Ghibli Museum, Mitaka

To preface this review, I have to say that I’m a huge Studio Ghibli fan. Besides Disney, the only other movies that I watched as a child were My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Porco Rosso. I think there is not a single film directed by Hayao Miyazaki that I don’t like — with one of my favorite movies of all time being Spirited Away.
The moment I purchased my plane tickets to Tokyo, I plotted on how to get tickets to Studio Ghibli. Thankfully, living in New York City has its perks — we have a JTB office right here in Midtown. So exactly 3 months before my intended date, I called and emailed JTB and was able to get my ticket for my trip during prime sakura season.
Fast forward to March and I’m taking the train out to Mitaka and then the «cat bus» to the Museum. The bus is yellow with Studio Ghibli animals all over it but it’s actually a regular local bus that stops at other stops along the way there and back. The ride only really takes about 10 minutes or so and there are bus conductors around to assist if you’re not sure where to go. I arrived at the Museum at around 9:30am and began lining up to wait for them to open. I was one of the first people inside so I got first dibs on seating for their first short film showing. Your ticket for the short film makes a really cute souvenir!
There are a few exhibits in the museum and of course a cat bus for children to play in. There’s also a gift shop, which I must admit, I probably spent almost $ 100USD in. There’s just so much to buy and really, where else am I going to buy it? The giant robot on the roof is a key picture point — but the stairs up are pretty steep. There’s also the Totoro that’s «selling» tickets, which was super cute.
I really enjoyed my time at the museum — the surrounding area is really quaint and quiet — a nice reprieve from the hustle and bustle that is central Tokyo. Be sure to get there early though because by the time I left around 12:30pm, it was so packed it was hard to see the exhibits or walk around the gift shop.

From the moment I walked into this place, I fell in love. Right away, I could tell that of thought was put into the design and details of this beautiful museum, structured in the style of a small castle with many nooks and outdoor areas to explore. Although there aren’t that many exhibits, it took my friend and I awhile to get through the museum because we didn’t want to miss anything. The two main permanent exhibits are focused on the animation process, and if you are interested in animation at all, you will love this! The other areas of the museum are geared more towards children and include a huge cat bus playroom. I don’t think you have to be a Studio Ghilbli fan to realize this place is magical. It’s such a wonderful museum and it exceeded my expectations.

Since I have been the biggest Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli fan for over an decade, coming to this museum was a dream come true. Everything about this museum was intricately set up and every second spent here was like living in a fairytale. You can watch a short animation at their theatre during the designated times and it was quite cute. The gift shop was also a dream come true for me. They sold merchandises like puzzles, plush toys, keychains, jewelry (I personally wanted Howl’s ring but it was really expensive), postcards, tshirts… etc.
Although the museum was such an enjoyable experience, obtaining the tickets before hand was quite difficult and I struggled A LOT with it. One thing you need to make sure is that you purchase the tickets WELL in advance… I mean more than a month ahead if you’re planning to go during the weekend.
If you live overseas, you can only purchase the ticket through the travel agency shown on Studio Ghibli’s website. For me, the tickets were already sold out from the Canadian agency when I booked my trip. I freaked out a little bit because I didn’t know any other method of obtaining the tickets. However, through hours of searching, I found various sources that you can buy the tickets at.
This is a really good link that helped me out in showing me the different methods of purchasing the ticket and compares the pros and cons:
Personally, I purchased my tickets from KKDay after long hours of research on getting the tickets:
I picked my tickets up at Narita airport (very easy to find) and their customer service replied very fast to my inquiries and was very helpful. I would NOT recommend to get your tickets through Voyagin unless if there are no other options. They charge a ridiculous premium on the tickets (I think it’s around 70 – 80 USD) per ticket, while the actual prices are 9 USD.

