Although Ghibli Park was the primary reason for our visit, Aichi Commemorative Park ended up being one of the pleasant surprises of our trip.
I did not have the opportunity to fully explore the park because most of our time was spent enjoying Ghibli Park. Even so, what I saw was enough to leave a strong impression. The park is enormous, beautifully maintained, and offers an incredible amount of open space for visitors to enjoy.
What struck me most was the sense of scale. Everywhere I looked there seemed to be another pathway, another green space, or another area waiting to be explored. The park feels spacious and refreshing, providing a welcome contrast to the busy pace of city life.
One thing I especially appreciated was that admission to the park itself is free. Parks of this size and quality are rare, and it is remarkable that both locals and visitors can enjoy such a beautiful public space without an entrance fee.
The complimentary shuttle service was another feature that deserves recognition. Because the park is so large, the shuttle makes it much easier to move between different areas and attractions. It saves time, reduces fatigue, and allows visitors to spend more time enjoying the park rather than walking long distances. It was a thoughtful convenience that we greatly appreciated.
Even during our limited visit, I could easily imagine spending an entire day here. Whether you enjoy walking, jogging, cycling, photography, picnics, or simply relaxing outdoors, the park appears to offer something for everyone. If I lived nearby, I could easily see myself coming here regularly just to walk or jog and enjoy the surroundings.
Aichi Commemorative Park is much more than just the home of Ghibli Park. It is a destination in its own right and a wonderful example of how public green spaces should be designed and maintained. On a future visit to Nagoya, I would gladly return and spend more time exploring everything this beautiful park has to offer.
The exhibits were very cute and had amazing detail. The staff were extremely friendly and I LOVED the short film.
Unfortunately, I can't see myself coming back or recommending the park to anyone else. We bought tickets right when they went on sale and all of the Premium Passes were sold out. Upon arrival, we tried to purchase separate tickets for the other sections of the park, but those were also sold out. In other words, if you don't get the Premium Pass, there's no point in going. You only have access to 3/5 of the park, and not even full access to those three parts.
This place has a lot of potential, but some serious changes need to be made first.
I fell in love with this park the moment I came here because such is totally non-existent in Singapore with its expansive ground, clean space, clear blue sky, and clean, fresh air. And it's FREE! OMG. Unbelievable.
If I could give this place more than a five-star rating, I'll gladly love to.
There weren't that many people here when I came, and I just felt so calm and relaxed. I could feel all the tension in my muscles slowly loosening away as I breathed in deeply with my eyes closed. My soul felt soothed as I took in the nature scenery. There was no jarring noise from inconsiderate city people. Everywhere I looked, it was just peace and calm. I think I could stay here forever. In fact, I came here three times. Yes, three times during my 2 weeks' stay in Nagoya. And I still do not feel that it is enough.
Because I came here during their annual Aichi Prefecture week (my Japanese friend was the one who gave me the heads up), I managed to ride their bicycle for free. The usual cost, if I remember correctly, is 100 yen. I was flabbergasted when I looked at their price list. What?! Only 100 yen??? In Singapore, it will be at least $10 per hour, and you still have to put a deposit of $50. In Singapore, it is all about money, but in Japan, it is amazingly cheap, and there's no deposit required.
Their staff was also friendly and explained to me how long it will take and the route that I will go through.
When they saw that I had a kid with me, they immediately asked if she cycles in Singapore and how often does she cycle to make sure that she does not get into an accident. I told the male staff that yes, my child cycles in Singapore, and she does so regularly. Of course, they observed her when my child got on to make sure that what I said was true, haha. Nah, it's part of their job. On average, one round takes about half an hour, but we took longer because we stopped to enjoy the view several times, to rest a little and to pick up donguri, haha. We returned our bicycle with about 10 minutes before they started to close. There is no locker at this bicycle shop for you to store your stuff. There's only a wooden shelf. So I put my bags there and he passed me a piece of paper for me to write my name. Then he pasted it on one of my bags. There were only one or two other groups of people who deposited their bags there when I came on a weekday. I felt as if I had the whole cycling course to myself. I could do speed cycling if I wanted to, but I had to be very careful because there were curved slopes that were clearly marked on the map that he showed us at the beginning. The slopes weren't that steep, so it was a breeze.
I forgot to add that even though I managed to rent the bicycle for free, the bicycle that I got was not an old rickety one, but a spanking clean one. Here's an extra brownie point for Japan!
Oh, there is 1 more point I forgot to add. They gave us a beautifully bloomed pine cone as a souvenir. When they saw that my child was fascinated with it, they generously gave us a handful more and told us to keep them.
I also rode their Ferris wheel, which was located at one end of the commemorative park. But please do not get off at the station that you do to go to Ghibli Park. Instead, get off one station earlier because it's much nearer.
There was nobody when I went and so I felt as if I had the whole Ferris wheel to myself.
There's a little amusement park right at the bottom of the ferris wheel. Most of the outdoor rides operated by staff were closed and my child could only ride those that were coins operated.
There is an excavator ride that allows you to dig for acrylic jewels. My child loved it so much, she rode it 3 times. She collected a lot of "jewels". I think this is more fun than a normal excavator ride.
I highly recommend Aichi Commemorative Expo Park.
The park is so big, I spent 6 hours there, It took almost a hour for queue time of some famous scenes. However it’s worth. I suggest to buy premium tickets so you can go inside of some houses and castle. The design is very detailed.
This place was SO MUCH FUN and NOSTALGIC. If you're a big fan of Studio Ghibli films, this place is a must.
However,
☆ I recommend coming AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE. We spend most of our time in the Grand Warehouse standing in long queues for photo opportunities and some we were not able to do, because other things in the park closed at 5pm (we got into the warehouse at 1030ish AM and didn't leave until close to 2pm)
☆ when you get into the warehouse, the FIRST thing you should queue up for is the photo op with No Face (if you don't get in this line early enough, you could be in it for hours later - no exaggeration. We ate lunch & saw the same people in line that had barely moved)
☆ the cinema showing is only in Japanese and does not have English subtitles. We didn't mind this, but we know many people recommend avoiding audio related things if you don't know Japanese...
☆ when you go outside to see the rest, take advantage of the little shuttle that drives around the park. After hours of standing in queues and rushing from one place to another, we really regretted not doing this.
☆ The location itself is an actual PUBLIC park, aside from the areas you reserve entry into (i.e. witches area, Donroko Forest, etc.) and a massive one at that. Expect to see lots of cute dogs, and maybe you'll be lucky enough to participate in seasonal things being held in the public area!
