Like riding the magical anime seaside train in real life!

Back in 2019, the Toshio Suzuki and Studio Ghibli Exhibition opened in Tokyo, receiving rave reviews for its amazing array of works dedicated to the lauded animation studio and its producer and co-founder, Toshio Suzuki.

Since then, the exhibition has travelled around the country, popping up in Kyoto, Fukuoka, Ehime, and Iwate prefectures, and now it’s wowing fans at the Yokosuka Museum of Art in Tokyo’s neighbouring Kanagawa Prefecture.

With the current exhibition running from 20 March until until 18 June, fans only have a few weeks left to see it at Yokosuka, and the city has come up with a cool way to spread the word about it, by creating a special Ghibli train.

The “Toshio Suzuki and Ghibli Exhibition Train” is operated by Keihin Kyuko Electric Railway, and runs on the Keikyu Main Line between Tokyo’s Sengakuji and Yokohama stations, and the connecting Keikyu Kurihama Line, which runs from Yokohama to Misakiguchi stations.

What makes this train so unique is the special decals on the outside, which feature two star characters from the exhibition — No Face and Chihiro from Spirited Away.

The tie-up is a perfect one, as the red of the Keikyu N1000 series train is reminiscent of the red lanterns that feature heavily in the movie, and the line itself runs along a coastal route, much like the magical train in Spirited Away.

▼ The full route on the Ghibli train takes just over an hour, one way, from Sengakuji Station in Tokyo.

▼ The train brings us one step closer to riding the magical train from the movie.

Not only is the colour of the train and the coastal route a perfect tie-up for the studio and its exhibition, which focusses heavily on Spirited Away, the choice of characters is also spot-on, as No Face and Chihiro are the two main characters seen riding the magical train in the movie.

▼ The way No Face is positioned on the outside of the train is reminiscent of this scene from the film.

The Ghibli theme continues on the inside of the train, where promotional posters for the exhibition take up all the advertising space.

And as you can see, the seats are the same colour as the ones the characters sit on in the movie.

Sadly, the Ghibli train won’t be around forever, as it’ll only be in operation until 15 June. However, there’ll be plenty of opportunities to board it, as it runs at least half a dozen times every day, with the schedule available here (scroll down until you see the Ghibli train).

Related: Toshio Suzuki and Studio Ghibli Exhibition
Source: Yokosuka City
Featured image: Yokosuka City
Insert images: Studio Ghibli (1, 2, 3)
©2022 Hayao Miyazaki/Toshio Suzuki
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