Ghibli Park, the world’s only Studio Ghibli theme park, is now entirely open to the public following this weekend’s launch of the Valley of Witches area.
Valley of Witches, the park’s fifth and final area, is based on anime films such as Kiki’s Delivery Service and Howl’s Moving Castle. It contains a life-size Howl’s Moving Castle.
The new area also features the witch’s house from Earwig and the Witch, and Ghibli Park‘s first amusement park-style rides, like a merry-go-round and an aerial carousel-ride.
Additionally, Valley of Witches includes the bakery home of Kiki and her black cat Jiji from Kiki’s Delivery Service, the Soratobu Oven restaurant, a hot dog stand called the Hot Tin Roof, and a shop named 13 Witches.
Valley of Witches is Ghibli Park’s last area to open to the public. It has now joined Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse, Hill of Youth, Dondoko Forest, and Mononoke Village.
Over the weekend, Ghibli Park’s new eco-friendly Catbus electric vehicles were also due to go into service. Inspired by the Catbus in My Neighbor Totoro, the new vehicles are based on Toyota’s APM (Accessible People Mover).
New Catbus vehicles at Ghibli Park
Operated by Monet Technologies, the APM Catbus is providing 10-minute trips between the Mononoke Village and Dondoko Forest areas through an inaccessible forest.
Guests can buy tickets for a ride on a Catbus at special vending machines. Only one-way tickets can be purchased, as opposed to round-trip tickets. These cost 1,000 yen ($6) for adults and 500 yen ($3) for children.
