Japan’s reigning monarch and his sweetheart get into the spirit of Ghibli Park.
Theme parks are popular date spots in Japan, and Ghibli Park is no exception. On any given day you can expect to see lots of couples strolling around the Aichi Prefecture park and soaking up the atmosphere, and with Ghibli anime being loved and respected by people of all ages in Japan, it’s not just teen sweethearts who want to snap photos with characters and scenery from the studio’s films.
So, ordinarily, there wouldn’t have been anything unusual about a 66-year-old man and his 62-year-old wife asking someone to take a picture of them with Spirited Away’s No Face using the husband’s smartphone. Even the couple’s name, Naruhito and Masako, aren’t particularly noteworthy, being fairly common for people of their ages.
And yet, this was a very special occasion, because the Naruhito and Masako in question are the emperor and empress of Japan.
Japan’s reigning monarchs stopped by Ghibli Park on the second morning of their two-day visit to Aichi Prefecture. The park’s unique layout consists of a number of separated zones all located within the larger Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park, and the above video shows the couple touring the Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse section. In addition to a collection of Ghibli artwork and production displays, this part of the park houses Becoming Characters in Memorable Ghibli Scenes, a series of diorama-like recreations of memorable moments from Ghibli anime, including the train ride from Spirited Away, where Emperor Naruhito asked an aide to take a photo of him and his wife with No Face using the royal smartphone.
The video also shows the couple being guided through the area by a man wearing a black polo shirt. This was no random Ghibli Park employee, but instead Goro Miyazaki, son of Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki and the person most responsible for Ghibli Park’s design and operational philosophy.
After saying hi to No Face, the emperor and empress met with local elementary school children in Ghibli Grand Warehouse’s Catbus play room. As you can see in the video, though, the park’s rule of the Catbus itself being off-limits to adults apparently applies even to the emperor, as Naruhito and Masako both stayed in the adults-allowed part of the room while talking with the kids.
With the royal couple also attending an Asian Games 2026 women’s basketball game between Japan and Kazakhstan at Aichi Arena later that day, it’s unclear how much of the rest of Ghibli Park they were able to see. It’s also not known if they were able to attend a screening of the newest Ghibli anime, which can’t be seen anywhere else in the world other than the park, but if you want to see it, it’ll be having an extra-special outdoor showing in October.
Source: Asahi Shimbun, FNN Prime Online
Top image: Studio Ghibli
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