‘Princess Mononoke’ Area of Ghibli Park in Central Japan Shown to Press, Set to Open on Wednesday

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:24 JST, October 26, 2023

A press preview of a new area inspired by the animated film “Mononoke Hime” (“Princess Mononoke”) took place Wednesday at Ghibli Park in Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture.

The theme park recreates the world of animated movies produced by Studio Ghibli.

The new area is called Mononoke no Sato, or Mononoke Village, and brings to life the landscape of the Japanese mountain village in “Princess Mononoke” with a Tatara-ba or Irontown house, which has a grass-thatched roof, and an Okkotonushi (Lord Okkoto) boar slide. There is also a 2.8-meter-tall, 9-meter-long sculpture of Tatarigami, or Demon Spirit.

The area will be open to the public on Nov. 1.

“We’ve got a nice landscape where you can say plants and trees are the main characters,” said Goro Miyazaki, the director of Ghibli Park.

The facility opened in November last year with three out of five areas. The three areas are: Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse, Dondoko Forest and Hill of Youth. The theme park will be fully operational with the opening of the fifth area, Valley of Witches, in March next year.