love Earth Expo Memorial Park (Nagakute City, Aichi Prefecture), covering an area equivalent to four Tokyo Disneyland and covering an area of about 190 hectares. Fans who purchase all regional passes need to plan ahead if they want to visit all popular attractions in one day. Reporters from “Nihon Keizai Shimbun” (Chinese version: Nikkei Chinese Network) visited all five areas to give you a guide to visiting Ghibli Park.
In November 2022, the three areas of “Ghibli Warehouse”, “Hill of Youth” and “My Neighbor Totoro (DonDoKo) Forest” will be opened first. “Ghost Hometown” will be added in November 2023, and as of this time “Witch’s Valley”, all areas have been opened. Witch Valley has “Howl’s Castle” about 20 meters high, as well as the carousel and flying machine, which are the first attractions in Ghibli Park.
The carousel is the first attraction at Ghibli Park
After the full opening, the ticket system has also been significantly adjusted. There are three types of tickets, including the “Ghibli Park Walk Ticket” that allows you to visit 5 areas (4,000 yen for adults, weekends and holidays, approximately RMB 190), and the “Ghibli Park Pass” for the entire area including the interior of the building. Park Walk Premium” (7,800 yen, approximately RMB 376), and the 4-zone ticket “Ghibli Park Walk” (2,000 yen, approximately RMB 96) excluding “Grand Warehouse”.
Ghibli Park features a low daily attendance limit. In November 2022, when the three areas opened first, the number of people was limited to about 5,000. Even after the “Witch’s Valley” with a maximum area of 2.9 hectares opened, it would only receive about 6,000 to 7,000 tourists at most. The park will try to avoid crowding and focus on the “quality” of leisurely immersing yourself in the world of Ghibli.
There are many European-style buildings in “Witch’s Valley”
Although you can stroll around the park at your leisure, you still need to plan ahead if you want to visit the popular attractions in one day. In terms of visiting time, the Ghibli Warehouse takes 2 to 3 hours, My Neighbor Totoro Forest and Hill of Youth each take 1 hour, and the Ghost Hometown takes 30 minutes to 1 hour. If you carefully visit the largest Witch Valley, it is estimated to take 2 to 3 hours.
Nikkei reporters personally visited all five areas on foot, and the moving time alone took about an hour. The business hours of Ghibli Park are from 9 am to 5 pm on weekends and holidays, and from 10 am to 5 pm on weekdays. Goro Miyazaki, who is responsible for designing Ghibli Park, also said: “I am worried about whether I can visit five areas in one day.”
Be aware of limited-capacity displays and rides. For example, “Howl’s Moving Castle” is about 20 meters high in the Witch’s Valley. Part of the castle moves several times per hour and emits smoke. The two-story castle has a living room with a large stove and Howl’s bedroom. There are many places worth seeing, but the number of people who can enter at one time is limited.
“Howl’s Castle” located in the new area “Witch’s Valley”
As the first amusement facilities in Ghibli Park, the carousel (capacity is 35 people, the fee is 1,000 yen for adults, approximately RMB 48) and the aircraft (capacity is 8 adults, 8 children, the fee is 500 yen, approximately RMB 48) RMB 24) is also expected to be crowded. If you want to enjoy the entire area, it may be safer to go at an earlier time.
The special feature of Witch Valley is that you can enter it multiple times. If the ride you want to play is crowded, you can go to the other four areas first and then come back. The person in charge of Aichi Prefecture, who is responsible for the construction of Ghibli Park, explained that “the purpose of this move is to use the largest Witch Valley as a buffer zone to adjust the overall density of people.”
An electric cat bus that travels between “Ghost Town” and “My Neighbor Totoro Forest”
Outside the park there is an electric bus based on the cat bus in “My Neighbor Totoro”. Developed by Toyota, the plush seats replicate the Cat Bus as closely as possible. The passenger capacity is 5 people and 5 vehicles are operated, so it is expected to be crowded here.
Yamaguchi, a professor at Japan’s Oberlin University, once pointed out, “In order to fully enjoy theme parks, tourists also need skills and experience.” He said: “Some people want to visit all five areas of Ghibli Park, while others want to focus on one place. I hope everyone can find a way to play that suits them in a planned way.”
Copyright statement: All rights reserved by Nihon Keizai Shimbun. No reproduction or partial reproduction is allowed without authorization. Violators will be prosecuted.
1711164716
#Nikkei #reporter #experienced #firsthandGuide #areas #Park #Ghibli #Nikkei #Chinese