I've always really loved the Moomins, it's impossible to pinpoint any kind of 'discovery' moment because to me they've just always been in my life whether that be through Tove Jansson's original books, the comic strips for which I own the complete collections, or the 1990s animated TV series. I've always found the characters hugely comforting, and as I've grown up I've found a lot of wisdom in Tove's writing. She's also my biggest inspiration for my artwork, which I'm sure you can see.
I've known about Moomin World, the Finnish Moomin theme park based in Naantali near Turku, and it's always been my dream to visit some day. And so when I learnt that there was one recently opened in Japan just three hours from where I live I knew I had to make it a priority to visit!
Moomin Valley in Hannō opened in 2019 and is based in the Nordic themed entertainment complex Metsä. I only rushed through Metsä to get to Moomin Valley so I didn't get to see much of it, but from what I could see it was filled with shops selling printed Scandinavian design fabrics and goods, restaurants selling "Scandinavian" style food, and some woodworking and craft opportunities you can take part in. Most of it is based around the forest and the lake, and the whole point of visiting Metsä is getting back to nature and relaxing.
Overall I really loved it and it lived up to my expectations! I bought the cheaper entry ticket so I didn't watch any of the shows or anything, but as they're in Japanese I didn't figure I'd get much out of them anyway. It also meant I couldn't explore the whole of the Moomin house, just the first two floors, but I was more than happy with that as there was a 75 minute queue if you did have a ticket for entry! I spent most of the day just wandering the park with no clear direction and stumbling across places as I found them. I think it's definitely handy to have some knowledge of the Moomin world before you go to the park as I think otherwise some of the details would either go over your head or you just wouldn't notice it as being relevant and overlook it. Like I saw some people looking puzzled over the campsite, not realizing it was Snufkin's because the characters themselves aren't at the locations. The whole idea of the park is that you're in their world where they live their lives, not like Disneyland where it's all set out for you.
My favorite part of the whole park was actually the museum, which I would of missed had I not followed a group of Japanese people to see where they were going - it's located down a rather blank looking corridor between the gift shop and the restaurant and some signage would of been excellent. It's three floors and details Tove's history and the timeline of the Moomins and how they've grown beyond Tove herself. The top floor was the most magical, where several of Tove's illustrations were brought to life. Photos don't really do it justice, but huge interactive displays were built and with clever lighting and animations they really felt alive.
They also had this incredible model of Moomin Valley, and all of the characters interacting within it so it was like 'Where's Waldo' trying to find them all. It was in the middle of the museum and you could look down on it from two floors to take in all of the details.
Now I just need to visit the one in Finland!
