Ghibli Museum Mitaka: How to Get Tickets and What to Expect Inside
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The Ghibli Museum (Mitaka no Mori Jiburi Bijutsukan) opened in 2001, designed by Hayao Miyazaki with the specific intention of creating a building that embodies the Ghibli films’ aesthetic principles: the handmade quality, the sense of discovery, the buildings that seem to have grown organically rather than been designed, the passages and spaces that reward curiosity.
It succeeds at this completely. The museum is not a theme park or a merchandise gallery — it is an art and animation museum that takes its subject seriously while being completely accessible to children. Adults who arrived as fans of the films leave having understood something about how animation is made; children who haven’t seen the films leave wanting to see them.
The main practical challenge is the ticket system, which requires planning months in advance for peak periods.
Getting Tickets
This is the critical information: tickets cannot be purchased at the museum. All tickets must be purchased in advance through the authorized booking systems.
For International Visitors (Non-Japanese Residents)
Via Lawson Ticket (Japan domestic): Japanese convenience store Lawson operates the official ticket system. International visitors can book through the Lawson Ticket website (l-tike.com) if they have a Japanese phone number or credit card. The process is technically possible but cumbersome.
Via Authorized Travel Agents and Resellers: The most practical option for non-Japan-based visitors:
- JTB and other major Japanese travel agencies sell Ghibli Museum tickets as part of package bookings
- Klook and Viator are authorized resellers that handle international purchase and delivery
- Tokyo locals’ travel services (various operators) provide ticket assistance as a service for first-time visitors
Booking window: Tickets go on sale on the 10th of each month for the following month. The most popular time slots (Saturday and Sunday afternoons) sell out within minutes. For peak periods (cherry blossom, Golden Week, summer school holidays), booking on the 10th at the exact moment sales open is necessary.
Timed entry: All tickets specify an entry time (10am, 12pm, 2pm, or 4pm). Entry is only permitted in the 30-minute window from the specified time.
Getting There
The museum is in Inokashira Park in Mitaka — not in central Tokyo.
JR Chuo Line from Shinjuku to Mitaka Station (20 minutes, ¥310). From Mitaka Station, either:
- Walk through Inokashira Park (15–20 minutes, very pleasant)
- Take the Ghibli Museum Bus (Neko Bus) from the station south exit (¥210 each way, runs every 15 minutes)
Keio Inokashira Line from Shibuya to Kichijoji Station (15 minutes), then walk through Inokashira Park (20 minutes). The Kichijoji approach through the park is the recommended route — Inokashira Park is one of Tokyo’s best parks and the walk adds significantly to the experience.
What’s Inside
Miyazaki designed the museum with deliberate disorientation in mind — there is no prescribed route, and visitors are encouraged to explore according to their own curiosity. The building has multiple levels connected by iron spiral staircases, narrow passages, and a reading room with cushioned alcoves.
The permanent exhibitions:
“Where a Film is Born”: The core exhibition on the animation process — how Ghibli films move from Miyazaki’s sketch notebooks to storyboards (ekonte) to key animation frames to finished film. Original drawings, animation cels, background paintings, and the physical tools of traditional animation are displayed with the intention of revealing process rather than mythology.
The Saturn Theatre: A small cinema inside the museum (approximately 80 seats) showing a short film created exclusively for the museum — not available anywhere else. The short changes periodically (titles include Mei and the Kittenbus, Yadosagarishi no Boro, and others). The ticket for the short film is included with the museum ticket but the seat must be reserved inside the museum upon arrival. This is the single most in-demand element of the visit; arrive and reserve immediately upon entry.
The Cat Bus room: A large plush Cat Bus (Neko Bus from My Neighbor Totoro) that children can climb inside and explore — the most photographed and most tactile element of the museum. Adults are not permitted inside; the room is for children only.
The rooftop: A rooftop garden with the large robot soldier from Castle in the Sky (Laputa) standing sentinel over the museum and the surrounding park trees. The rooftop view and the robot are the outdoor highlight.
The stained glass windows: Throughout the building, original stained glass panels depicting Ghibli characters — the quality of the glass work and the care in their creation reflect the broader craft sensibility of the museum.
The Gift Shop
The museum gift shop sells merchandise exclusive to the museum — not available at other Ghibli retailers. The selection includes limited-edition prints, museum-specific postcards, exclusive Totoro and Ghibli plush items, and the museum guide books. This is the only place to buy these items; the queues can be 30–45 minutes on peak days.
Inokashira Park
The park surrounding the museum is worth time in itself — particularly the central pond, the Inokashira Benzaiten shrine on the island, and the cherry blossom avenue in spring. Kichijoji, the commercial neighborhood adjacent to the park, has some of the best independent food, café, and retail culture in western Tokyo.
Practical Notes
- Photography: Inside the exhibitions, photography is not permitted. Outside (the building exterior, rooftop, garden) photography is permitted.
- Duration: Most visitors spend 2–3 hours. The museum is not large but rewards careful attention.
- Best time: Weekday mornings — the 10am slot on a Tuesday or Wednesday has the least crowding.
- Children: The museum is designed to be accessible and engaging for children of all ages. The Cat Bus room and the physical building (the spiral staircases, the hidden passages) work particularly well for children.
The Ghibli Museum is one of those experiences that justifies planning around. The ticket effort, the Mitaka trip, the early arrival — they are amply rewarded by a museum that takes animation art seriously and an architecture that embodies the best principles of the films it celebrates.
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