Source: ghibli-park.jpChecked 22 Aug 2026

Half a Day at Ghibli Park: Three Areas, September 2024

If you buy from outside Japan, Ghibli Park sells you two passes, and which one you hold decides which parts of the park you can walk into. Booking is required, with no exceptions, and the day you can book is fixed: two months ahead, on the 10th, at two in the afternoon Japan time. I went in September 2024 and spent between three and four hours there. I got into three of the five areas.

Where: 1533-1 Ibaragabasama, Nagakute, Aichi — inside the Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park
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When: September 2024, a half day, three to four hours
Where I went: The Hill of Youth, Mononoke Village and the Valley of Witches
Getting there: Ai-Chikyuhaku Kinen Koen Station on the Linimo line, at the park
Booking: Required, in advance, on the official site

Two Passes, If You Are Buying From Outside Japan

The park has five areas: Ghibli's Grand Warehouse, the Hill of Youth, Dondoko Forest, Mononoke Village and the Valley of Witches. The English ticket page is headed Tickets (Overseas Purchase), and it offers two day passes. Adult prices, checked 21 August 2026.

Ghibli Park O-Sanpo Day Pass Premium — all five areas. ¥7,300 weekday, ¥7,800 weekend and holiday
Ghibli Park O-Sanpo Day Pass Standard — Ghibli's Grand Warehouse, Mononoke Village and the Valley of Witches. ¥3,300 weekday, ¥3,800 weekend and holiday

The Hill of Youth and Dondoko Forest are not in the Standard. Between those two passes, that is the choice.

The same page says that for domestic purchase you should check a different page, and that the different page is in Japanese only. The Japanese site lists more combinations than these two, including single-area tickets. So the number of options in front of you depends on which page you are buying from.

Two Months Ahead, at Two in the Afternoon

The passes go on sale two months in advance, on the 10th, at 2 p.m. Japan time. November dates go on sale on 10 September, and so on.

Each ticket type can be bought once per month, up to six tickets at a time. After the booking is made there are no refunds, and no changes to the date, the time, the ticket type or the number of tickets.

Your name is on the ticket, and you may be asked for identification when you go in, so bring your passport.

That is the part to plan around. Not the day itself — the date the tickets are released, and the fact that you cannot move the booking afterwards.

Fifty Minutes Between Two Areas

The areas are not next to each other. The longest walk I did between two of them took about fifty minutes.

I did not time it, and I am going from memory. But it is the number I would give someone planning the day: not a few minutes between one area and the next, closer to an hour.

Three to four hours in the park, three areas, and a walk like that between two of them. That is most of what the half day was.

What I Looked At

Howl's castle stands in the Valley of Witches. I looked at it from outside. It did not move while I was watching it, and I did not go in.

Howl’s castle seen from below over scrub, the dome and chimneys above the bushes

A bakery in the same area, with KIKI on the sign.

The restaurant in the same area had its hours on a board by the door: 11:00 to 17:00, last orders at 16:00. That is what the board said in September 2024. I read it and did not go in.

A black signboard reading OPEN 11:00, CLOSE 17:00 (L.O.16:00), and ENTRANCE

A cart shaped like a cat, with the park's name across the roof, running through the park. I did not ride it.

A cart shaped like a cat, parked on a road, with a name plate on its roof

A bronze animal on the gravel, a drooping face and long hair. I did not know what it was.

A bronze statue of a dog standing on gravel, seen from the front

What it was: It is Heen, the dog from Howl’s Moving Castle. I did not work that out on the day, and I have not found it named on the official site.

Getting there: The official English directions page says there is no parking lot designated for Ghibli Park. Linimo stops at Ai-Chikyuhaku Kinen Koen, and the park is just outside the station from Exit 2. Meitetsu runs a shuttle from Nagoya Station: nine a day on weekdays, seven of them non-stop, and ten on weekends and holidays, all non-stop; coming back it is eight and nine. There are also shuttles from Chubu International Airport. A few of the services are cashless and do not take cash as a rule. The page gives no journey time. Checked 22 August 2026.
Ghibli Park — directions

Parking: Ghibli Park has no car park of its own, but the park it sits inside — Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park — has six, and that park's own site also asks visitors to come by Linimo or public transport. Standard cars are ¥500 on ordinary days and ¥1,000 at busy times, and free if you are in and out within ninety minutes. On weekends and holidays the north and west car parks fill: in the 2025 season the earliest was 9:30. The east one opens weekends and holidays only, runs about a tenth as full, and is 600m on foot from the park's north gate. Checked 22 August 2026.
What I did: I parked in the park's car park. I do not remember which one. That is what I did, not what I am telling you to do.
Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park — access and parking

Booking: Advance booking is required on every day of the week. Passes go on sale two months ahead, on the 10th at 2 p.m. Japan time. One purchase per ticket type per month, six tickets maximum. No refunds and no changes after purchase. Overseas purchase is through LAWSON TICKET or Klook, linked from the official page. Checked 21 August 2026.
Ghibli Park — tickets, overseas purchase

Same-day tickets: Okino Residence, Howl's Castle and The House of Witches each need a same-day ticket to go inside — ¥1,000 adult for Howl's Castle, ¥400 for the other two. Exchange vouchers are handed out at the Ticket Truck in the Valley of Witches from 10:00 on weekdays and 9:00 on weekends and holidays, first come, and numbers are limited. Premium pass holders do not need them. I did not have one, and I did not go inside the castle.
Ghibli Park — tickets, overseas purchase

The clock: Ghibli's Grand Warehouse is the only area with an assigned entrance time, chosen when you book. The other four have no set time, but last entry to all of them is 16:30. The official site says the Hill of Youth and Dondoko Forest are expected to be very crowded from 16:00 until closing at 17:00, and recommends going in the morning or early afternoon. The merry-go-round and the flying machine cost extra, and some things close in the rain.
The castle: The official site gives it as about twenty metres tall, and says it moves several times an hour. It was still while I was there.

Areas I did not go into: Ghibli's Grand Warehouse and Dondoko Forest are both part of Ghibli Park. I did not go into either one, so there is nothing here from me about them. Dondoko Forest has timed entry — morning from opening until 13:00, afternoon 13:00 to 16:30. It is a hill, and Dondoko-go, a slope car, runs between the foot and the summit.
Ghibli Park — official site

Before You Go

I went in September 2024. The ticket types and prices above were checked on the official site in August 2026, and I have not tried to work out which of them matches what I held two years earlier. Opening days run on a calendar the official site publishes, and ticket types change. Check the official site for the dates you are going, and put the release date in your calendar rather than the visit.

If you need a car or a room: Rental cars in Nagoya →; Hotels in Nagoya →

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