The short of it: Absolutely amazing and so much fun! I would love to go again and again. Every detail they pay attention to made me so happy to be there!
The long of it: for those of you who like to know everything before you go (like me!!)
Getting the tickets: Before I went to Japan all the Museum’s tickets were sold out through third parties. I ended up being able to buy the tickets when I got to Japan. I got them from a machine in the Japanese convenience store Lawson’s. I do not speak or read Japanese and the nice attendant that helped me didn’t speak any English– but we figured it out together. It cost about $ 9 per person. I bought them mid-​October and went the first week of November.
Getting to the museum: Getting there ended up being a little difficult because Google maps sent us in the wrong direction– but we still managed to make it on time for our 12 pm entry time. My suggestion is to follow the directions on the Ghibli website.
The museum: Amazing! There are no pictures allowed except outside and the roof with the Iron Giant.
The whimsy ended up being ubiquitous. Tiny doors that open to reveal a tiny world. Dioramas of underwater worlds (one of my favorite displays), evolution movies (to hear the sound you have to crouch under a horn), spinning figurines of Totoro used with flashes of light to create a sort of live stop motion animation, stained glass windows and doors, a huge Catbus for kids, a short film in a beautiful theater (I saw the one with whales), rooms that look as if the occupants stopped mid-​painting to step outside (you can open chests, inspect a wall covered in sketches, peer through an optical illusion box, try out a film reel), shortcuts using super small door frames or spiral stairs– it goes on! There was a special exhibit for the Lady in Grey or haunted tower. A labyrinth to crawl through, artifacts to look at and a miniature scaled castle. If you see a crack in a wall look through it, it could be hiding treasure.
Shops and café: My favorite was the book store. They have hundreds of books to look through and when you decide what you want the staff gets the brand new book from the stock room. From what I could tell not all the books are Ghibli themed, maybe some were just inspirations. They have mini picture books for all the exclusive short films the museum shows for a few hundred yen, it also has books for the special exhibits. Most of the books are in Japanese, but there were a few in English.
There’s also a Ghibli shop that has all sorts of gift items ranging from a couple dollars to hundreds of dollars. I got a lot of plushes, key chains, phone charms, and post cards.
The Straw Hat Café is super cute. They don’t have vegetarian food at all, so I got a strawberry cake and iced coffee. They were beautiful and very tasty. Like the rest of the museum they ask you not to take pictures of anything, except for maybe your food. A girl next to me took a picture of her friend and she was asked not to!
There is also a sort of snack stand outside by the café. I got a tea and milk ice cream. It was sour and creamy. Very delicious.

Loved every minute I was here!!! Wish I got to see the short film they have but unfortunately my friends didn’t want to stay long enough to watch.
No photos allowed on the inside of the museum!

4.5 stars! This museum is really awesome. The place has such great, detailed décor that brings about imagination and transformed everyone back into their childhood through their animation. The museum is separated into different sections such as how the movements are depicted, how screenplays are written, coloring, play area for children (under 12), restaurant/​café and the outdoor area for with the large robot sculpture outside. The entrance ticket also came with a keepsake ticket in negative film that you can view a short Miyazaki’s short movie (they have rotating movies different times of the year/​month) in the museum
Because the museum is relatively small and because Miyazaki/​Totoro is so well known (at least in Japan), the entrance to Ghibli Museum is slightly difficult to come by. You most likely need to have reservation of time and it’s best not to show up at the Museum without a ticket/​reservation ahead of arrival (because you will most likely be turned away).
Even though I actually never watched Totoro or know much about Miyazaki, I really enjoyed looking through all the neat, amazing work of what goes into animation. The only thing that may be difficult for non-​Japanese was that the museum contents are mostly in Japanese, so for those foreign tourists/​non-​Japanese speakers who are not really familiar with Miyazaki’s animation or Totoro, Princess Mononoke etc, they may have a hard time relating to this museum. It wasn’t a problem for me (partly because I could speak a little bit of Japanese/​know Japanese here and there and had seen some pictures of Totoro/Miyazaki’s animation characters before), but some of my friends mentioned they couldn’t really relate much of what’s inside the movie to their childhood at all.

