The World of Studio Ghibli, Hong Kong

I didn't think I'll find a piece of Japan in Hong Kong, unlike in Taiwan where you'll find Totoro and Rilakkuma almost everywhere. But just in time while we were there for my mom's 60th birthday, The World of Studio Ghibli's Animation was on-going. I found this exhibition via Klook and bookmarked it if in case we have free time that I don't want to waste (you can always find new and alternative activities for your travels via Klook). This Dir. Isao Takahata and Dir. Hayao Miyazaki exhibition ended last November 3, but my sister and I were lucky to be able to visit last November 2!

Here are some vignettes from that quick trip. This took place in the morning of our flight back to Manila.











So what are your favorite Studio Ghibli movies? My top 5 would have to be Kiki's Delivery Service (full of life lessons), Grave of the Fireflies (heartbreaking), Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Castle in the Sky (released on the year I was born, 1986!).

The exhibition is simpler and less interactive than I thought. In Tagalog, pwede na. They are connecting rooms in I think 2 or 3 floors of an office building (you have to take an elevator to reach the exhibit area, but queue was outside the building). Each of the rooms showcased scenes from different Studio Ghibli films. These are mostly murals that you can't touch or go inside as they are very delicate (para-paraan nalang sa picturean! 😁), hand-painted walls and floors, lighting and video optical illusions, etc. 

These sets and installations though were all original designs by Studio Ghibli themselves, who flew from Japan for this production. Very nice, but if you've been to the Tokyo Studio Ghibli, you'll find yourself wanting something more (a short and exclusive film viewing? background music? Ghibli themed cafe?)

Do you recognize some of these scenes and characters? There were no tour guides (only ushers), but each of the sections were labeled per title. You cannot backtrack, but it's also not so crowded when we were there since they limit entry per batch.

My favorite room is this train seat with No Face!

We paid around Php 1100+ each for our tickets, and location is in a building called Venue Portal 6311, which is a bit of a walk from the train station in Kowloon Bay. Medyo mahal and maeffort, but if you have no other plans and you are a fan of Studio Ghibli, it was still a good photo opportunity experience while we were in Hong Kong.

Of course, the exhibit's last room is the souvenir shop selling not only Studio Ghibli merch, but some Hong Kong exclusives too! I have most of the keychains of my favorite characters that I got while in Japan, so we just went around aimlessly. Then I saw the Kiki t-shirt, but found it expensive (around Php 2k-ish). In the end, we just called it a day and walked back to the train station for our hotel.