24 Sep 2015
Hayao Miyazaki's magical landscapes to become a reality with plans for nature theme park
BY Tom Anstey
Oscar-winning filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki has revealed plans to create real-life versions of the landscapes from his imaginative anime films, with designs for a 10,000-acre (40,000sq m) nature park on a remote island off the coast of Japan.
Miyazaki, who retired from filmmaking in 2013, will recreate the magical worlds seen in classics such as Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and My Neighbour Totoro, at the theme park on Kume Island in Okinawa, known as The Forest Where the Wind Returns.
As with Miyazaki’s films, the unique attraction will be centred around nature. Included on the forest-filled island will be a library, accommodation to sleep up to 30 people and as few man-made attractions as possible. Existing playground equipment will be replaced with “an interactive site where children can enjoy nature through five senses.”
An investment of ¥300m (US$2.5m, €2.2m, £1.6m) will be made by Miyazaki, with development of facilities and landscaping starting in Q2 of 2016 and an opening date of 2018. Okinawa-based design firm Kume Creation are working on both architecture and landscape architecture for the project.
Miyazaki has said once complete, he will donate the park to Kumejima – the town of 8,000 people which inhabits part of Kume. The development will be built with a "made in Kumejima" ethos, making sure local construction materials are used and the opinions of the island’s citizens are taken into account.
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