Joseph Luster
June 2, 2019 
If you have plans to visit Japan soon, you might want to go ahead and consider a return trip in a few years. During a recent press conference in Tokyo, Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki, Aichi Prefecture Governer Hideaki Omura, and Chunichi CEO Uichiro Oshima announced official plans for a Studio Ghibli theme park.
The park will be housed in the 460-acre Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park, which is located near Nagoya. There are currently five themed areas being considered for inclusion in the park, including some based on Hayao Miyazaki films like Princess Mononoke and Howl’s Moving Castle.
You may recall some earlier concept art:
According to Suzuki, Miyazaki won’t be able to keep his personal creative touch out of the park plans. As detailed in the Variety report, Suzuki jokingly said Miyazaki is “really worried about the Ghibli park … He can’t leave anything up to other people. He’s a meddlesome old man.”
Miyazaki is still working on his new feature, How Do You Live?, which is aiming for a 2020 release. As for the park itself, it’s currently set to open sometime in the fall of 2022, so you still have plenty of time to plan your next visit.
