Enjoy a visit to the Ghibli Museum, Mitaka
Studio Ghibli is the home of creation for animation films such as “Mononoke-hime (Princess Momonoke)” and “Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away),” which have fascinated people all over the world. Ghibili Museum, Mitaka, opened in Mitaka, Tokyo, in 2001, and features aspects of Ghibli’s animation world. Visitors can feel as if they have slipped into one of the mysterious worlds depicted in Ghibli’s films.
Getting there takes 15 minutes on foot from JR Mitaka Station, via the pleasant “Kaze no Sampomichi (Wind Promenade)” along the river. To your surprise, you can see a large “Totoro” sitting at the entrance to welcome you. However, this is not the real entrance. The nearby real entrance is decorated with colorful stained glass, and here you will receive a ticket made of a piece of 35 mm film print of an actual animation movie. Just wait and see which scene you are given! Once you enter the building, you can experience the same kind of mysterious feeling as when watching the Ghibli movies. Unlike usual art museums where visitors are unable to touch the displays, this museum has no such restrictions.
In the “The Beginning of Movement” room visitors can learn about the mechanism of animation through displays such as “Totoro Pyon-pyon.” This is a zoetrope in which 3D figures jump and scamper on a rotating disk, using animation mechanism.
Visitors who are interested in the making of animation films will be fascinated by the series of rooms called “Where a Film is Born.” In these five small rooms there are piles of books, numerous sketches and various types of toys as well as storyboards, the blueprints for an animation, laid out on a desk. You are able to learn about the process of animation film creation through displays such as storyboards, original pictures and animation art cels. You can also have fun searching for 10 hidden figurines, “Kaijin Ghibli-Blee.”
A selection of original short movies, which cannot be seen anywhere else, are screened at a small theater. Visitors who are elementary school students and under can ride on the “Neko bus (Cat bus)” depicted in “Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro).” Kids will love the chance to feel the soft, fluffy fur of the bus and a huge robot stands on the roof. Taking pictures is prohibited inside the building but is possible outside. There is a hand-pumped well in the patio, which is also seen in “My Neighbor Totoro,” and you can have a go at drawing water from it. Picture books and children’s books from Japan and abroad, selected by Director Miyazaki and the museum’s staff are on display and most of them can also be purchased here. In the museum shop, original museum souvenirs are available and recommended as a memento of your visit.
 How to purchase tickets
You must make a reservation to enter the museum. This can be done by any of the following ways:
In Japan:
(1) You can make a reservation through the “Sunrise Tours.” (The reservation designates the date only.)
(2) You can make a reservation yourself using the machine at Lawson convenience stores. (The reservation designates date and entrance time. There are 4 entrance times each day.)
Outside Japan:
(3) If there is a designated local travel agency in your country, you can make a reservation there. For further information on how to purchase reserved tickets, please visit the Ghibli Museum web site at http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/ticket/overseas.html.
Ghibli Museum, Mitaka
http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/ticket/overseas.html
Lawson
http://www2.lawsonticket.com/pc/P54/leisure/ghibli/ghibli_e.asp?G=C9BMTVb7MW
Sunrise Tours
http://www.japanican.com/sunrisetours/FToursKensakuShosai.aspx?TourCode=GMT01TYOOF600&AFF=GMT
03-5796-5454
sunrise01@jtb.jp
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