Nagoya Families

Can you feel it in the air? The magic, the supernatural, the sense of wonder, and childish glee. No, it’s not the upcoming Halloween celebrations; it’s something more extraordinary than that and much more embedded in Japanese culture. No, that sense of enchantment and wonder you can feel all around Aichi is the knowledge that Studio Ghibli is in town. With international smash hit animated movies like Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Ponyo, Studio Ghibli is one of Japan’s most instantly recognizable cultural icons. The worlds created in its movies are at once fantastical and recognizable, and now, you, too, can inhabit them. Ghibli Park in Nagakute’s Moricoro Park (also known as Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park) is a tourist attraction in which the whimsical world of Ghibli, created by the legendary director Hayao Miyazaki, comes to life. Spanning the park’s lush, sprawling landscape, Ghibli Park is a testament to the studio’s dedication to the wonder of their films, and visitors are transported into a realm where the boundaries between reality and fantasy blur as iconic Ghibli landscapes and characters appear before your very eyes. Ghibli Park is divided into five distinct zones (or it will be when the…