Explorers! Get ready to enter a whole new animated world, Studio Ghibli is joining the theme park game.

Japan’s much-celebrated animation company, Studio Ghibli, has announced plans for a new theme park close to Nagoya (where LEGOLAND Japan opened in April 2017). Due to open in 2020, the 200-hectare site of the 2005 World Expo will be transformed into “Ghibli Park” an immersive world based on the hit film “My Neighbour Totoro”.

Japanese movie poster for My Neighbor Totoro. Credit: IMP Awards.

If you need even more inspiration to visit Japan in 2020, that’s also when Tokyo Disneyland’s Beauty and the Beast attraction and Fantasyland expansion are due to open and Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan!

The site already features a recreation of Satsuki and Mei’s house from the movie, but the new park will expand the experience into a full theme park.

Guest should not expect giant rollercoasters but instead can look forward to interactive experiences in a beautiful natural setting. Like many Ghibli movies, nature will be a key component of the park with the woodland of the site preserved and structures built in existing clearings.

Photo by Gnsin. Retouched and utilized under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license.

Photo by Gnsin. Utilized under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license.

Whether the park will represent other Ghibli films remains to be seen, but the chance to enter the magical world of Totoro is great news for animation and theme park fans alike.

Those visiting Japan before 2020 can get their Ghibli fix at the fantastic Ghibli Museum in Tokyo. Learn how to buy tickets in our guide.

Information from See Japan press release.