Studio Ghibli Museum - Tips & Recommendations

If you're a fan of Totoro, Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, or any other Miyazaki films and you happen to be going to Tokyo, then you definitely have to check out the Studio Ghibli Museum, at least once! Here are some quick tips on making this visit as smooth and the best as possible.

(1) Buy your tickets ahead of time at JTB Reservation Center, especially if you're coming from the US. The museum has days scheduled out for tourists and you can't just show up and get tickets. I bought my tickets about 2 months in advance and had to go with my 2nd option for the day to visit. It's a simple process; fill out the form on days you'd like to go and who is going and they will respond to your email with availability. *Make sure the name(s) written matches what's on your passport!

(2) If you're staying in one of the bigger prefectures in Tokyo (Shinjuku, Shibuya, etc.), the train is the easiest way to get to Mitaka, where the museum is located. Mitaka is much more low-key, and has a bit of a small town vibe to it. Take the Chuo main line.


(3) Eat at Mitaka station! As mentioned in a previous post HERE, the train stations have lots of awesome food choices so save your time and eat when you get there. We made the mistake of eating a Lawson's (7/11 like) by our hotel in case there wasn't time to find food in Mitaka, but boy were we surprised to see all the food available at the station! We definitely made it a plan to try as much as we could AFTER the museum. There's food available at the cafe at the museum, but trust me, you're going to want to eat outside of the museum. However, trying their own Nausicaä of The Valley of the Wind themed beer is pretty cool!

Studio Ghibli Beer - Kaze no Tani

Did I mention how affordable everything was to eat here and how many varieties of food there was to choose from? Ughh!

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(4) Get to the Ghibli Bus in a timely manner. There's a special bus that's decked out in Studio Ghibli design that specifically picks you up from the Mitaka Station to the museum. You have to buy special tickets ahead of time (make sure you get ticket there and back!) and if you wait too long, the line build up can be pretty long.

(5) No cameras allowed are inside the museum. Though you will see many people/tourists break this rule, essentially, cameras are not allowed inside, but you can snap photos outside of the museum.

Last photo I could take before going inside the Museum!

Posing with Robot from Castle in the Sky

That's all the tips I have for you guys if you decide to visit the Studio Ghibli Museum. Be mindful of all the tourists there from all over Asia and even from Japan. There are tons of goodies you can buy there as souvenirs (I bought mainly candy and cookies there as seen below. The other Totoro items were from elsewhere in Asia!) but you may honestly be able to find them elsewhere around Tokyo, especially if you decide to visit Akihabara or Ikebukuro. Have fun, enjoy the wonderful art created by the amazing artists at Studio Ghibli, and take the magic all in!

A post shared by Kirstie Chan (@kfclovesyou) on Mar 19, 2017 at 4:20pm PDT

I hope you all enjoyed this post! Until next time =)

-Kirstie