Studio Ghibli Museum Tokyo is like walking into a Ghibli film set.
November 15, 2010
Having loved the Studio Ghibli animated films for a long time it was amazing to be able to visit the Ghibli museum in Mitaka, a suburb of Tokyo.
Sadly it was raining as the museum is itself very green with lots of roof terraces and outside spaces but also in parkland which is very fitting.
The museum opened in 2001 and is a series of interlocking spaces which from the outside have a moulded adobe style appearance and inside resemble a castle with large staircases and huge wooden doors, they have the atmosphere of a Ghibli interior set, slightly turn of the century with Art Nouveau stained glass style windows and a huge domed central glass ceiling. There is a centrepiece spiral staircase which runs throughout the three floors as well as more conventional wooden stairs.
The museum begins with an explanation of animation and a wonderful zoetrope with 3 dimensional Totoro figures, there are rooms that show Hayao Miyazaki’s office style and working methods, how the backgrounds are built up in layers and best of all there is a giant shaggy fur Cat Bus that the under 12’s can clamber in and out and on top of. I would thoroughly recommend a visit here even if you are not aware of much of the Studio’s output as it is just great fun.
There is also a cinema that shows short animations made especially for the museum, every entry ticket includes one screening.
Its about a 30 minute ride out on the JR Chuo line from central Tokyo so fairly easy to visit, the prices all seemed reasonable for Tokyo and there is a shuttle bus from underneath the elevated station especially for museum visitors. The only proviso is if you can, book before you travel to Tokyo as there is a limit of 200 visitors per day and the museum can sell out. I managed to book tickets in London from an agency listed on the website about 2 weeks before we left and the allocation for some days had already been sold.
All photos except Cat Bus by Smudgetikka, Cat Bus photo by Yataka Suzuki – all rights reserved
November 16, 2010 at 3:19 pm
What a magical place. Thank you for sharing these, it makes me yearn for Japan all the more.
May 16, 2011 at 5:24 pm
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