A journey into the wonders of Japanese animation
For lovers of Japanese animation and of the master Hayao Miyazaki, there is a magical place that absolutely cannot be missed if you are travelling to Tokyo. This place is the Ghibli Museum of Art, situated in Mitaka, a district to the west of Tokyo, about 20 km from the centre, reachable in approximately 20 to 30 minutes from Shinjuku.
Visiting the museum is like stepping completely inside one of Miyazaki’s animated films, with all its magic, its fascination, its extraordinary genius. The Museum has been open since 2001 and was strongly desired — and entirely designed — by Hayao Miyazaki. Exactly as he does for his films, for the museum too he first sketched drawings and drafts and then handed everything to the team so they could create an incredible structure from them.
The Museum is situated inside a park, surrounded by greenery, and extends upwards rather than horizontally. At the entrance is a large, very high hall, where on one side you will find the cinema in which you can watch one of the short films projected exclusively at the museum, while on the other side a series of small rooms unfolds where you can observe and interact with the various animation mechanisms used for the production of the films.
Going up to the next floor, there is then the room for younger visitors, where honestly I would have liked to go in myself. This room houses a large “Neko Bus” where children can play and have fun, sitting inside it just as in the film “My Neighbour Totoro” :-D On the same floor you will find the souvenir shop “Mamma Aiuto!” where you can buy absolutely everything! Pins, notebooks, plush toys, magnets, small towels, t-shirts, character figurines, and much more. A true paradise for lovers of his films.
Other small rooms reconstruct the master’s studio where he drew his film sketches. Drawings and drafts for the films are hung along all the walls of these rooms, and the techniques for colouring and assembling scenes are also shown through interactive machines. You continue upward — as in his films, as in “Laputa, Castle in the Sky” or “Spirited Away” — to arrive at the top of a kind of dome made of iron grating from which you can admire the surrounding landscape and the garden below. In the small rooftop garden there is yet another small surprise: the great Robot of Laputa, a bronze statue sculpted by Lunio Shachimaru, which rises towards the sky to protect the entire Museum.
Nothing is left to chance; every detail has been carefully conceived by Miyazaki himself, like the small nooks and dark corners and the beautiful stained-glass windows depicting the characters from his films. You then reach the outdoor area where you can rest and have a bite to eat.
Photography is absolutely forbidden inside the Museum. It is worth purchasing your entry ticket from Italy, as demand is very high and you risk arriving in Japan without finding any available visiting day. In Italy you can purchase them from the JTB website.
Getting to the Museum is very easy. Take the JR Chuo Line and get off at Mitaka station. Outside the station, you can choose to walk following the signposts (about 15 minutes) or take the bus.
The Ghibli Museum is a journey through the magic of one of the greatest masters of Japanese animation — and not only Japanese. A chance to unwind the mind and take a leap into another “dimension”.