I thought I’d share my experience with Ghibli Park (as I know others have done) in case it is helpful to anyone.
Some background (feel free to skip this part): I used to live in Nagoya (in Fujigaoka, where you switch from subway to the Linimo line to get to the park). I lived there 2005-2007, moving in a week after the expo ended. So I had a chance to explore the grounds then and went there several times just to walk around. They were converting it from expo grounds to a more usable park. When I vacationed to Japan in 2017, I went back to see it again to see the progress. As you can imagine, it’s a pretty large park since it hosted the expo. When I heard they were turning it into Ghibli Park, I was excited but also a little annoyed I wouldn’t be able to visit it just as a park again. But turns out, it’s still overall a public park! This is worth mentioning because it impacts how it feels to visit it as “Ghibli Park.”
Experience: My partner and I both logged onto our devices right when tickets were going on sale for July. We already knew our dates for Nagoya so had to go to the park on July 11th. I was 2897th in line with a 29 minute wait (took a screenshot of this)! But my partner got on in about a minute. We suspected his computer was faster than my phone but who knows. He got us the full pass allowing access to all areas. I told him to sign up for the earliest time available to go to the Warehouse so it would be less crowded. We got the first time slot (10:00am).
The day of, we arrived around 9:30am. I went into the info center across from the Lawsons there to get a map. They also have a stamp in there for anyone collecting those!
Then we walked to the clock tower elevator thing. We waited in line a few minutes then decided just to walk down the path instead. If you’re in a hurry, just skip the elevator (you can always ride it back up later). At the bottom of the hill, we saw a long line which I assumed was for the Warehouse but the Warehouse is in a building that looks just like the ice skating rink it’s next to, so I wondered if this was a line for ice skating. We asked someone and they confirmed it was the line for the Warehouse so we got in it. We probably got in around 10:10am and went straight to the line for No Face.
As many reviews have said, the Warehouse is basically a place to take your TikTok/Instagram footage. It’s a big photo op stop. I unfortunately watched too many videos on it because I had that deja vu feeling where I felt like I’d already been there. That said, I was there for the photos so felt that waiting in line for No Face was a must. After No Face there are other scenes for photos in the same room, and we had fun with it. (My boyfriend found the Warehouse charming, probably because he hadn’t ODed on content already.) Walked around the rest of the Warehouse then exited.
Here’s the big point I want to make. This is still pretty much a public park. We showed tickets to get into the Warehouse but when we exited we are back in the public park. Anyone can go on the clock tower elevator. You can see the Whisper of the Heart house sticking out of the trees. For free. You show your ticket when you get close to the house, then you show your ticket again (to prove you have premium pass) to go in the house. Same with the other areas. But between each area, you are walking through a public park. The only area I found impressive was the witch area. Howl’s Moving Castle had AC so we lingered. We skipped the forest because we were hot and tired at this point.
Overall thoughts:
1. I’m glad I did it once. Wouldn’t pay to do it again. No regrets on skipping an area.
2. There are missed opportunities to make the park feel more Ghibli-like.
3. Set your expectations that the Ghibli stuff is scattered around a public park. You’ll walk a lot in non-themed areas.
4. A fair number of people dressed up (mostly as Kiki or Sophie)—it was so cute and I wish I’d done that.
5. If you don’t get tickets but are a big fan, dress up, get some snacks, and come to the park for free. You can ride the clock tower elevator and get a picture of the Whisper of the Heart house from afar.
6. I was HIGHLY disappointed that they weren’t selling Lofi Girl merch (I know they couldn’t actually call it that but I was looking for that Shizuku image on stuff). This was the biggest letdown. (I’m not joking. Don’t they know what they have?!?!)
7. I didn’t end up buying anything from the stores here. Nagoya Station has a Ghibli store that is much less crowded. And I ended up buying most merch from GBL in Tokyo Station.
If I think of or remember anything else, I’ll add it in later. I’d love to know what your experience was!
by SyrahCera