Pros: This is truly the one and only Ghibli Museum in the world. So if you love Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, etc. films, then you will love this place! The inside is quite magical as if inside a fairy tale tree house/​castle! On the right you get to see the clay animation similar to that of Disneyland’s animation studio with the different models moving around the spinning machine plus light. There are placards of movies I’ve never heard of but noted to watch in the future! There are three floors with different things to see. The second floor is water color panels and original art inside a replica of what their work spaces would have looked like. The third floor has the gift shop. And if you didn’t read already, there is a special unreleased film that is also shown in this museum that is pretty weird but cute at the same time! They also give you a ticket to monitor that you only watch the movie once but you get to keep that ticket which contains a three panel film strip!
Cons: Even if you read the websites on how to go to their convenient store to buy the tickets on their kiosks, they are often sold out weeks and even a month in advanced. So if you are in Japan for less than a week, it’s like impossible to buy it at the $ 10 price. What to do? You have to use websites like
to buy their tickets with a $ 54 service fee on top of the ticket. If you aren’t 3 days in advanced, you have to pick up the tickets at the travel company which could be difficult to navigate with their complicated train system.
Overall: I really enjoyed it and thought it was worth the extra money and effort. Once in a lifetime, DO IT if you are a fan!

You MUST plan ahead if you want to see this museum. You can only buy Ghibli museum tickets at Lawson mini mart in Japan and they were sold out for the whole month when I went. As a visitor from the US and a die– hard Hayao Miyazaki fan, I was turned away at the door since it was sold out. The garden area around is beautiful tho and there are a couple areas on the outside of the museum that are good photo opportunities. The Ghibli museum should create a website to buy tickets for foreigners… Or at least indicate online that they are sold out so travelers don’t waste their time making plans on getting to the museum.

I’m going to give this a four because … I really really really wish it was bigger and had a bigger store.
Be warned. Tickets don’t come easy. purchase months and months and months in advanced and go through a travel agent. You will be paying a pretty penny if you get them locally at the last minute through something like craigslist.
Come early, and line up and wait to enter, There are lots of places to explore, and walked the museum almost 3 times just to make sure we didn’t miss anything fantastical. Take in the beautiful stained glass windows. This is a wonderful place to bring your kids, there are so many wonderful areas for them to explore and play. Like a Giant cat bus play area which made me really wish I was a little kid… or that they allowed adults to play in it or had an adult version. Get in and go watch the movie in the theater — be sure not to miss it. Though it feels like a bit of a fire hazard as they allow people to fill up theater by sitting on the steps, I assure you everything is perfectly safe. There are things on the roof top garden, there are little gems when you ascend the little spiral staircase (which will make you feel like a kid again) — oh yeah. watch your head on that one.
Don’t miss the museum shop, there are items in that shop that you cannot find anywhere else. I wanted to buy just about everything.
My favorite souvenir from my Japan trip are the tickets from this museum that are made of the film strip negatives from the movies. You will see visitors adore them and put them up to the light to see if they know which movie it’s from.
I don’t know if it is well worth it to bring your camera. there are things you can take pics of here and there. There is a Giant Totoro in a ticket window on the outside of the museum by the entrance gate. But I wished they allowed me to take photos /​videos inside. I really did love the stained glass windows.

