Ghibli Park tickets: how to buy them and plan the visit

Ghibli Park is a set of five themed areas in Moricoro Park, on the eastern edge of the Nagoya travel guide region. Entry is by date-specific ticket only, sold in advance, and popular dates sell out, so the ticket is the first thing to sort, before flights or hotels if your dates are fixed.

The visit takes a single full day on a trip across Japan.

Every ticket is for a specific date. The park states that tickets cannot be purchased at any area of the park and that advance reservations are required with no exceptions, so you choose a day, buy the pass and go on that day. Each ticket type can be bought once per month, up to six tickets at a time. The park sells two day passes. The Premium Day Pass covers all five areas and includes access to all the buildings. The Standard Day Pass covers three areas: Ghibli's Grand Warehouse, Mononoke Village and the Valley of Witches.

Prices differ between weekdays and weekends, and children aged 4 to 12 pay half. As of October 3, 2026, the official page lists an adult Premium pass at ¥7,300 on weekdays and ¥7,800 on weekends and holidays, and an adult Standard pass at ¥3,300 and ¥3,800. Children up to age 3 enter free. The prices include tax, and a service charge is added when the tickets are issued. Confirm the current price on the official Ghibli Park ticket page before you buy.

Because of that rule, check your travel dates, your train times and your pass type before you pay. The park may also ask to see ID at entry, the ticket holder must be present, and buying tickets for resale or transfer, including gifts, is prohibited, so bring your passport. If your plans are still loose, buy later rather than early, but expect fewer dates to remain.

The two passes differ in two areas. Ghibli's Grand Warehouse, the largest indoor area, needs an assigned entry time slot on both passes. Mononoke Village and the Valley of Witches are open to both. Hill of Youth and Dondoko Forest, where Satsuki and Mei's house from My Neighbor Totoro stands, are Premium only.

Choose Premium if you want the full park, and especially if Totoro is the reason you are going. Choose Standard if you want a shorter day, or to see the Grand Warehouse and the Valley of Witches without paying for the rest. With Standard, three Valley of Witches buildings, Okino Residence, Howl's Castle and The House of Witches, need extra same-day tickets (adults ¥400, ¥1,000 and ¥400 on the official page), so allow for those in your budget and timing. Premium includes them.

Ghibli's Grand Warehouse is the indoor centerpiece, with a screening room, three special exhibitions, shops and a cafe, and it is the one place where the entry time slot is fixed. Hill of Youth and Dondoko Forest, both Premium only, are the parts many visitors come for: Dondoko Forest holds Satsuki and Mei's house from My Neighbor Totoro and Dondoko-do, a play structure only for children 12 and under, and Hill of Youth has the World Emporium from Whisper of the Heart, the Cat Bureau and the Elevator Tower. Mononoke Village is inspired by the mountain village of Princess Mononoke and has the Tatara-ba hands-on center and the Lord Okkoto slide. The Valley of Witches has a European-style townscape with buildings from the films, including Howl's Castle, The House of Witches and the Okino Residence. On a Standard pass, three of those buildings need their own same-day tickets.

Do not confuse Ghibli Park with the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo. It is a separate attraction with its own tickets and rules. If you want both, book each on its own schedule, since neither ticket covers the other.

Tickets go on sale at 2pm Japan time on the 10th of each month, for the month two ahead. For example, December tickets are released on 10 October. That means the dates you want may be on sale months before you travel, and the best weekends go first.

Overseas visitors can buy through Lawson Ticket's online service, through Klook, or in a package with accommodation through travel agencies such as JTB, Viator and KKday. Create your account and payment details a few days before release day, not at 1:55pm on the 10th. Only buy from the channels the park itself lists, because resale and transfer of tickets are prohibited.

If tickets for your date are gone, check nearby dates and weekdays, which are cheaper on the official price list.

