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Ghibli Park to Install Electric Catbuses This Year

One of the biggest attractions at the newly opened Ghibli Park are the Catbus displays of My Neighbor Totoro fame (pictured top-right). But the park isn't content with just creating stationary Catbuses—its next step is to implement electric Catbuses that can transport people around the park in an environmentally friendly way.

The Ghibli Park announced at a press conference last Thursday that it plans to install five low-speed electric vehicles dressed up as Catbuses in 2023. The vehicles will be based on an existing Toyota model.

Aichi Governor Hideaki Ōmura commented: "When the Catbus vehicles come to fruition, they will add another big appeal to the park."

The park allocated a 6.5 billion yen (about US$49 million) budget for 2023. It plans to open two new areas: The Mononoke Forest in late 2023 and the Valley of Witches in March 2024.

The Ghibli Park opened on November 1, two years behind its original opening schedule in 2020. The park started selling tickets internationally on January 10.

The Dondoko Forest, Ghibli's Grand Warehouse, and Hill of Youth areas are all open for the public. The park takes up about 7.1 hectares (about 17.5 acres) of the existing 194-hectare (about 479-acre) Aichi Expo Memorial Park, where the World Expo 2005 was held.

Studio Ghibli also maintains The Ghibli Museum, located in Mitaka in west Tokyo. The Ghibli Museum has interactive exhibits and replicas of iconic Ghibli creations, and it offers a rotating screening of different Ghibli-animated shorts. Notably, the museum has its own Catbus for kids to play in.

Source: Kyodo News via Livedoor News, Otakomu