It has been my dream to visit this museum for as long as I have loved Ghibli, which has been, well, forever.
There’s so much to say so I’ll just briefly list the things that stood out to me:
–We bought our tickets through the JTB, via the NYC office. Very simple and affordable.
–The building makes you feel like you are not in Japan, but in another world. Possibly in a Ghibli film, but also any story book. It’s playful in its architecture, both for children and adults.
–You can easily do this museum in half a day. However, waiting as long as I did to come, we savored every aspect of the museum and it took us over six hours. We mulled over every detail.
–The exhibits are not reliant on videos. In a souveneir book we bought, Miyazaki himself says his goal was to make an immersive experience that relied more on the environment and aesthetic than in a museum where people stand around and watch movies. Conceptually I loved this.
–As vegans, there wasn’t much for us to eat within the museum. We went to the café with a friend and loved the aesthetic. If you want the whole experience, I do recommend going, because the food is meticulously designed. And it all looks like something out of a Ghibli film. Otherwise, we brought snacks and enjoyed juice and beer (keeping the gorgeous bottle!)
–The gift shop is actual heaven. There are just so many things to pour over — we spent 2 hours here alone looking through things and deciding what to get, not to mention gifts for friends. We bought a special clock that looked like the museum. As a gift, the INCREDIBLY friendly staff gave us a poster!
–There is a vendor within the museum who sells candies with Ghibli characters on them. So cool.
–The film concept is wonderful. We saw the one about Sumo Mice. You absolutely do not need to know Japanese to understand these films. That’s the power of this animation and their story telling abilities.
–Getting here from Tokyo was both easy and fun.
This museum is like walking into, and experience, a Ghibli film. It’s an incredible, special place.

A must visit if you’re a Studio Ghibli/​Miyazaki fan! I just want to warn you that getting tickets can be a TOTAL PAIN IN THE BUTT. Tickets go on sale 2 – 3 months before the actual date, so we tried to order them through JTB USA, but when I reached out to them they told me they were already sold out for the date we wanted! Yikes!
My cousin (who is half-​Japanese) had his cousin on his mother’s side try and get us tickets from Lawson. Except we forgot to remind him the day of… and those sold out too. LOL. He ended up buying them for us online, but because they were being sold by scalpers, we had to pay a lot more than the actual cost of tickets. :’(
Despite all of that, I had fun at the museum. When we arrived at the front, they handed each of us a film strip containing slides from different Ghibli movies! Super cool!!!
I really wish we were allowed to take pictures inside. The interior was beautiful and felt like something straight out of a Miyazaki film. We got to the museum as soon as it opened, so there weren’t many people milling around at first. As the day dragged on, however, it got pretty cramped inside — especially in the gift shop!
There were tons of rooms to explore in the museum. They had a section for kids to play in a giant Catbus, rooms where you could see sketches, the animation process of some iconic scenes, etc etc. Pretty neat, especially if you’re interested in art and animation! They also had a lot of outside areas that you could explore. The most popular section was the one with the giant robot from Laputa: Castle in the Sky! Most people went there to take pictures with it, but there was also a small area that displayed the command cube.
We didn’t get a chance to really eat at the café (the line was already ridiculously long and it was crowded as hell! wtf), so my boyfriend and I went to the food stall next door where we had some crazy good hot dogs and pear ice cream.
It was tons of fun to visit, but we were all exhausted by the end of it. Definitely wish we could have taken pictures inside or that the gift shop had more to choose from.

Ghibli Museum was one of the highlights of my trip to Japan.
We tried to purchase tickets through JTB in Toronto, but they were sold out. Our Airbnb host in Osaka helped us purchase tickets at Lawson for the particular date and time we had planned for our visit. Each ticket ended up being a couple dollars more since he mailed the tickets to us, but it was worth it.
My friends and I walked to Ghibli Museum from Mitaka Station. Even though we had tickets for the 10:00 AM entry time, we still had to line up to get inside. But that gave us a chance to admire the beautiful landscaping and the exterior of the building, and I can’t forget about the big Totoro who greeted us. In exchange for the tickets we got from Lawson, we each received a ticket in the form of a film strip featuring a scene from one of the Studio Ghibli movies — how creative!
Ghibli Museum is an interactive museum and the attention to detail, everywhere, is extraordinary. The stained glass windows, the direction signs, the stairs, the light fixtures, and even the doorknobs. It felt like we stepped inside an animated world… especially in the lobby and up the winding stairs to the rooftop garden.
There were multiple rooms showing how a Studio Ghibli film is made. It looked like someone actually works in these rooms. The drawings and illustrations were lovely… There was also a giant Catbus toy, but unfortunately, only children age 12 and under were allowed inside. The Straw Hat Café has a really cute patio, but the food and drinks were overpriced. Mamma Aiuto, the gift shop, is small and can get really crowded, but there were some really nice souvenirs (postcards, key chains, plush toys, jewellery, dinnerware, etc.). You can purchase more film strips as well, if you want to collect them. On the other side of the building, there is a bookstore that sells reading material, drawing books, and a different selection of postcards.
My favourite part of Ghibli Museum was the 3D zoetrope «Bouncing Totoro» located inside the exhibit room on the ground floor. Watching the clay models of the characters from My Neighbour Totoro bounce around was mesmerizing… This is a must-​see!
Before we left, we lined up to watch one of the short films exclusive to Ghibli Museum. (Only one film per visit is allowed.) We had the chance to watch ‘The Day I Harvested A Star’ and despite being in Japanese, we were able to understand the whole story and it was a nice short film.
If you’re a fan of Studio Ghibli, you must make a trip to Mitaka to check out Ghibli Museum. The museum may be small and crowded, and photos are prohibited, but it was still fun and enjoyable!

