BODY: Ghibli Park is about to venture into the toxic jungle. On August 7, Aichi Prefecture announced its Phase 3 development plan for the park, and the centerpiece is a brand-new indoor facility themed around Hayao Miyazaki's post-apocalyptic epic Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
The choice is significant. Since opening in November 2022 inside the Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park in Nagakute, Ghibli Park has expanded across five themed areas drawn from beloved films like My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, and Princess Mononoke. But Nausicaä — the 1984 film that essentially launched Studio Ghibli's identity a year before the studio was formally founded — has never had a dedicated space until now.
The prefecture's plan calls for the new attraction to recreate the world of Nausicaä indoors, giving the park a weather-proof, year-round venue. Details on scale, exhibits, and an opening date remain thin, as this is a concept-stage announcement rather than a groundbreaking. Governor Hideaki Ohmura's administration has steadily rolled out these phased expansions, each timed to sustain visitor interest well beyond the initial opening buzz.
For fans, the appeal is obvious: the Ohmu, the Sea of Decay, and Nausicaä's glider are among the most iconic imagery in Miyazaki's catalog, and none of it currently exists in physical form anywhere.
The insider take
From Tokyo, the timing reads as strategic. Ghibli Park deliberately avoided the ride-heavy theme-park formula, betting on atmosphere and craftsmanship over roller coasters — a gamble that paid off but leaves it vulnerable to weather and seasonality in landlocked Aichi. An indoor Nausicaä facility solves both problems at once: it adds all-season capacity while tapping the one major Ghibli property still missing from the lineup. It also signals that Aichi views the park as a long-term prefectural asset, not a one-time tourism splash, quietly cementing Nagakute's status as a pilgrimage site rivaling the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka.
Originally reported by GAME Watch (Japanese).