A Hayao Miyazaki impersonator has left many fans scratching their heads after local news coverage of the recently opened Ghibli Park showed him walking around the park last week.
The long-time impersonator, later identified as Izumi Pao on Twitter, was briefly spotted by TBS News Dig outside the Grand Warehouse entrance on Nov. 1, the park’s opening day.
Several fans realized that the man was an impersonator and not Miyazaki after Japanese actor Takeshi Tsuruno uploaded a picture of himself standing beside Pao on Twitter on Nov. 1.
Subscribe to
NextShark's Newsletter
A daily dose of Asian America's essential stories, in under 5 minutes.
Get our collection of Asian America's most essential stories to your inbox daily for free.
Unsure? Check out our Newsletter Archive.
As it turns out, Pao became quite the celebrity at Ghibli Park on opening day, as seen in a recent CBC News video.
Plans for Studio Ghibli’s new theme park, which is located in the city of Nagakute in Japan’s Aichi prefecture, were first announced in 2017. The park’s construction, which started in 2020, ultimately replaced Aichi Prefecture’s EXPO Park. In August, Miyazaki teamed up with legendary composer Joe Hisaishi to create a vibrant animation trailer for the park.
Featured Image via TBS NEWS DIG Powered by JNN, CBCニュース【CBCテレビ公式】