You can spend a good couple of hours here if you’re a Studio Ghibli/​Miyazaki Hayao fan. Foreigners can order tickets through a Japanese travel agency and it’s not much cheaper than the 1000yen ticket in Japan. Japanese locals can order tickets through Lawson, but they go by fast. Even my friends in Japan haven’t gone because they haven’t been able to score tickets. If you’re intent on going, just plan ahead and you should be fine.
We opted to skip the bus and the walk from Mitaka Station wasn’t bad and we enjoyed the park. People get there early and a line was formed before opening time at 10am. One of the best parts was walking through the entrance and being transported into the magical world.
If you come here wanting to see specific films/​characters, I recommend you don’t set expectations and do some research about the different movies and history of Studio Ghibli before you come. You don’t get much context from the museum itself, but the background knowledge helped me recognize things that I wouldn’t have otherwise paid attention to.
The gift store is also pretty restricted to Totoro, Howl’s, and whatever special exhibit they currently have. People go crazy here, but I would actually do my shopping elsewhere at Tokyo Sky Tree or the corner Studio Ghibli store in Asakusa. It is cool that you can buy film strips (random scene) for specific movies – don’t forget to buy the viewer device to go with it. There’s a sample so you can see how it works.
I’d skip the café. The short movie also plays 3x/​hour and I recommend catching it early before the rush.
Upstairs and the outside terrace area is gorgeous. Yay for the Laputa robot. That was simply the best.

This place is Magical– I’m glad that they don’t allow pictures/​videos inside so that you are actually in the moment. The short film is shown in Japanese but who cares?!? I loved it! So cute! Even if you don’t speak the language, you’ll understand it–
Everything here is cute! And detailed– arghhh too bad it’s not a bigger place.
I wanted to buy everything at the gift shop!!! We didn’t eat at the café though, too overpriced…

Going to Ghibli Museum, I felt like a kid again. Once you walk in – there really isn’t any direction on where to start first — the museum encourages everyone to decide which path to take and see where you end up at! I remember opening a random door, just because I wanted to see where it went and on the other side of the door was ME! It was just a mirror! They even put some thought into the tickets you receive when entering the museum — it’s a piece of one of the original films — so the ticket itself was a keepsake! Definitely a must while visiting Japan. Note that you have to book your tickets in advance — I heard you can purchase them from a Lawson’s convenient store around Tokyo but not sure. We booked through a travel agency online and received a voucher before our trip. I believe it was only $ 14/​ticket doing it that way.

