TRAVEL NEWS: All about Japan’s new Ghibli Park!

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Images by Gemma Edwards

Of course, if you’re a Ghibli lover and have been to Japan before, you’ve probably already explored the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo.

I was lucky enough to live in the neighbourhood when I spent a year in Tokyo, and so can tell you first-hand that it’s a truly magical and immersive experience.

The official name is Museo d’Arte Ghibli, (in Italian because the brilliant director, Miyazaki, has a special fondness for the country and its landscape features a lot in Ghibli films).

As its name suggests, this museum focusses on the art of Studio Ghibli.

In the museum, you can also watch special-made short films exclusive to the museum cinema, and the entire colourful building is filled with intricate details from floor to ceiling.

It doesn’t take long to walk the entire area, but you get so lost in the art and whimsy of it all that it’s very easy to spend several hours there.

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Images by Gemma Edwards

TRAVEL TIP

If you’re on a Ghibli pilgrimage in Tokyo, don’t forget to check out Shirohige’s Cream Puff Factory in Setagaya – the only official baker of Totoro Cream Puffs (known as シュークリーム shūkurīmu in Japanese).

Shūkurīmu is the Japanese rendition of the French choux crème, (also known as profiteroles).

They’re one of my absolute favourite Japanese sweets - light, fluffy, crisp choux pastry wrapped around a delicious and creamy custard filling that puts the runny custard you know to shame. This delicious Japanese dessert is made even sweeter by the adorable Totoro shape.

As for the Ghibli Park…

It’s a different experience entirely.

The Ghibli Park is designed to bring scenes to life, so you can walk through the different magical worlds in Ghibli Films. It’s much larger than the Ghibli museum, and in a different prefecture – located in Aichi, just outside Nagoya.

Similar to the Ghibli museum, there are set dates where you can order tickets, and you can only enter with a pre-purchased ticket. According to the official Ghibli Park video, tickets will be available on the 10th of every month. You’ll need to get a different ticket for each of the park areas.

TIP:  It’s cheaper on weekdays than weekends.

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Japan is primarily a cash country, so you’ll want to take Japanese Yen (JPY) for all your day-to-day transactions (food, market stalls, public transport, temple and shrine offerings etc).

For bigger purchases and hotel reservations, pay with your Travel Money Oz Currency Pass! 

There’s also heaps of ATMs found in Japanese convenience stores (affectionately known as コンビニ konbini), but be savvy about fees.

For more info on planning travel money for your Japanese holiday, see our Destination Guide and How Much Money do I Need to Travel Japan blog.

For more inspo for your Japanese holiday, read our Japan: Broke vs Baller blog, Japan: Your Guide to Japanese Festivals blog, Japan: 8 Best Things to Do on a Budget blog, and Japan: 5 Cool New Things To Do blog.