🌳 You no longer need a flight to Japan to step inside a Studio Ghibli store. This summer, a giant Totoro is setting up shop just outside Los Angeles, no 10-hour flight required.
Donguri Republic, the Ghibli specialty chain that's basically a pilgrimage stop for fans traveling through Japan, is opening its first U.S. location. Here's what's coming, where to find it, and why the "first store in America" headline deserves one small asterisk.
A Ghibli wonderland, minus the trans-Pacific flight
If you've ever traveled Japan with a mental checklist of must-visit spots, Donguri Kyowakoku (literally "Acorn Republic," officially branded in English as Donguri Republic) tends to sit near the top for anime fans. It's not a generic gift shop with a few Totoro keychains bolted on. The whole place is built to feel like you've wandered into the movies: wooden interiors, soft lighting, and shelves stacked with everything from plush Catbuses to No-Face soy sauce dispensers and Calcifer lanterns.
The name has a quietly sweet backstory, too. There's no king in this "republic"; the idea is that everyone pitches in as equals to keep the shop a warm, welcoming place.
First in America, but not the first abroad
Here's that asterisk. A lot of the buzz is calling this Donguri Republic's first overseas store, and that's not quite right. The operator, Tokyo-based Benelic, already runs 40 shops in Japan plus 5 in Hong Kong, 1 in Shanghai, and 6 in Taiwan. So the Los Angeles branch is the chain's first in the United States. That's a genuine milestone for North American fans, just not its first step outside Japan.
One more thing to set expectations: this is a pop-up, not (yet) a permanent fixture. It's scheduled to run from June 23 through December 31, 2026. But given that the Asian locations are permanent, a strong showing in L.A. could be exactly what convinces Benelic to make the U.S. presence stick.
What the L.A. store will actually look like
Source: Benelic / PR TIMES
The store leans hard into My Neighbor Totoro. The exterior is decorated with illustrations of little Totoros and Mei mid-stride, like the characters just wandered out of the film and onto a storefront in a California mall. Step inside and a big Totoro is waiting at a bus stop for the Catbus, ready to greet shoppers from within a forest-like, wood-warmed space.
Source: Benelic / PR TIMES
The opening lineup runs to more than 400 items spanning the Ghibli catalog, with Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away getting top billing. It's not yet clear whether the L.A. inventory will match the Japanese stores item-for-item.
The fine print: dates, hours, and freebies
The shop sits inside the Del Amo Fashion Center at 3525 West Carson St in Torrance, which is technically its own city but firmly inside Los Angeles County and an easy drive from L.A. proper. Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, local time.
Two opening perks are worth planning around. Spend $100 or more and you'll take home a limited Los Angeles tote bag, one per transaction and while supplies last.
The second is a crossover with Studio Ghibli Fest 2026, the theatrical run happening at cinemas across the U.S. Show your movie ticket (paper or digital) and spend at least $10, and you can pick up a film-strip-style bookmark, with six designs to collect.
Planning a Japan trip? The home stores are worth the detour
Source: Benelic / PR TIMES
If the pop-up only whets your appetite, the 40 stores back in Japan make for a great travel target. They're tucked into the places you're already passing through: major train stations, big shopping malls, and tourist hubs from Sapporo down to Okinawa. The Tokyo Station and Skytree locations are especially easy to fold into a sightseeing day.
Two things make the Japan stores a fan favorite. First, store- and capsule-machine-exclusive goods that you genuinely can't buy anywhere else, which is why the New Year's fukubukuro lucky bags and limited drops get snapped up fast. Second, a charming gimmick called the Donguri Bank, where you can "deposit" real acorns you've collected and get rewarded, a small, very Ghibli touch that turns a shopping trip into a tiny adventure.
A slice of all that is now landing in California, and if Angelenos turn out in force, a permanent U.S. store isn't off the table. Is there a shop near you that turns a movie into an actual place you can walk into, and would a Totoro at the door be enough to get you through it?
Global Discussion
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