Interest
Ghibli Theme Park's Elevator Tower Is Now Free to Use
posted on by Kim Morrissy
The Twitter announced that the tower, which serves as one of the entrances to the park, is also free to use as of Wednesday.
ジブリパークへの入り口のひとつとなる「エレベーター塔」がお披露目となりました。『天空の城ラピュタ』の世界のモデルとなった、19世紀末の空想科学世界をもとにデザインしたエレベーター塔は、今日から無料で利用することができます。 pic.twitter.com/Cs5io7FOBa
— スタジオジブリ STUDIO GHIBLI (@JP_GHIBLI) March 23, 2022
The design is inspired by fictional science at the end of the 19th century (i.e. Steampunk). Ghibli also clarified that the structure is made of metal, not mortar.
The Ghibli no Daisōko, Seishun no Oka (Hill of Youth), and Dondoko Mori (Dondoko Forest) areas of the Ghibli theme park are slated to My Neighbor Totoro.
Work on the designs began in 2019. A cornerstone-laying ceremony was held in July last year. Formal construction on the Mononoke no Sato and Majo no Tani areas will begin this year. Construction will continue for two or three years.
The staff projects that 1 million people annually will visit the first three areas to open, and then 1.8 million people annually will visit once the park is fully open a year later. To accommodate the flow of visitors, the surrounding area and roads are adding 1,500 more parking spaces and measures to control traffic.
Aichi Prefecture has budgeted 31 billion yen ($280 million) for construction, in addition to 3 billion yen ($30 million) for the design and planning process.
Aichi Prefecture established the Ghibli Park, Inc. company that will be responsible for the management and operation of the park.
Aichi Prefecture and Studio Ghibli are collaborating to open the park in a 200-hectare area in Aichi's Expo Park, also known as Moricoro Park, the site of the 2005 World's Fair. The park already has "Satsuki and Mei's House," a replica of main characters' house from the My Neighbor Totoro anime film. The house was the site of a Studio Ghibli exhibition in both 2008 and 2015.
The prefecture is aiming to make the park an attraction for both foreign and domestic tourists. Both Studio Ghibli and the prefecture are funding the operating company that will be in charge of the park.
While the park is being developed, the construction will not cause damage to the park through felling trees or other methods.
Studio Ghibli also maintains The Ghibli Museum, located in Mitaka in west Tokyo. The Ghibli Museum has interactive exhibits and replicas of iconic Ghibli creations, and it offers a rotating screening of different Ghibli-animated shorts. The museum reopen in September.
Studio Ghibli previously preview of the 16-meter-tall Howl's Castle.
Source: Huffington Post Japan