It’s really a shame that Americans cannot purchase the $ 10 tickets to get into this museum. The only way we knew is to pay $ 60 for a guided tour group. Which is not worth it but seeing is how it was our only way to see it we had to pay it.
It is more like a children’s museum so it is very interactive, not a lot of writing but more models and scenes, but also children… lots and lots of tiny kids running all over the place. We went on a Japanese holiday accidentally so it was uncomfortably packed.
I really disliked the no photos rule in the museum… I have never wanted to take pictures so bad it was almost worse going and being exposed to it than not going at all. At least we could take pics of Totoro and the robot outside but that’s it. I don’t know how these other people took pics of the No Face creature from Spirited Away but was not at the museum when we went.
There is a short 15 minute animated movie to watch but it was all in Japanese and super boring after about 2 minutes. There are 9 movies they rotate each day so hopefully you don’t get Whale Hunt. That’s the one we had.
The tour group we used took us on a bus and the subway to the museum. You’d think for $ 60 a person they could spring for a private van but nope. Maybe other tours are better but I would avoid ours: Sunrise Tours.
Lastly the store… the store that I was waiting for the entire trip… was also a disappointment. Get your Ghibli items at other locations if you see them because all this store had was models and stuffed animals and storyboards. And it’s expensive and crazy crowded.
Am I glad I did it? Yes. Not worth the money but glad I did it as a Ghibli fan and a someone who will not be back in Japan for a very long time. If you do this tour I recommend travelling there and back on your own. The bus they took hits rush hour and you can walk faster then it moves.

As an avid Miyazaki & Ghibli fan, this was a bucket list dream come true!
Tickets were relatively easy to acquire (note: you will need to do this in advance) even though we were in the US, and at $ 10 was spectacularly affordable! Transportation to the museum was also convenient and easy — the bus is bright yellow and covered with Ghibli-​esque doodles. Oneway fare was around 400 yen (less than $ 4US), and dropped you off right in front of the museum itself. At the main entrance there were several people collecting tickets (your tickets only allow you in at a certain time and for a certain amount of time).
Walking in was truly walking into one of their movies — stained glass windows in the shapes of scenes from Howl’s Moving Castle, Laputa, Spirited Away, cast colored light across long, wooden hallways. A great grandfather clock stood in the main entrance, and looking up you could see three levels of open stairs, leading off into different sections: The mind of Hayao Mizaki (featuring original watercolors and prints, how the films were made, replica work rooms), a childerens only play section (there was an actual cat bus! Never have I wanted to be a child again so badly!), the gift shop (you will definitely break your bank here), stop motion sections where you could see the animation truly come to life, and lastly a short movie screening section.
Outside was truly magical — up a winding grate staircase you found yourself in tall grass and face to face with one of the characters from Laputa. Further into the grassy rooftop you were lead to another iconic Ghibli statue. Back down in the main area was a café and outdoor patio. Totally charmed, we partook in white wine and strawberry shortcake. And that just about spent up the four hours we were allowed in the museum.
I loved every moment of my experience at Studio Ghibli — and have come away with a huge list of movies that I had no idea were Ghibli and am excited to start watching.
One last note: When they say no photos inside, the mean it! So get plenty of pictures outside but put those cameras away when you enter the building.

I LOVE THIS PLACE !
If you are a big Ghibli fan, then I highly recommend that you visit this wonderful museum when visiting Tokyo.
The first time I visited this place, I was a bit disappointed since I could not play in the kitten bus, the bus is only for kids: p. And I was with people who did not exactly know Miyazaki’s work so nobody to share my excitement.
The second time, I was with fellow Ghibli/​Miyazaki fan so we had a great time. I bought a set of postcards and looked for each of those location in the museum.
We were not keen on food on the menu in the restaurant so we did not give it a try.
If I visit Tokyo again, I will try again to get a ticket and visit again.

Magic is truly in the air in this place. As a huge Hayao Miyazaki/​Studio Ghibli man, this was an awe inspiring experience. Once in a lifetime to be sure, even though I hope to come again.
This isn’t your typical museum. It’s an ever evolving one with nature truly taking over the building. As the once multiple colored outside walls are now nearly completely covered in moss. Be aware, that you do need to buy tickets online, but just ask your hotel to get them for you, so you don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for some agency to charge you 400% what they are worth.
There is no direct path to take here as it’s designed to be explored by a child’s mind and order is not an issue. Staff was great minus the waitress at the café, but besides that it was perfect. They don’t allow photos inside, but you can take pictures of anything on the outside. Almost every piece of art in this place was commissioned by artists picked by Miyazaki himself.
I don’t want to give much more away, but if you’re a Ghibli fan, make the journey here as it will leave an impact on you for the rest of your life.

