A must-visit spot for all Studio Ghibli fans! No words can describe how magical this museum is, from the Totoro welcoming visitors at the entrance to the colourful exterior of the building and the soldier from “Castle in the Sky” on the rooftop, not to mention all the Easter eggs around the museum and the fairytale like house.
Tickets get released a month in advance but still I only managed to get the last few at 4pm (museum closes daily at 6pm) and 2 hours is definitely not enough to see everything! Don’t miss the short film screening that rotate between several films on a regular basis and not shown elsewhere outside the museum, as well as the museum shop that sell merchandises.
The permanent exhibitions are another highlights which include hand drawn sketches and how the animations are made from scratch which is truly fascinating. Worth noting also that each visitor receive a ticket in the form of an actual 35mm film of a random scene from the animation movies which is really cute and a good memorial from the visit!
This is not the museum you're expecting. Unless you're a DIE HARD fan of Ghibli you should visit the outside of the building without going inside - photos aren't allowed inside anyway. I felt very little additional connection to Ghibli after visiting.
It's an underwhelming experience. By far the coolest thing about the museum is the building itself thanks to the detailed stained glass windows and colorful Gaudi-like architecture.
The first floor has a small movie theater where they screen an animated short. That part is by far the best part inside the museum. The rest of the first floor shows how animation works and has one small (about one foot by six inches) diorama for each Ghibli film.
The second floor has an area showing how animators work. It's a replica office filled with colors and some sketches from the movies. It didn't cover anything specific to Ghibli, more how to animate in general. There's also a special rotating exhibit currently (Oct 2024) showing sketches from The Boy and The Heron which is cool, but it's only background sketches and drawing - nothing screened and no clips tied to the sketches.
The third floor has a very small and underwhelming gift shop filled with people, a play area cat bus for kids, and roof access which has a single robot statue. You can find many of those gift shop items elsewhere for cheaper.
There's almost no movie clips tied to the sketches, no music from the films playing, no scenes detailed or explained, and very few simple gifts. It felt more focused on animation that was incidentally Ghibli based. I don't think you're missing anything by stressing out about buying tickets a month in advance. If you do get tickets, arrive thirty minutes before your timed ticket.
This museum is highly popular, with tickets needing to be purchased at least a month in advance. However, after visiting, I was rather disappointed. The building is relatively small, divided into several rooms, each with different exhibits. Because entry is timed, every room is crowded with visitors, making it difficult to fully appreciate the artwork and displays. You barely have time to stop and look as the people behind you keep moving, pushing you to continue.
The gift shop area was also overcrowded, making it hard to enjoy the experience there. The only pleasant surprise was the movie screening, which lasts about 25 minutes. It kept my kids entertained, but even then, the Totoro film they played is something we’ve seen many times before. At least there was seating available for a brief rest.
Overall, unless you're a major fan of Studio Ghibli, I don't think it's worth the effort or the wait to visit.
Incredible experience. No photos allowed inside though. My kids loved the Totoro Cat Bus play area. There's a couple shops to purchase books and memorabilia, and to purchase other souvenirs. The cafe was nice, but unfortunately didn't have any Ghibli themed foods.
When I got to the museum at 9:45am, there was already a long line. The museum isn't very big, but there was so many fine detail EVERYWHERE. Every corner I turn, I discover something new. So despite the small size, there was a lot to see! I felt like I was inside the Ghibli world, full of heartwarming feelings. I saw staff there dusting corners and cleaning the space while monitoring and reminding people, gently in a friendly manner, not to take photos inside if anyone was trying to. They blend right in though and didn't stand out so I just love how they are able to do that while keeping the whole look and feel. I also checked out the restrooms and they even got Ghibli details there! I wonder if the male restroom was different.
Short film - One of the main attraction I wanted to see was the short film of the month. I think they change it every month or so. It was in Japanese, but they are all very easily understandable for non Japanese speakers. I really enjoyed it, it was such a cute film!
Another main attraction is the gift shop of course! I went there before it got too crowded. When I went back to take a look again, their check out line was all the way out to hallway so I was glad I checked out earlier before noon. While browsing I found out that they sell seasonal exclusive items at the store only, so I bought a matching set of plate and matching mug. I had a lot of fun browsing everything there. I want to go back again and get a different season exclusive item.
After that I went to get lunch at their cafe. The line was long near noon, next time I will eat when I first enter at 10-11am so I can avoid the long line and crowd at 12pm. Food there wasn't bad, but wasn't like WOW amazing either. Total was about $19 for french fries, chicken sandwich, pork cutlet sandwich and hot barley tea. I thought that the price for food is cheap if you compare it to food at Disney so I was happy about it.
I left the museum around 12:45pm, so I spent about 3 hours there. I really enjoyed being there and want to go back again, especially when they get new seasonal items and new short film to show. Spending half a day there is for sure more than enough.
