Ghibli Park for Groups During the Asian Games: Tickets First, Coach Second
Taking a group to Ghibli Park in Nagakute during the Asian Games: secure timed tickets first, then book the charter coach around your entry slot and drop-off.
Sep 5, 2026·✍️ olablog·⏱ 7 min read
Taking a group to Ghibli Park in Nagakute during the Asian Games: secure timed tickets first, then book the charter coach around your entry slot and drop-off.
Ghibli Park sits inside Aichi Expo Memorial Park in Nagakute, east of Nagoya, and it is on nearly every family group's wish list for the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026. The catch is in the title: tickets are timed, they sell out, and a coach booked before the tickets are secured is a coach with nowhere to go.
So the order of operations is fixed. Secure the tickets, then book the coach around the entry time printed on them. This article walks through that sequence and the practical details of moving a group in and out of the park.
Step 1: Understand how the tickets work
Ghibli Park uses timed admission. Each ticket is tied to a date and an entry slot, and the areas inside are ticketed separately in various combinations. Demand outstrips supply, and popular dates go quickly. During Games weeks, with extra visitors in Aichi, assume that any date you want is contested.
For a group this means:
- Buy through the park's own ticketing system as early as it permits for your dates. Check its current release schedule; it changes.
- A group of forty needs forty tickets for the same slot. If you can only get twenty for the morning and twenty for the afternoon, the group splits, and the coach plan changes accordingly.
- Everyone's ticket should be checked and screenshotted before the day. A single missing ticket at the gate holds up the whole group.
If the dates you need are gone, do not book the coach and hope. Pick a different outing.
Step 2: Build the day around the entry time
Once tickets are in hand, the entry slot dictates the coach schedule. Two examples:
Morning slot. Depart the Nagoya hotel about 90 minutes before the entry time, allowing for traffic and the walk from the coach drop-off to the park entrance. Lunch inside or nearby, depart mid-afternoon, back in Nagoya with time to spare before an evening session.
Afternoon slot. Morning free in Nagoya or at a Games session, early lunch, depart for Nagakute, enter at the slot time, leave when the park closes, back in Nagoya for dinner.
Never plan to arrive exactly at the slot time. Arriving late to a timed entry can mean losing the slot, and a coach in traffic on the roads east of Nagoya is not something anyone can hurry.
Step 3: Coach drop-off and pickup at Expo Park
Aichi Expo Memorial Park is a large site. The coach drops the group at a point the driver arranges on the day, and the group walks to the Ghibli Park areas from there. Do not expect a kerbside drop at the ticket gate.
Checklist for the leader:
- Agree the pickup point and time with the driver before anyone gets off.
- Pick a landmark inside the park as the regroup spot; the site is big enough for people to lose each other.
- Ghibli Park's areas are spread out within Expo Park, with walking between them. Comfortable shoes and water are not optional in late September, when it is 20 to 30 degrees and humid.
- Strollers and small children slow the walk considerably. Add fifteen minutes to any estimate.
Parking for a coach is arranged by the driver and is never guaranteed in advance. The driver may release and return; make sure the return time is fixed and known to everyone.
Where this fits in a Games week
Ghibli Park is a full or near-full day. It pairs poorly with an early or evening Games session on the same date, and it should not be attempted on the opening ceremony day (19 September) or closing ceremony day (4 October) when ID checks at Paloma Mizuho Stadium demand an early arrival.
Good pairings:
- A rest day between sessions, with the evening free.
- A day when only part of the group has tickets to a session; the rest go to Ghibli Park by coach, everyone meets for dinner.
- The day before departure, for families who want to end the trip with something the children will remember.
Ghibli Park is in Nagakute, east of the city, so it also fits loosely with a Toyota Stadium or Sky Hall Toyota session on a following day if the group is staying east; ask about routing when you request the quote.
Rain plan
Ghibli Park's areas include indoor spaces, so a rainy day is not a write-off in the way Ise Jingu or Shirakawa-go might be. Still, walking between areas in heavy rain with a group of children is miserable. Umbrellas and light rain jackets on the coach, and a willingness to shorten the day, are enough. Typhoon-level weather is different: watch for park closures and follow the park's own announcements.
Who should not do this by coach
Small families of four or five are usually better off on trains or with a private car by the hour, because a coach makes sense only when the headcount justifies it. Very large groups face the harder problem of getting forty matching tickets, and may find that a Nagoya city day or the Toyota museums are more realistic. For the middle band, roughly 15 to 45 people with tickets in hand, the coach is the simplest way to move everyone with strollers, bags and souvenirs.
How to book with OlaChill
Once your Ghibli Park tickets are confirmed, send the date, entry slot, headcount, number of strollers and your Nagoya hotel through the form on https://olachill.com/en/japan-charter-bus; we reply within 24 hours with a quote and a departure time built backwards from your slot. For smaller parties, the private car tariff at https://olachill.com/en/japan-chauffeur-hourly is often the better fit.
Our attraction tickets page at https://olachill.com/en/japan-attraction-tickets lists what can be arranged for other Nagoya attractions; for Ghibli Park itself, check availability directly with the park's ticketing before committing to any transport.
FAQ
Can OlaChill get Ghibli Park tickets for our group?
Secure them through the park's own ticketing system first. Timed tickets sell out, and transport should follow the entry slot, not the other way round. Our attraction tickets page covers what can be arranged elsewhere in Nagoya.
How early should the coach leave Nagoya for a morning slot?
About 90 minutes before the entry time, traffic-dependent. That covers the drive to Nagakute, the walk from the drop-off point, and a buffer so a late-running coach does not cost you the slot.
Can the coach wait at Expo Park all day?
Only if the driver finds legal parking, which is arranged on the day and not guaranteed. Plan for a fixed pickup time rather than a coach on standby.
Is Ghibli Park realistic for a group of 50?
The transport is; the tickets are the problem. Fifty timed tickets for the same slot on a Games-week date is a tall order. Start early, and if the group splits across slots, plan a split coach day.
Can we combine Ghibli Park with a Games session on the same day?
Only a late evening session, and only if your park slot is in the morning. For most groups it is a full day; pair it with a rest day instead.
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