Fans de Miyasaki on né pouvait pas faire un séjour au Japon sans aller à Mitaka visiter le musée Ghibli.
J’ai été un peu déçu de découvrir que c’était surtout pour les très petits enfants, bien que la reconstitution des pièces de vie de Miyasaki et ses montagnes de cigarettes né parlent qu’à nous.
Passé la frustration de né pas pouvoir rentrer dans la peluche géante du chat-​bus, il faut avouer que certaines animations, et les machines animés font rêvé à chaque âge. On reste vite hypnotisé.
Les photos sont interdites en intérieur, et les boutiques sont nombreuses. Vous trouverez bien moins cher dans les boutiques Ghibli de Tokyo ou d’ailleurs, mais on résiste rarement a un objet estampillé «Ghibli museum».
Avec le ticket d’entrée, vous aurez un morceau de pellicule d’un Miyasaki. Et ça c’est juste merveilleux, ça né rivalise pas avec tout les souvenirs que j’ai pu rapporter, c’est mon Graal.
Ce n’est pas a faire chaque année si on a pas d’enfants, mais une année sur deux je le ferais bien !

When planning our trip to Japan, a visit to the Studio Ghibli museum topped my list of planning priorities. You can’t just rock up on the day, so we ordered our tickets in advance through an English online ticketing system and was sent a confirmation slip (to be exchanged for a «film cell ticket» on the day) way before our trip.
The museum is easy to get to from central Tokyo and we found our way from Minato (where there is a Howl’s Moving Castle clock attached to the Nippon TV tower) to Mitaka via the subway. Although you can walk to the Museum in about 15 minutes from the subway, once we had noticed the Ghibli bus stop (complete with Totoro motif’s), we had to get the bus (this was only about 200 yen). The museum opens at 10am, so we decided to get there for about 9:45 (where a big queue had already formed for entry).
Bang on 10am a gentleman descended from the roof garden ringing a bell, signalling that the museum was opening and ready for business. You’re not allowed to take photos in the museum (hence the lack of pictures from myself), but you can snap outside and within the gardens. It adds to the experience as you are forced to actually be present, rather than being behind a lens for the whole visit. The Laputa robot on the roof is a highlight and you can snap selfies to your hearts content!
I don’t want to give too much away (as you really need to visit for yourself if you’re a fan), but it’s simply magical. There are rooms filled with models showing the progression of animation, sketches and storyboards and seasonal displays (they had one on the nutcracker when we visited). Every detail within the building is wonderful and representative of the work which has come out of this extraordinary studio. A highlight is the short film, which you can only see at the museum. This changes often, but the film we saw (sumo mice and rats) was fantastic — even if we couldn’t understand the dialogue.
I think entry to the museum was about £12 and it was one of the highlights of our entire trip to Japan. If you’re a fan (or even if you’re not), a visit is well recommended. Simply magical.

Je suis admiratif des films d’animation du studio Ghibli et je me réjouis de l’existence de ce petit musée. Il est, pour tout fan qui se respecte, un pèlerinage indispensable.
Le lieu est vraiment charmant et adorable.
Mon optimisme me pousse à hausser un peu la note, car en définitive je n’ai pas été totalement séduit par ce musée, que je trouve très petit, avec finalement assez peu de choses à voir.
Il y a néanmoins certaines pièces exceptionnelles, comme la grand robot de Laputa à l’extérieur ou le sublime jeu d’optique zootrope de Totoro.
Il est aussi passionnant de découvrir un court métrage inédit, installé comme au cinéma.
Ce petit musée se trouve assez excentré, du côté de Mitaka, et il n’est pas à proximité d’une station.
Autre contrainte par ailleurs, il est indispensable de réserver ses billets bien à l’avance, et pour une date bien précise. Sachez-​le afin de né pas avoir de mauvaise surprise durant votre séjour.

