Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse — Attraction in Nagakute

Firstly, I must admit that I am not a Ghibli fan, and my visit to the Ghibli Park Warehouse was primarily to accompany my better half, who is an avid fan. This review is tailored for those who share my disinterest in Ghibli and a dislike for queues.

The journey to the park, approximately 50 minutes by train, was surprisingly pleasant. The Linimo train offers a scenic route through suburban areas, making the commute enjoyable for train enthusiasts. However, upon arrival, the experience quickly took a turn.

The Warehouse, the only accessible area at the time of my visit due to ongoing construction, greeted me with a lengthy queue. As a non-fan unfamiliar with most Ghibli films, the dioramas within were, unfortunately, a blur to me. The warehouse primarily serves as a place to queue for photo opportunities with scenes from the films. Be prepared for extended waits, as even capturing a moment with the "mouldy robot" demanded a 30-minute investment.

The Warehouse experience revolves around standing in queues, a quintessential Japanese activity that I personally despise. The monotony of standing in line and meticulous instructions from staff on proper alignment with fellow patrons left me unimpressed. The limited attractions and scenes made it clear that Ghibli enthusiasts would find more joy than skeptics like me.

The short film that was screened made absolutely no sense to me. I had no idea what was going on with the planets and who the heck is Ninya!

There's only one restaurant and a street vending stall with overpriced food offerings, including milk and cake. I got the milk and they wanted me to return the bottle for recycling but I kept it and smuggled it out for my well earned effort. It is now sitting proudly at home on my shelf gathering dust. With food, you cant eat anything brought in from outside. There is a Lawson just outside the Linimo station where you will see people buying supplies like there is a zombie apocalypse, but alas you cant consume any of it inside the Warehouse. I found out the hard way when I opened up an onigiri and was immediately pounced on by a staff member who told me off. She had to realise I was dying of hunger and boredom. Despite the limitations, one positive aspect was the abundance of toilets throughout the warehouse, providing a silver lining for those in need.

While the staff's authoritative approach to queue management may be off-putting, it's evident that they take pride in their work and embrace the whimsical atmosphere of the park. This enthusiasm is reminiscent of Disney in Japan, which, unfortunately, did not resonate with me.

In conclusion, I granted the Ghibli Park Warehouse two stars mainly for the abundance of accessible toilets and the staff's apparent passion for their roles. However, the overall experience left much to be desired for someone with little interest in Ghibli and a disdain...

For those of you who aren't that big of a Ghibli fan Read on to make sure you don't get it wrong.

I'm a person who likes Ghibli Studios. I enjoy the stories, the drawings, the context. But I'm not that BIG fan. I read several comments saying that the park is small, that you can't spend even 3 hours in the park, that the Grand Warehouse area isn't anything special. I was SO WRONG with these people's comments. Guys. The park really does have areas that take 10 minutes to get to, and you don't even stay for 5 minutes (if you buy the single pass, which doesn't give you access to the inside of some "houses".) And it really is small. The park is very interesting. But I would say it would be more like a museum. BUT the park is much more than that. It's in a remote area, I agree with the comments, but the complex is a huge forest area, like a park. There are picnic areas, you can take pictures even without a ticket, it's a really cool area to spend an afternoon. But let's get back to the "park". In the 5 areas, 4 can be accessed at any time, during opening hours (from 9am to 10am) and the Grand Warehouse, you can access at a specific time. Since I thought I wouldn't spend even 4 hours in the park, I planned my entire itinerary, bought all the tickets, THINKING about arriving at the park before 10am, visiting all 4 areas by 11:30am, and entering the Grand House at 12pm. That's what I did. I spent 1h30min visiting 4 areas. Relaxed, looking at what I wanted, I stopped by the shops (I didn't buy anything to eat there, I took 2 onigiri). I arrived before 12pm and waited in line to enter the Grand House. Guys, the Grand House is where the classics are. Where the best parts are, all the characters, in a super beautiful, relaxed environment, there's a little movie for you to watch... In addition to a super store, full of things to buy. In this space alone, you'll definitely spend at least 3 hours. Unfortunately, believing the stories of others that I saw here, I thought that I would spend 1-1h30min in this space... Just to take a picture with No-face, I waited 1h15min in line, AND there weren't 50 people in front of me. But that's it. People take a long time to take pictures. And there's no time for you to stay. You stay as long as you want. So unfortunately, because I didn't pay attention, I just took the picture and ran out so as not to miss my train. "Oh, but you didn't have to wait in line, why take a picture?" Guys, you wait 2h in line for dinner, 5h in line for a show... Anyway...

Don't be like me. Reserve from 10am to 3pm to stay in the park. I don't have children, I went as a couple and I think I should have stayed that long. I'm not a fan of Ghibli. I just follow it. But here's my story. I went...

I love Ghibli. However, I found this to be really disappointing - perhaps the biggest let down of our entire trip, short of food poisoning at a ryokan.

We arrived at 2 pm (and waited 20+ minutes to get in) before arriving at what was an estimated 60-80 minute queue to get into the main exhibit. We were time limited to two hours due to needing to travel back to Tokyo, and ended up missing both this and the Mononoke Village due to the sheer volume of people in every nook and cranny of this place. I think it’s really cool that people can take photos, but it’s ridiculous and downright disrespectful to everybody else when there was no time enforcement to keep groups moving - especially when people took 4+ photos, checked cameras, and then kept posing again and again with no regard for others while the lines just kept stretching on. The warehouse really needs to demarcate a route and make groups stick to it - and keep everybody moving.

Would it be different had we stayed nearby, and not been time crunched? Maybe slightly - but I cannot convey how crowded it was. Or how far of a detour from downtown it is. Maybe it would be somewhat better if you are first in at 9 am, as opposed to arriving so late. (Is 2 pm really that late for a spot closing at 5? I didn’t think so.)

Furthermore, a reasonably large exhibit with promo materials - sculpture, animation equipment, etc - was also not very well lit, making it difficult to appreciate all that was there.

As someone coming from overseas, I also found the lack of any available English materials - promo books, children’s books, etc - to be frustrating considering the numerous countries and translations available for the source materials.

The only redeeming things were the short film, and the gift shop. (But it feels pretty weird to have spent so much time and money for the “privilege” to buy merch…) EDIT: My necklace that was I believe 6600 yen just had the clasp break upon removing it from the packaging for the first wear.

Overall, I agree with other 1 star reviewers. Maybe the experience improves when the other park sections are open. As it is, it’s really not worth it unless you like waiting or can arrive incredibly early in order to still manage to get the value from your ticket.

For those who aren’t yet turned off of this and still want to go - I can’t complain about ticket purchasing overseas as I got this to work just fine using browser...