Pop Japan

Take your love for My Neighbor Totoro to a whole new level by visiting Satsuki & Mei's House, a life-sized replica of the house from Studio Ghibli's famous 1988 animated film "My Neighbor Totoro".


This was built back in 2005 for the World's Fair in Nagoya, and it was also supervised by Hayao Miyazaki's son Goro, who's both a director and an architect.


The theme of Expo 20015 was "Nature's Wisdwom" which presented many green, environment-themed features such as lush greenlands to environment-friendly transportation systems. As a matter of fact, many of the Expo structures were built from recycling materials.

Up to this day, it still remain a popular attraction to the Expo Memorial Park. The house itself, however, is located in Moricoro Park in Nagakute-cho, about 40 minutes out of Nagoya City. Visitors will be able to freely explore the house, looking inside closets and chests and touching things, just like the heroines Satsuki and Mei did when they first arrived at the house.

Goro Miyazaki and his team took a lot of time and effort in ensuring that everything down to the smallest details were dealth with accordingly to stay true to the animated film.





The house is also filled with similar items and furnishings just like the movie itself.






The calendar, which looks like it was drawn by Mei, shows the Japanese custom of throwing beans at imaginary devils to protect the family home during the Setsubun festival, which is the day before Spring.



Visits to the house are by guided tour, with tickets available for pre-purchase from Lawson and MiniStop convenience stores or on-site on the day for 510 Yen for adults and children above junior high school age. Children under the age of four get in free. Just like the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo, entry times are staggered to limit the number of visitors per group as the house is not especially large, and it takes about 30-40 minutes to view. If you’re going through Nagoya Airport or travelling from Tokyo to Osaka, this makes for an ideal stop-off. Don't forget to keep your eyes out for Totoro, sources say that he often leaves acorn for the guests to see every now and then!