News
Ghibli Museum, Kyoto Int'l Manga Museum, Namco Namjatown Close During New COVID-19 State of Emergency (Updated)
posted on by Egan Loo
The Ghibli Museum, the museum dedicated to the anime of Studio Ghibli, announced on Saturday it will temporarily close from April 25 to May 11 due to the third state of emergency against the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Tokyo, among other prefectures. The museum is offering refunds for people who cannot use their pre-ordered April tickets. (The museum's May tickets were not yet put on sale.) The museum closed from February 25 to July of last year due to the first state of emergency.
The Kyoto International Manga Museum will close from April 25 to May 11, but plans to reopen on May 13, barring an extension to the state of emergency. (It would be closed on Wednesday, May 12 since it is not open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.)
NAMJATOWN, Bandai Namco Amusement's indoor theme park in East Ikebukuro, Tokyo, also announced on Friday that it will close from April 25 to May 11. The park is currently hosting limited-time collaborations with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Stand My Heroes, Promise of Wizard, Piofiōre no Banshō, and Kuroko's Basketball. The park will announce how it will handle admission tickets tied a particular collaboration during its closure. The museum closed from February 29 of last year due to the first state of emergency.
The "Nijigen no Mori" (2D Forest) theme park in the Prefectural Awajishima Park in Hyōgo Prefecture announced on Saturday will close from April 25 to May 11, except for on-site lodging and some restaurants. As a result, it has rescheduled its soft opening and grand opening of its "Dragon Quest Island: Daimaō Zōma to Hajimari no Shima" (Demon Lord Zoma and the First Island) area from Monday, April 26 and Thursday, April 29, respectively, until further notice.
Two events scheduled for the Tokyo Big Sight venue — Super Comic City Gyu!! 2021 on Sunday and the Twisted Wonderland dōjin event Chō Beckon of the Mirror 2021 Tokyo on May 9 — announced on Saturday that they will not take place as scheduled.
Some anime-themed attractions such as the Fujiko F. Fujio Museum in Kawasaki and Fuji-Q Highland in Fujiyoshida remain open since they are outside the four prefectures under the state of emergency. The Toei Animation Museum in Tokyo has already been temporarily closed since February 26, while the Suginami Animation Museum in Tokyo has not announced its plans.
Update: Tokyo Disney Resort, including Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea, will remain open under the state of emergency, since the two theme parks are not located in the four prefectures under the state of emergency (the parks are located in Chiba prefecture, despite the "Tokyo" name). The parks will, however, avoid serving alcohol during the state of emergency. Additionally, the Mikado Game Center arcades in Tokyo will also stay open. Sources: Sanspo via Hachima Kikō, Mikado Game Center's Twitter account via Hachima Kikō
Sources: Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, Kyoto International Manga Museum, Namco Parks, Nijigen no Mori, Akaboo
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history