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is a commercial museum featuring the Japanese anime work of Studio Ghibli. Located in Mitaka, a western suburb of Tokyo, Japan, it opened in 2001.
The museum is a fine arts museum, but does not take the concept of a usual fine arts museum. With many features that are child-oriented and a sprawling and occasionally mazelike interior, the museum is a playfully created place. Centered around the motto appearing on the museum's website , it has no set path or order of viewing. It seems to be primarily a Japanese tourist location, as though the museum brochure contains a variety of languages, the signs within the museum are in Japanese only.

Contents

Exhibits

Permanent Exhibitions

Special Exhibitions

Short films

Other features

Tickets and access

References

External links

Exhibits

Permanent Exhibitions

On the bottom floor is an exhibit room showing the history and science of animation. One of the displays uses models of Ghibli characters, each in a slightly different pose, arranged in a circle on a spinning table. The models and poses are created like animation frames, which becomes apparent when the table spins in syncronization with a flickering stroboscope. The light flashes illuminate each model as it passes the same spot, creating the illusion of movement and showing how animation works.
On the first floor is a mock-up of an animation studio, with sketches, story boards, reference material and more to look at. Also shown is the process of creating an animated film, from sketches, storyboarding, keyframing, cleanup, coloring, background painting, etc.

Special Exhibitions

In addition to Ghibli-oriented exhibitions, the museum hosts an area where it brings in other animation work.

Date	Exhibit
2007-2008	, based on a picture book version by Leo Tolstoy [1] ''Azur et Asmar'', an animated film by Michel Ocelot for its Japan release by Studio Ghibli [2]
2006–2007	Aardman Studios, primarily focused on their work on Wallace and Gromit.
2005-2006	Heidi, Girl of the Alps
2004-2005	Pixar Animation Studios
2003-2004	Works by the Russian animator Yuri Norstein
-2003	Laputa: Castle in the Sky

The building features two floors connected through staircases as well as a metallic spiral staircase. There is a sculpture garden on the rooftop.

Short films

The museum shows the following Ghibli short-films in the Saturn Theatre^[3]:

★ Koro's Big Walk

★ Water Spider Monmon

★ Mei and the Kittenbus

★ The Day I Harvested a Star
Each guest to the museum is only permitted to see one of these films during a single visit. From April 11, 2007 through the end of June, 2007 the theatre will show only one feature.

Other features

The museum also includes an animation bookstore, souvenir giftshop and a theme restaurant called ''The Straw Hat Cafe''. There is also a playroom for pre-school children with a giant catbus toy to play in. On the museum's roof there is a garden with a life-size statue of a robot from Castle in the Sky.

Tickets and access

The museum requires tickets be purchased in advance, so it is not possible to buy tickets at the museum. Tickets can be purchased at Lawson convenience stores via their automated kiosks called "Loppi." However, instructions are available only in Japanese, and the tickets will often sell out months in advance for weekends and more crowded seasons. Fortunately, the museum has recognized its growing popularity with overseas visitors, and sets aside a small number of tickets for them. In order to purchase these, overseas visitors must purchase their tickets in advance through Japanese travel agencies^[4]. Tickets sold domestically are valid both for a specific date and a specific time; those sold to overseas visitors specify only the date. Note that the latter are reserved at the ticket booth by name; overseas visitors must bring their pre-issued vouchers that are printed with their formal names and passport numbers, so you will need to bring your passport with you on your visit to the museum.
Tickets randomly feature three consecutive celluloid photograms of various Ghibli's films, and you get to keep the ticket as a souvenir.
A bus service connects the museum with Mitaka's train station. The service is ¥200/¥300 for adults (one way/roundtrip) and ¥100/¥150 for children. It is also possible to walk (about 20 minutes) from the train station to the museum, and the path is marked with signage to the museum. The museum does not have parking space for cars, so access via train is encouraged. Access by train is via Mitaka Station on the JR Chūō Main Line, approximately 20 minutes from Shinjuku Station.

References

1. News about the next Ghibli Museum exhibit
2. News about new exhibitions at Ghibliworld.com
3. Studio Ghibli short films and screening schedule
4. See How to buy tickets outside Japan, ''Basic Information for Ghibli Museum, Mitaka''. Accessed August 21, 2006.

External links

★ Official website (in Japanese)

★ Official website (translated into English)

★ Background information in English, with photographs

★ How to buy a ticket for the museum

★ Information on some of the short films shown at the museum

★ Ghibli Museum at Wikimapia