Life at Dormy Baraki: Studio Ghibli Museum

Unlike most museums, the Studio Ghibli Museum is so popular that you have to buy tickets in advance for a particular day and particular time slot. And you have to buy a month in advance because it sells out very fast. Also, you have to go to the Lawson konbini to buy the tickets from their special booth. Konbini here not only provide what is expected of a convenience store, but they also act as a business center (much like the ones in HEB). You can pay your bills and buy tickets to certain events or attractions here. They really take the word convenience and add a whole new standard to it.

Anyway, Lindsey and I took the Touzai Line (the same one we take to get to our home stations) and rode the hour long trip to Mitaka where the museum was located. We had to be there by 2:30 to make it in with the non-refundable tickets we had purchased. We cut it pretty close, which had Lindsey yelling at every pedestrian and bicyclist that slowed the bus down to get the frack out of the way. And if what I already said didn't convince you of the museum's popularity, this might:

Yup, there's a bus that picks people up from the train station and takes them directly to the museum.

Without our lucky timing with arriving at the bus stop just as the next bus was pulling in, we may not have made it.

Unfortunately, they did not allow any kind of photography inside the building. :/ But outside was fine, and we'll get to that later.

Inside, we got to see a brief history of animation when it started from those spinning cylinders with holes on the vertical side and pictures in different frames on the bottom. You spin it at just the right frequency and can see an animated picture through the holes on the side. We walked through each display to see it evolve to what it is today, though I don't think they include film in the digital era. There was one really cool display that had figures of the characters frame-by-frame around a spinning carousel. As it spun, strobe lights lit up to make the figures appear to be moving, much like the original spinning cylinder, just in 3D.

We also got to see what appeared to be a duplication of the Miyazaki's original studio. Since my ability to read Japanese isn't as good as I wish it is, I can only offer a guess. It showed piles of books on the floor, a desk with artist's tools, and knick knacks all over the shelf that seemed to be inspiration for his designs. Or perhaps the other way around. A later section showed an artist's desk and sample frames from the movie, drawn and colored step by step so you can see the process. We also got to see some amazing artwork of the backgrounds in the movies as well as the insanely huge amount of colors they use and how they color code their frames.

In another section, it showed a history of art of fictional stories. I remember seeing a display showing a metal stamp for a printing press. The picture had to be carved into the stamp mirrored and was then printed into the book. Most of them were from English books, but at the end of the room, we saw how they adapted this to their own books and would eventually move on to graphic novels. Manga in its first form. Very similar in style to very old school comics from American as well.

Lastly, there was a room with a giant plush catbus for kids to play on. What amused me was that there was a rule explicitly forbidding any person above elementary school age from playing on the catbus, which was also filled with susuwatari (soot sprites) by the way. (For those who do not recognize the Miyazaki film references, here are a couple of helpful links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_bus, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susuwatari)

I find the rule amusing because it means adults kept trying to play on it too. I don't blame them, it looked amazingly fun. Like a big furry cat-shaped moon bounce.

I suddenly felt like I was 20 years too late again. -_-

So next will be the shots I was able to take outdoors.

The museum was designed like a house straight out of a Ghibli movie. For a moment, you forget you're just at a museum.

Entrance

Spiral staircase to the roof. You'll see what's up there later.

The whole place had stained glass everywhere. I wish I could have at least taken pictures of the windows. But I did get a few shots from outside.

Outer courtyard area. The kids enjoyed playing with the water pump here.

Where we had a small lunch, ice cream, and a delicious dessert later, right before we left.

The outside sink had the kitty from Kiki's Delivery Service on the faucets.

Hot dogs with sweet relish. Surprisingly good. Yes, Skylar, I ate pickled relish. I am as shocked as you are. Japan just makes everything taste better. These buns were the best I ever had. Light, soft, and just the right crispiness on the outside.

Even the napkins were cute. The caption reads "Mugiwaraboushi," meaning straw hat.

From one side of the roof.

For those who don't know the reference, this is kinda creepy. You should have heard Lindsey's reaction. Best ever.

View of the courtyard from another angle.

The entrance as seen from the courtyard.

Ok, spiral staircase, I took on that castle, I can take you too.

The robot from Castle in the Sky, a life-size statue.

There's grass growing out of his butt.

Pathway behind the statue.

I think this has something to do with Castle in the Sky as well but I am not sure what. >_>

Heading back down.

Sunset at the cafe.

The souvenir shop was almost as crowded as the trains are in the morning. But we were able to get our shopping done (with two very tall, very cute English guys with hot accents lingering around). We then headed back to the cafe to take a break before leaving and had some sweets to snack on. The cafe boasted a modest menu of drinks, meals, and desserts, but they were made of organic, locally grown ingredients. Lindsey and I decided to order the "Here comes the sun" cream soda with a special ingredient that starts out blue, but turns orange-red when mixed with the other ingredients in the drink, including a delicious scoop of blood orange ice cream.