I first dove into the world of Studio Ghibli a few years ago when I discovered it was basically the "Disney" of Japan, producing vibrant and captivating animated films that are dearly loved across the globe.
Headed by Hayao Miyazaki, they've produced a number of beautifully scenic movies which many are then dubbed over into English (the originals with subtitles are better, though). Some of my favourites are:
1. Kiki's Delivery Service (all-time favourite)
2. My Neighbour Totoro
3. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
I would also recommend: Spirited Away, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Princess Mononoke, Porco Rosso, and Ponyo for something recent and cute.
If you haven't yet seen any of these, googling the title will give you many websites where you can stream them, but I've also seen them sold in stores on dvd or blue-ray.
If you haven't yet seen any of these, googling the title will give you many websites where you can stream them, but I've also seen them sold in stores on dvd or blue-ray.
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So that's enough of an introduction :) for current fans, if you happen to be visiting Japan, you'll find the more widely-known Studio Ghibli store to visit, but unfortunately I wasn't able to get there.
If you're in Korea, you'll be happy to know that you can easily get to the Studio Ghibli store near Yongsan station, which we just happened to stumble upon by accident. I was so thrilled!
Half the store was the actual set of the bakery from Kiki's Delivery Service, and had tons of stuffed toys, postcards, and other stuff from the movie.
There were some stairs which headed up to an attic that looked exactly like Kiki's attic room, and had a little table where you could take photos with props. Unfortunately some girls were there the whole time taking photos so I didn't get to take any :(. They also projected scenes from the movie on the wall.
The other half of the store was modelled after Totoro's forest, and it had this little tree which you could walk in..
Have a seat..
And watch Totoro!
It was so hard resisting spending all my money here. Look at all the different sized Totoros! They had so many amazing things, including kids clothing which are modelled after the clothes from the main characters in the movies.
Rayyan thought this was neat, they have a table with numbers so you can put your drink down while you shop and not mix it up with someone else's.
Video Tour
(Footage is a little shaky, sorry! I was trying to avoid filming people)
Purchases
It was definitely pricey, but I couldn't let my last chance of purchasing Studio Ghibli merchandise pass by. I got a stuffed Jiji doll from Kiki's Delivery Service along with a pop-up paper scene, and some postcards from my other favourites. I actually got the Totoro coin purse in Shanghai, but I'll leave that story for another time :)
Location
The store is located in I'Park Mall, which is right near Yongsan Station, on Line 1.
You can see other detailed location instructions by clicking here.
Once inside the mall, the store is located on 3F, and on this map it is store 08.
NOTE: The store is actually called "Acorn Forest" when translated into English, however the official store name is in Korean, and is called 도토리숲, pronounced do-tor-i-sup.
If you search on Google or Daum Maps for the store name in Korean, you should easily find it.
Click here for the store official website (Korean only)
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