Studio Ghibli Singapore: The Exhibition That Chose Gardens by the Bay for Its World Premiere
Nearly 3,500 square metres of recreated Ghibli worlds land on the West Lawn this December, with early bird tickets already moving on Klook.
Of all the cities that could have hosted this first, Singapore got the nod. The Story of Studio Ghibli, a sprawling immersive exhibition produced by TSUKURU, INC. and M Experience, will open its world premiere at Gardens by the Bay on 18 December 2026, with public entry reported from 19 December. It runs through 4 July 2027, which gives you roughly six and a half months to find your way inside.
That is not a pop-up. That is a proper residency.
That is not a pop-up. That is a proper residency.
And the timing is deliberate. The opening falls right at the start of Singapore’s December school holidays, threading into Chinese New Year, the March break, and well into the middle of 2027. For families across Southeast and East Asia, the window is wide enough to plan around without rushing.
What the Exhibition Actually Is
Forget the usual glass cases and framed cels. The Story of Studio Ghibli occupies nearly 3,500 square metres of the West Lawn, that open stretch of green beside the Supertrees that most visitors walk straight past on their way to the Cloud Forest. Reports from September 2026 describe 12 recreated settings drawn from the studio’s filmography, built at a scale that makes you feel less like a spectator and more like someone who wandered into the wrong bathhouse at dusk.
Speaking of which, the centrepiece is an 8-metre recreation of the bathhouse from Spirited Away. Eight metres. Picture it against the Supertree Grove at twilight and you start to understand why the organisers chose this particular patch of Singapore.
Speaking of which, the centrepiece is an 8-metre recreation of the bathhouse from Spirited Away.
There is also the bakery from Kiki’s Delivery Service, which sounds small until you remember that Miyazaki’s attention to bread, pastry, and the quiet dignity of a warm oven is as obsessive as his attention to flight. The remaining settings have not been fully detailed yet, but given the depth of the Ghibli catalogue, there is no shortage of material to draw from. Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro. Each one a distinct universe.
“The Story of Studio Ghibli is not simply an exhibition to be viewed. It is an experience to be felt,” said Sean Lim, CEO of M Experience.
That sounds like marketing copy, sure. But having seen what immersive exhibition producers in Asia are capable of when they commit to scale, the claim is worth taking seriously. The Singapore Tourism Board is backing the project, which tells you something about the ambition here.
“We are delighted to welcome the world premiere of The Story of Studio Ghibli to Singapore,” said Guo Teyi, Director, Leisure Events at the Singapore Tourism Board.
How Much Tickets Cost and Where to Get Them
Klook is the official ticketing partner, and early bird sales opened on 12 September 2026. That early bird window closes on 17 December 2026, the day before the exhibition opens, and adult early bird tickets come with a limited edition gift. The organisers have not specified what that gift is, which either means they are still deciding or they know anticipation is a better marketing tool than description. Either way, if you are going, buying before December makes sense.
Here is the pricing as reported in September 2026. Singapore citizens and permanent residents pay S$39 for adult tickets and S$29 for concession tickets, which works out to roughly USD 29 and USD 22 respectively. Standard pricing for everyone else runs S$49 off peak and S$55 at peak for adults, approximately USD 37 and USD 41. Standard concession tickets are S$43 off peak and S$49 at peak.
Concession pricing applies to children aged 3 to 12 and seniors aged 65 and over. Children under 3 are not mentioned in current pricing, which typically means free entry, but confirm on Klook before booking.
Peak and off peak dates were not published in available sources at the time of writing. Check Klook’s listing for specifics before selecting your dates.
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Getting There and Planning the Visit
The exhibition is open 10am to 7pm daily. The address is West Lawn, Gardens by the Bay, 18 Marina Gardens Drive, Singapore 018953. If you are coming by MRT, Bayfront station drops you within walking distance. A taxi from Orchard Road takes about 12 minutes without traffic, which in Singapore usually means 18.
Gardens by the Bay itself needs no introduction to most visitors, but the West Lawn is a slightly different proposition from the conservatories and Supertree walkway. It sits on the waterfront side, open air, with views across Marina Bay. An exhibition of this scale on the West Lawn effectively transforms a section of the gardens into something closer to a theme park precinct than a gallery space, which is exactly the point.
If you are travelling from elsewhere in Asia, the run length works in your favour. Six months means you can fold this into an existing Singapore trip rather than building one around it. Pair it with a few nights at one of the Marina Bay hotels and you have the Supertrees lit up outside your window and Chihiro’s bathhouse a short walk away. Not a bad combination.
Why Singapore, Why Now
Studio Ghibli has a hold on Asian audiences that transcends demographics. Grandparents who watched My Neighbor Totoro in theatres in 1988 now have grandchildren who stream Ponyo on weekends. The emotional range of the studio’s work, from the ecological fury of Princess Mononoke to the gentle domesticity of Arrietty, means there is no single “Ghibli fan” profile. Everyone finds their own entry point.
Singapore, for its part, has been quietly building a reputation as the region’s go to city for large scale cultural exhibitions. The ArtScience Museum, the National Gallery, and now Gardens by the Bay itself have all hosted international shows that would previously have debuted in Tokyo, London, or New York. Getting the world premiere of a Ghibli exhibition, ahead of every other city globally, is a statement.
It is also, practically speaking, a smart tourism play. The December to July window captures peak travel periods for visitors from China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and across ASEAN. Families who might have been weighing Singapore against other regional destinations now have a reason to commit.
The Fine Print Worth Knowing
A note on terminology. Klook’s listing describes the exhibition as a Southeast Asia debut, while the organisers’ press release calls it a world premiere. The distinction matters if you are deciding whether this exact exhibition has appeared elsewhere in a different form. Based on available information, the organisers are positioning this as the first time The Story of Studio Ghibli has been presented anywhere in the world.
TSUKURU, INC. and M Experience are the producers. Studio Ghibli itself is not listed as an organiser, which is consistent with how the studio typically licenses its properties for exhibitions and experiences. The creative involvement of the studio in the exhibition’s design has not been detailed publicly.
Early bird tickets with that unspecified limited edition gift are available now through Klook. Given that this is the world premiere and the December holidays will drive early demand, waiting until November to book feels like an unnecessary gamble.
Worth the Trip
Plenty of exhibitions promise immersion and deliver projections on a wall. The scale here, nearly 3,500 square metres, 12 recreated environments, a seven month run backed by the Singapore Tourism Board, suggests something more substantial. Whether it lives up to the weight of the films it draws from is a question only December can answer.
But if you grew up watching a soot sprite tumble across a screen and felt something you could not quite explain, this is probably where you want to be standing when the doors open.
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