Are you a fan of Hayao Miyazaki? Have you watch any of his cartoon animaes like My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo, Princess Mononoke, Castle in the Sky, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Porco Rosso, Whisper of the Heart, The Cat Returns, Tales from Earthsea, Only Yesterday, Kiki's Delivery Service, Grave of the Fireflies. Before making this trip, I made a point to watch again his animaes and my favourites are still Totoro, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and Ponyo.
If you are a fan then a must-visit place is Ghibli Museum. There are lots of things to see and activities to keep both the adults and children entertained and occupied. With the number of foreign visitors I wish they would consider more English translation.
Click
here if you want to know how to
pre-book the tickets - there are 4 time slots to choose from 10am, 12pm, 2pm and 4pm (close on Tuesdays). Since I couldn't get the tickets easily outside Japan, waited until I reached Tokyo to get them at any Lawson convenience store. Even with the published guide in English on how to buy the tickets, you still need some assistance as it is all in Japanese. I was fortunate a youngster at the store was kind enough to help me as he could speak very good English.
Getting there: Take the JR
Chuo Line from
Shinjuku to
Mitaka station, approx. 20 min. From the
Mitaka South Exit, approx. 15 min. walk along the
Tamagawa Josui "Waterworks" to the museum.
Alternatively take the Community Bus Stop #9 from
Mitaka Station to the Museum.
(Fare: one-way 200 yen / round trip 300 yen - 1/2 price for children under 12 years old).
My feet were aching from my heeled knee high boots so I opted for the bus. Wanted an earlier session but couldn't only get tickets for the 4pm slot.
Cute bus....if only it was the real cat bus (
Nekobasu)!!
Mitaka is very pretty, lots of trees, houses and no tall buildings unlike Tokyo city. Wished I had time to explore the area more. No wonder Miyazaki chose this place for his museum - perfect place for fostering creativity.
The receipt to be exchanged at the museum for the ticket which is made from a strip of film. I asked the counter lady whether I could choose the film but was declined. Fortunately I got
Ponyo!!! *
so happy*
If you are walking from the station,
Totoro will greet you before you reach the main entrance. But if you take the bus, you'll need to walk a little further to greet
Hi to
Totoro.
Taking pictures inside is not allowed.
Side view of the museum outside.
Main entrance.
Top view
The life-size mighty but gentle giant from the
Castle in the Sky.
Porco Rossco.
Night view of the Straw Hat Cafe
menu
My feet were killing so was grateful to have a rest and coffee. They use melted chocolate to draw the picture.
Cat tap
Stain glass from a scene of
Princess Mononoke.
Makkuro Kurosuke more popularly known as "dust bunnies" or "soot sprites".
Tin man feature. Not sure from which film though.
Each visitor is also entitled to watch short exclusive
animae shown at the Museum's own Saturn Theater.
Annathered visited Japan last year in Oct and she saw
Mei and the Kitten Bus. So I was pleasantly surprised with a new short film entitled "Mr Dough and the Egg Princess".
The story was entertaining and goes something along this line (extracted from the official
Ghibli Museum site):
In a lonesome water mill deep in a forest of briers and brambles lives a witch named Baba Yaga. There the witch keeps her servant the Egg Princess confined and forces the tiny egg-girl to do all the hard daily chores around the mill. One night, a large batch of kneaded dough resting in a trough suddenly comes to life from the witch’s spell. Fearful of the witch, the Egg Princess and her new friend decide to run away. What will lay ahead for the two of them...?
Their breakfast menu comprising of toast and soft boiled eggs seems to be pretty popular with the locals.
This organic coffee was a real kick-ass!
My feet were aching from my heeled knee high boots so I opted for the bus. Wanted an earlier session but couldn't only get tickets for the 4pm slot.
Cute bus....if only it was the real cat bus (Nekobasu)!!
The receipt to be exchanged at the museum for the ticket which is made from a strip of film. I asked the counter lady whether I could choose the film but was declined. Fortunately I got Ponyo!!! *so happy*
If you are walking from the station, Totoro will greet you before you reach the main entrance. But if you take the bus, you'll need to walk a little further to greet Hi to Totoro.
Taking pictures inside is not allowed. 
Main entrance.
Top view
The life-size mighty but gentle giant from the Castle in the Sky.
Night view of the Straw Hat Cafe
menu
My feet were killing so was grateful to have a rest and coffee. They use melted chocolate to draw the picture.
Cat tap
Stain glass from a scene of Princess Mononoke.
Makkuro Kurosuke more popularly known as "dust bunnies" or "soot sprites".
Tin man feature. Not sure from which film though.
