The Ghibli Museum is a museum designed by Hayao Miyazaki in the woods on the edge of Inokashira Park, opened in 2001 with the motto “let’s get lost together”. There are no arrows and no set route; instead, spiral staircases, a cat bus children can climb into, a reconstructed animation studio with Miyazaki’s sketches, a zoetrope of Totoro figures and a small cinema showing short films that are not released anywhere else.
The hard part is the ticket, sold a month ahead and never at the door. Once in, take the two-hour slot slowly, see the short film first before the queue builds, and finish on the roof with the robot soldier from Laputa. The Straw Hat Cafe does lunch; the shop is small and worth the wait.
Tips
- Tickets go on sale on the 10th of the previous month at 10:00 JST via Lawson, online or abroad through official agents, and sell out within hours
- No photography inside; the rooftop garden with the Laputa robot is the exception
- Walk from Kichijoji through Inokashira Park, or take the Ghibli-decorated bus from Mitaka Station's south exit