Ghibli Museum 三鷹の森ジブリ美術館

Sorry there wasn't any updates for the past few days cause I was on a Company Trip to Kuala Lumpur with my bosses and colleagues and needless to say, when an MPV car full of ladies gathers, it's time for some serious shopping!!  We had a good 3 days 2 nights worth of food and goodies but that's not what I want to tell you today.

Today, let me be your tour guide to none other than the GHIBLI MUSEUM!! Yes, another awesome treat for both you and me!!! <3  If you have no idea what Ghibli is, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GO WIKI IT  AND THEN BUY THE MOVIES TO WATCH (cause it would be illegal for me to ask you to download it =P).  It won an Oscar in 2002 for the Best Animated Feature and mind you, it's the ONLY film made outside from the so call "English Speaking" world to have done so.  So no, it's not 'cartoon'.  Not just 'another anime'.  It's a very recognized awesome Studio that makes awesome movies (seventeen of them to be exact from 1986).

Well, enough rage.  :D

LET'S GO!

Actually, before you "go", you have to purchase tickets first (>.>) and they don't sell it at the Museum itself because you have to pre-book your tickets like for Tokyo Sky Tree (preferably) and you can book it Internationally or locally (in Japan).

This is the official site of Ghibli Museum and you just have to click on the marked sign and they will tell you step by step on how to get their tickets and of course, how to go there <3

#1  Ghibli Museum's Website

So for me, I got it 'locally', which mean I got my tickets from a convenience store in Japan known as Lawson.  Entrance ticket as of now is ¥1,000, equivalent to roughly RM 40.00 (maybe slightly lesser, depending on the currency exchange rate).  Sounds expensive but for a ticket to go to somewhere so awesome and plus the fact that it's in Japan, ¥1,000 is actually considered superbly reasonably priced.  One meal can easily exceed this amount.

#2  Ghibli Museum tickets from Lawson!

Can you believe that it came with a beautiful envelope and also a map/guide to show you how to go?  How can you not love Japanese people?  They are just so thoughtful!!  And me and Godbrother was squealing like mad when we got the tickets.  Can cry.  Cause cause, we actually booked the tickets pretty last minute and we were convinced that we won't be able to get any slots to go BUT, lady luck is on our side <3

It's not that near to Tokyo but everything in Japan is made easy!  Just hop onto the railway to Mitaka Station and here we are!

#3  Oh Yeah~  Oh Yeah~  I am HERE!  Well, THERE!  

This is the entrance to the Museum <3  This was one of the two days in my Japan trip where it rained cause we were affected slightly by a Typhoon that was passing by so it's quite chilly but it did make the place look even more magical because the sky was slightly gloomy and it was drizzling here and there.  All is good!

#4  Ticketing Booth

Before you go in, you have to get your ticket validated by Totoro!!  Just kidding, it's just a display of the Gigantic Totoro (perhaps the life size version o.o) but it's still fun to pretend to try to talk to it and ask its permission to let me enter the museum =P

The place is designed in such a way that before you reach the real entrance, you will walk pass by the Museum's awesome architecture.  According to Wikipedia, Miyazaki Hayao designed this Museum himself and it is heavily influenced by both his films and also European architecture.  So lets take a short walk across this weird yet bizarre place.

#5  Outdoor View

#6  Outdoor View

#7  Outdoor View

Yeah I know, so GREEN.

#8  Main Entrance

This is the MAIN entrance and the glass is fully decorated with glass paint with scenes or characters of every other movies from Ghibli.  Not even the door but each and every window is nearly painted with scenes from each movies including the Ookami from Princess Mononoke, the witch doctor from Spirited Away, Sophie from Howls Moving Castle and many more!!

AND...

The tour sort of ends here. 

 Because we are not allowed to take pictures inside.

I AM SORRY that I couldn't take any pictures for all of you but I will just try to make it as short as possible how it looks like inside alright, so bear with me ;_;

After this door, you will enter the receptionist area but the Dome (yes there's a dome at the center of the ceiling)  is a widely painted blue sky with Totoro and other characters from Ghibli running around happily and chasing each other in a never ending circle.