From Nagoya Station, take the Higashiyama subway line to Fujigaoka, then change to the Linimo maglev line for the park. The park station is Ai-Chikyuhaku Kinen Koen, and the park is just outside Exit 2. Nagoya's tourism site lists 28 minutes to Fujigaoka, a 5-minute walk to change, and 13 minutes on the Linimo, and describes the trip as about one hour from Nagoya Station. The park is just outside the station from Exit 2. The same site also lists a Meitetsu bus from Bus Stop 24 at the Meitetsu Bus Center, about 40 minutes, but the park's own directions page shows only a few shuttle departures a day, so check Meitetsu Bus before you rely on it. The park has no parking lot of its own. The Higashiyama line also runs through Sakae, so a hotel there is just as convenient. Neither the subway nor the Linimo is a JR line, so the JR Pass does not cover them.

Reach Nagoya itself by Tokaido shinkansen, which stops between Tokyo and Kyoto; check the JR Central timetable for your train. The JR Pass guide explains when a pass is worth it, so compare it with single tickets for a simple Tokyo, Nagoya and Kyoto trip. From Nagoya you can also go on to Takayama; see the Takayama and Shirakawa-go day trip for the mountain leg.

It depends on how much the films matter to you. The park is built for fans: much of the appeal is walking into settings from the films, not rides, and it is quieter and more low-key than a conventional theme park. If you have seen the films and want the Totoro house, the Premium pass is the version that delivers it. If you only have a passing interest, a Standard pass or a different day in Nagoya may suit you better.

It also costs a full day plus travel, and the ticket cannot be moved, so weigh it against Atsuta Shrine, the castle grounds and a day trip to Takayama. Families with children aged 4 to 12 pay half price, which helps. Weekdays cost less than weekends on the official price list.

Pick your Grand Warehouse slot first, since it is fixed. The official slots are hourly from 10am to 2pm, with a 9am slot on days when the park opens at 9. You must enter no later than one hour after your slot time and early entry is not allowed, and re-entry to the Grand Warehouse is only possible after 3pm. The other areas have no assigned times: enter between opening and 4:30pm, and expect to queue when others are waiting. The park says Hill of Youth and Dondoko Forest are expected to be very crowded from 4pm until closing at 5pm and recommends visiting them in the morning or early afternoon. If you hold a Standard pass and want the extra building tickets, go to the Valley of Witches early. Exchange vouchers for those tickets are handed out from 10:00 on weekdays and 9:00 on weekends and holidays, first come first served, and they can sell out. Premium wristbands must be picked up by noon.

Wear comfortable shoes and bring a rain layer, since much of the park is outdoors and paths are long. Travel light: the park says it has no storage service, large bags and suitcases are not allowed, coin lockers are limited, and there is a cloakroom at the North Gate Information Center near the Linimo station. Strollers and umbrellas are generally not allowed inside the buildings, and food from outside cannot be eaten inside the Ghibli Park area. Photography is prohibited except in some locations, so check the signs. Check the official site for opening hours and any rules on your date.

Rain does not cancel the visit by itself. The park's FAQ says that if Expo Park closes for weather or other reasons it will announce its refund response on the official site, but otherwise the no-refund rule stands, so a wet-weather plan matters. Start with the indoor Grand Warehouse slot and keep the Hill of Youth and Dondoko Forest for a drier window, but remember that they should be entered by 4:30pm and are crowded late.

The common mistakes are buying the Standard pass and expecting the Totoro house, forgetting that the three Valley of Witches buildings need separate same-day tickets on Standard, arriving without ID, and planning a train home that leaves no margin after the park closes. Skip Ghibli Park if you dislike queues, if you only want a quick look, or if you cannot commit to a date months ahead. The Ghibli Museum in Mitaka is a separate attraction with its own tickets.

Stay in Nagoya rather than near the park. Nagoya Station suits early trains and the airport line, and Sakae has the food streets and a direct subway to Fujigaoka. Our Nagoya guide compares the bases, from business hotels near the station to Fushimi and Kanayama. Book your room after the ticket, and check whether the hotel offers flexible cancellation, since the ticket does not.

Book the ticket first, then the room, then the rail. Skip the JR Pass unless you have a longer route; the Ghibli Park trip itself uses the subway and Linimo, which are not JR lines. Skip reselling or buying from unofficial sellers, and skip flexible plans that assume you can change the date.