The Hollywood Bowl is such a nice place to have a concert. I love how you can bring food and drinks into the venue and it’s basically like a picnic! The difficult part is getting there and parking. Luckily, the Hollywood Bowl has shuttles that can take you there and back which saves you so much trouble! When I saw Hollywood Bowl tickets with Joe Hisaishi and the LA Philharmonic and featuring Studio Ghibli, I was excited. I got tickets to a section that was pretty center. I loved watching My Neighbor Totoro, Castle in the Sky, and, of course, Howl’s Moving Castle.
Before getting to the Park & Ride Shuttle Lot, I stopped by Kingbop for some kimbap. It was my first time ordering there, but it seemed like such a perfect snack to eat at the Hollywood Bowl.
The Park & Ride Shuttle was pretty convenient. I purchased the 5:30pm timeslot and got there right at 5:00pm, but the shuttle did not actually leave until around 5:40pm. I should have waited until closer to 5:30pm to get on the shuttle – we were sitting in there for over half an hour! The ride to the Hollywood Bowl was pretty long too – 1 hour 14 minutes. There was so much traffic.
Once we got off the shuttle, it was a short walk to the entrance. Our first stop was the Toyota Lounge – you get a free bag of popcorn when you take the Park & Ride! If they run out, you can stop by the stand across from the lounge too. You just have to show them your ride ticket.
We stopped by the restrooms before heading to our seats. I was so impressed by the restroom – there were so many stalls. I have never seen a restroom so big. They definitely knew how to plan for a large crowd. There was no line at all even though so many people were using the restroom!
On the way to our seat, we also grabbed a seat cushion – complimentary if you have an AMEX card! Even if you don’t have one, this cushion is definitely worth it. It makes such a difference sitting on the cushion (and you get to claim your seat space)! As I was sitting there waiting for the concert to begin, the seat next to me was still empty and I was hopeful despite it being a sold out concert. Sadly, someone did end up sitting there (and they came after the concert started).
The kimbap and fried chicken were definitely a great choice! It was easy to eat and was tasty. We had plenty of time to eat since the concert didn’t start until 8pm.
When Mr. Hisaishi walked up on stage, you can feel the excitement in the crowd. The first few songs were from a film I have not seen. The soprano, Ariadne Greif, sounded so good. I liked how they showed clips from the film in the background. Watching Mr. Hisaishi conduct was so cool. He looked so joyful!
There was a good balance between showing clips and showing the conductor and the orchestra too. It was nice being able to see all the instruments get featured on screen.
There was an intermission in the middle, and everyone stood up to stretch. Afterwards, the setlist was filled with Studio Ghibli music and everyone was clapping and cheering for their favorite songs. The music sounded so great in person and I could never get tired of watching Mr. Hisaishi conduct. There was even a point when he sat down to play the piano and conducted in the same song! That was amazing. The California State University, Fullerton University Singers also sang for a few songs – it must be such a memorable experience for them!
Mr. Hisaishi is a man of few words. At one point, he spoke a little about the concert and how this was the final concert of this concert series. He also introduced his daughter, Mai Fujisawa, who was the vocalist for a few songs! He is also pretty funny and cute – he would pretend to leave the stage, then come back out to conduct another song! Mr. Hisaishi also thanked every section in the orchestra at the end, which turned out to be a bit funny watching all the section leaders signaling for their section to stand up.
This was a very enjoyable concert. Music was great, venue was great, and I was so glad I got tickets to see this sold out concert. My one complaint is probably just that it’s bench seating so you don’t really get your own designated space. Otherwise, I wish it didn’t have to come to end. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more of these concerts at the Hollywood Bowl!