Get spirited away by Japan’s Ghibli Park

From a shy and lonely boy traumatized by World War II, Hayao Miyazaki has made history for his 2001 opus Spirited Away, which shattered box office records and surpassed Titanic as the highest-grossing film in Japan, and for being the first anime to win the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Oscars as Best Animated Feature.

Miyazaki again showed his sustained influence in global animation when at 83 years old, he won his second Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for The Boy and the Heron (2024).

At Ghibli Park in Nagakute, Aichi, Japan, visitors can experience first-hand the genius behind Studio Ghibli, the animation production company behind Spirited Away and The Boy and the Heron that Miyazaki co-founded.

Like Disneyland that was founded by fellow animator Walt Disney, Ghibli Park offers rides and attractions inspired by Studio Ghibli films and projects. But unlike Disneyland, Ghibli Park is only found in Japan and advocates Japanese culture as seen in the films, including local produce farming. It is thus a quieter, less crowded and less touristy offbeat option than the more famous Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea.

Indeed, Ghibli Park is the best place to experience Studio Ghibli’s grit and growth from a homegrown anime house into a global phenomenon. If you have a daily 10,000 steps goal, the park’s hilly terrain amid cool mountain climate and long distances among different sides of the park would surely keep you right on track!