Mañometro: «Ni totoro ni totora»
Ha sido uno de los destinos fijos en mis dos viajes a Japón, y he de confesaros, lo va a seguir siendo en el tercero, el Museo Ghibli tiene todos aquellos componentes que un buen museo debe tener, exquisitez en la elección de lo que expones, creatividad y sobre todo, mucho mucho «valor añadido».
Yo soy un verdadero fanático del Museo Ghibli, desde Chihiro, a Nausicaä, pasando por Porco Rosso o Totoro, la sobresaliente manera de entender la animación de este estudio hace que muchas fases de mi vida se hayan visto reflejadas en varias de sus películas.
Si visitas Tokyo, y te gusta la animación, el museo Ghibli es un lugar de OBLIGADA visita, eso sí, no es un lugar de FACIL visita, me explicaré.
Localización: Se encuentra en Mitaka, el equivalente patrio a «Colmenar» un poco a desmano, lo que obliga a necesitar al menos una mañana o una tarde entera del viaje para visitarlo, se suele coger la Chuo Line (Línea naranja) y andar un rato, para los mas frikis tambien puedes ir en «Gato Bus» desde la estacion de tren, para gustos colores, para completar un día friki podeis pasar por Nakano en el tren de vuelta, y entrar a Nakano Broadway, centro comercial de figuritas y frikadas varias … pa’verlo!
Entrada: Suele ser necesario cogerla con bastantes meses de antelación y he aquí uno de los problemas … SOLO SE VENDE EN JAPÓN, de lo que te preguntaras, como narices compro una entrada en Japon, varios meses antes de ir? Pues con los tan famosos intermediarios, como JTB o similares, que hacen que una entrada que vale 6 euros pase a valer 15, pero bueno, merece la pena.
Ruta: En el museo hay mucho que ver, pero despues de dos visitas te diré algo que te conviene saber, nada mas entrar VETE DIRECTO AL CINE. En el museo Ghibli te «regalan» un corto con la entrada, una pieza que solo se proyecta allí (juro que las he intentado encontrar y no hay manera) y que van programando un poco como les parece (
) conforme va pasando el día, las colas son mas y mas largas para ver el corto, mientras que nada mas entrar no llegan a los 10 minutos.
Así que ya sabéis, si estais en Tokyo y no vais … se lo explicáis vosotros a Miyazaki.

Si vous êtes fan du Studio Ghibli et si vous êtes sur Tokyo, il né faut pas manquer d’y aller!
Le musée Ghibli a été ouvert il y a quelques années, se trouve à Mitaka à côté du parc Inogashira. Il faut conpter au moins 15 minutes à pied de la gare, et il faut réserver en avance.
Dès le portail, il y a des surprise et des surrises! D’abord vous trouverez un grand Totoro qui fait l’acceuil, et puis le jardin qui nous fait rappler le monde de Ghibli.
À l’intérieur, toutes les salles sont bien ensoliées, et comme tout est bien travaillé, il y a toujours des choses à découvrire (par exemple même dans l’espalier).
Vous pouvez voir la salle à travailler des dessinateurs (c’est la salle reprosuite à l’instar de vraie studio), quelques salles d’expositions, et aussi il y a un petit cinéma dont il projète des films limités ququ’on né peut voir qu’ici.
Sur la terrase en faut, vous pouvez rencontrer la statue d’un robot énorme.
Si vous avez venez avec des enfants qui sont des écoliers, ils peuvent s’amuser avec le bus du chat qu’on rencontre dans le Totoro.
J’y suis venues une fois avec une amie étgrangère, mais elle était super contente et moi aussi je me suis bien musée. Comme il y a un grand parc à côté, c’es aussi idéal pour faire un picnic.