Studio Ghibli has financial problems and they’ve decided to halt production of films for the time being, but the fandom for their catalogue spans time, space and crisscrosses the globe, people from around the world go out of their way to visit this small but intricately designed, handsomely crafted, decorated and lovely museum in the distant peaceful and beautiful Mikata area!
Studio Ghibli should be a Japanese national treasure and the same attention that is given to Disney should also be given to “studio ghibli”, they deserve their own amusement parks, monorail (cat bus) and resorts.
Anyway enough ranting ,
Ofcourse first thing is first, you “have” to pre purchase your tickets months in advance because the place is packed and since the museum is quite small tickets sell out almost immediately, therefore avoid weekends like the plague plan for weekdays, the earlier the better because the crowd keeps getting bigger as the day goes on but make sure you arrive an hour beforehand for those unfamiliar with the Mikata area.
Now the tricky part where do you buy the tickets? Well I didn’t want to risk going to japan and not being able to visit the museum so I bought the tickets a month in advance through bridge.japan
http://www.bridge.jpn.com/
The cost was reasonable around (2,000 yen) and they send it to you via dhl with tracking!
This is a must for all Studio Ghibli fans there is no getting around it, also Mikata is very peaceful and beautiful place, you could easily spend a whole day exploring and walking about. I decided to walk to the museum from the train station and got a little lost in a neighborhood and I was just in awe of the beauty and surroundings it was such a lovely day and once I reached the park there was this dreamy air, sort of like the vibes you get from watching Studio Ghibli films.
The museum has three floors with an open roof, there are tons of references to Ghibli films around the museum the ambience of the place was amazing, there is a small theater inside where an exclusive Ghibli short animated film is screened ( really loved it), there are seasonal exhibitions caught “the nutcracker” ( what a shame it wasn’t made into an animated film) , there is an area where the teams drawings/sketches are displayed along with inspiration booklets all very fascinating.
On the topmost floor there is a museum shop ( I bought everything that I could carry along with me) and a little play area for kids ( the cat bus from Totoro). On the roof there is a statue of that melancholic giant robot from “Laputa Castle in the Sky” i was ecstatic to say the least. An Ice-cream parlor and a café (usually full) complete your experience which is likely to take more than two hours .
Museum was on the smaller side and you cant really enjoy it as much once its gets too crowded. I was disappointed that there was little to no references to my fav animated films ( Princess Mononoke, Howls Moving Castle and Spirited Away).
Overall though, if you are a Studio Ghibli fan there is no skipping this museum it’s a must experience for everybody but especially Ghibli fans. However, It’s such a shame that these cherished, loved and adored classics aren’t celebrated in a more prominent and grander way, I could easily see a “Studio Ghibli Land” thrive and be hugely successful.