Studio Ghibli theme park: New details include official park logo drawn by director Hayao Miyazaki

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Producer Toshio Suzuki unveils logo at a press conference, along with special poster. 

Ever since it was announced that Studio Ghibli would be opening its very first theme park in Japan, the animation studio–along with the Aichi Prefectural government and the Chunichi Shimbun newspaper, who are partners in the new enterprise– have been slowly teasing us with details.

And on Friday, Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki, Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura and Chunichi CEO Uichiro Oshima held a press conference in Aichi to tease us with some more information regarding themed zones and give us the big reveal for the new theme park logo.

▼ Left to right: Suzuki, the governor, and Oshima at the press conference.

Governor Omura took to Twitter to share the information with the rest of the world online, giving us a closer look at designs from the five park zones they first introduced us to in December last year.

There’s the full-sized replica of the Chikyuya antique shop from Whisper of the Heart, set to be located in the park’s “Seishun no Oka Area” (“Youth Hill Area”).

▼ The opposite side of the Chikyuya antique shop.

▼ Blueprints for the “Ghibli Dai Soko Area” (“Ghibli Large Warehouse Area”)

▼ The “Dondoko Mori Area” (“Dondoko Forest Area”)

▼ “Mononoke no Sato Area” (“Mononoke’s Village Area”)

▼ And the “Majo no Tani Area” (“Witches’ Valley Area“)

The biggest surprise from the press conference came with the unveiling of the new park logo, which was created by the two living co-founders of Studio Ghibli (sadly, the third co-founder, Isao Takahata, passed away last year). Legendary director Hayao Miyazaki created the first word “ジブリ” (“Ghibli”) while his longtime producer friend Suzuki created the second word “パーク” (Park).

Suzuki also prepared a Ghibli Park poster for the press conference, with the logo on the bottom left, a flower in the foreground, and an image of Aichi Prefecture’s EXPO Park (once the site of the 2005 World EXPO, now the location for Mei and Satsuki’s house and the new Ghibli theme park) in the background.

▼ Across the poster is the message “Make efforts, now“.

This message, written in Suzuki’s own hand, acts as a motto for the three partners behind the project, who are now charged with making every fan’s Ghibli dreams come to life and meeting the park’s opening date goal of autumn 2022.

▼ Until then, we’ll have to make do with official concept art of the park.

According to the Aichi Prefectural Government, construction for the Youth Hill, Large Warehouse, and Dondoko Forest Areas will begin in 2020, with a projected opening date of 2022. Mononoke’s Village and Witches’ Valley will begin construction in 2021, with opening scheduled for 2023.

After visiting the limited-time Ghibli exhibition in Tokyo, which honoured the works of Suzuki and Studio Ghibli, we have high expectations for the upcoming Ghibli Park in Aichi Prefecture. Here’s hoping the giant talking Yubaba and Zeniba heads from that exhibition will be taking up permanent residence at the park when it opens in a few years!

Sources: Net Lab, Hachima Kikou 
Featured image: Twitter/@ohmura_hideaki
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