There are only a few weeks left before the world’s first Ghibli theme park opens on Nov. 1.
True to the Miyazaki vibe, the much-anticipated park in Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture, has little of the fireworks or carnival atmosphere of, say, Disney World, offering a quiet, small-scale feel instead.
There are no rides, prizes or humans dressed as bipedal dogs. Instead, discrete houses are nestled peacefully inside the existing dense forest of trees inside the Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park. (According to Goro Miyazaki, Hayao Miyazaki’s son, any trees that had to be removed for construction were replanted elsewhere.)