Then,  you walk down a plight of stairs where the windows surrounding you is painted with the same painting technique mentioned above and when you are at ground floor, there are few 'rooms' where you can enter.  One of it is the mechanical room where they show you how are the movies made using what technique or mechanics and it's so beautifully done.

#9  The glass painting that I was talking about!  

This picture is fully owned by Collider , not mine! :D

Then, there's also a spiral staircase.  A really, really narrow spiral staircase in the middle of nowhere and you are encourage to try walking up that stairs without falling >D.

There's also one lift situated in the middle of the room and it looks like those from the 1800 time.  It's funny to note how everyone rushes to take that lift even if it functions the same as every other lift in the world and does not transport you elsewhere except going up and down.

Okay, one special feature about this museum is they will show you a 15 minutes film.  And this film is only available in the Museum.  If you've never visited the museum, you have most likely not heard of it because it's an in house thing.  Every visitor gets the privilege to watch this film once and the title of the film is Mr Dough and the Egg Princess.

#10  Mr Dough and Egg Princess

It's a very cute film and I am not going to spoil it for you and though it's only 15 minutes, its really an authentic Ghibli work cause it's just so weird and bizarre and mind blowing but superbly nice to watch.

There is then the work station where they recreate their very own work station of the original Ghibli groups and you will be amazed on how much effort they put in for one single movie.  It's simply crazy because everything is drawn using hand on paper or on transparency paper.  NOT digital.  Which means, every single movement is redrawn from head to toe - frame by frame.  Not digitally copied or reusing part of the picture.  This also mean there's simply no room for error.  It's the same from the sketches till the colouring is done.  Can you imagine how much work is that?  I don't want to imagine that >.>  But thank you Ghibli for your awesome job!

Third floor is the souvenir floor and I manage to get a picture from another blogger, Comics212!

#11  Ghibli Souvenirs!

And below are the three loots that my Godbrother got from the Museum (photo credits to him of course <3).  The first two are the Ohmu's from Nausicaa and the third is the very Castle from Howls Moving Castle!  100% Pewter.  Awesome?? No, its not.  Because it's VERY awesome.   Pft.

#12  Blue and Red Eyes

#14  Howls Moving Castle

#15  Surprise!  It can be taken out part by part lol

They are a beauty, aren't they?


Annnnnd that's the end of the tour inside.  Let's go to outside then :D  We are not allowed to take pictures inside the Museum so we practically violated the exterior of the Museum.

# 16  ICE CREAM, from Ghibli.  How can you not eat one! D:

#17  Look at the Pig on the Menu Board and Miyazaki Hayao himself (picture from Wikipedia by Thomas Schulz).  

The Ghibli group loves to depict themselves as pigs for some reason and the most piggy person would be Miyazaki Hayao because there are not only pictures but miniature statues of him as a pig like the one above!  

#18  More scenery of the Museum, photobombed by me.

#19  More photobomb :D

#20  This is the external spiral stairs.  Climb this up and you will exit to..

#21  Robot Soldier from Laputa or Castle in the Sky!  SEE HOW BIG IT IS?

#22  Ancient Hand Pump Well which still works lol

#23 Sewer Cover which smiles at you :<

#24  Weird looking chairs :D

#25  Spot the Hidden Totoro!

#26  Looks so magical ;_;

#27  Hidden soots at the one of the walls that you might just walk pass by them unnoticed!

#28  Annnd, time to go back.

QQ  SO sad ;_;  Even though it drizzled that day, I would say it was the perfect day to go because it just adds up all the right atmosphere for visiting such a wonderful place (for me) but all things have to come to an end be it good or bad.  So after this, we went for dinner and ended our night by  roaming Akihabara again.

More tales coming soon <3  I hope you enjoy this place as much as I do but if you don't, there's always *hint* DisneySea to look forward to =P