Ghibli Museum

There was one sightseeing item we were 100% in agreement with: The Ghibli Museum showcasing the work of acclaimed anime director's Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli. Visitor numbers are limited, and we had to purchase tickets via our local JTB office ahead of time.

Before we left for Tokyo, we looked at the museum's website and saw that there is a life-size cat bus (from My Neighbor Totoro) on the premises. We were so excited at the prospect of riding a cat bus until we saw in small print "for ages 12 and under". Grrr.

The Ghibli Museum is situated in a Tokyo suburb called Mitaka, about 20 minutes west of Shinjuku by train. At Mitaka station, there is a dedicated bus painted with Miyazaki's critter characters to take visitors to the museum. Arriving at the museum, our pre-purchased tickets were exchanged for a actual still from a film; mine looked like it came from Pom Poko, one of my favorite Studio Ghibli films. With tickets in hand, we made a beeline to the cat bus to give stink eye to the kids enjoying it. Boo!

The museum itself was fascinating. A lot of real estate was dedicated to My Neighbor Totoro, including a really cool spinning display. There was also a theater showing short films; we watched a 20 minute film about a lost puppy.

Unfortunately, photos were not allowed inside the museum but we could take photos outside the main museum building.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ghibli-museum

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