I’m slightly sad that I didn’t plan for a longer stay in Japan, having forgotten how much I love this country. The clean city streets and trains that are always on time, the dichotomy between the suited up salary men standing next to the wildly dressed Harajuku girls, the politeness of every single person you encounter, and of course, the delicious food and then more delicious food!
My trip started with a visit to the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka (三鷹の森ジブリ美術館). A tribute to the works of Studio Ghibli and designed by the master Hayao Miyazaki himself, the museum is every bit as imaginative as his animations. After we got off a short bus ride from the Mitaka train station, we are soon greeted by a giant robot high above the hill full of lush trees.
The giant is a soldier from Miyazaki’s 1986 film Laputa: Castle in the Sky, the first film released by Studio Ghibli. The excitement builds as we head towards the robot, who overlooks a castle looking museum inspired by the Catalan villages of Italy.
We enter the museum where Miyazaki’s most famous character, Totoro smiles from behind the counter. When we present our paper ticket from Lawson, we receive in exchange a beautiful film strip of a scene from one of his movies (which I promptly misplaced after I got back :[). We then walked down this beautiful staircase down to the theater, where we were treated to a short film by Studio Ghibli. The particular one we saw was about a witch, an egg girl, and a bread man — like all Miyazaki films, you simply cannot explain them in words 🙂
We were told that no photos are allowed in the museum for the following reason:
ジブリ美術館は物語の入り口です。物語の主人公になるには、カメラを向けるではなく、この空間をご自分の目で見て、体で感じてください。そして、思い出は心の中に大切にしまって持ち帰って欲しい、これが私たちのお願いです。
It roughly translates to something like this: Ghibli Museum is the entrance to a story. To become the main character of a story, you can’t be always looking at a camera. Instead, use your eyes to see and your body to feel this space, then carefully hold the memory in your heart to take it home. That is our wish for you.
For Miyazaki, his goal for the museum was stated clearly at the entrance: 迷子になろうよ、いっしょに (let’s become lost children together)! Like many of the protagonists in his stories, he wanted children to explore a world of imagination without being dragged back to reality by parents asking them to pose for photos.
Well, that may be true, but they still sold photo books in the gift shop, so they are not really against having documented memories of the place? I took very very few pictures against the rules because I couldn’t resist, and missed many of the most intricate details. But here’s a taste of the wonderland that Miyazaki created.
{ Beautiful stained glass doors with characters from his movies (photo by Dru). }
{ His painting desk. }
{ The view of the building from the courtyard, with windows that look suspiciously alive. }
{ The bird cage staircase that leads up to the giant robot. }
{ The outdoors cafe. }
I’m glad I have a few pictures to remind me of this wonderful adventure, but Miyazaki sensei is right — the memory should be held by your heart and cannot be captured through any lens. I would recommend this museum to anyone who’s a fan of Ghibli, Miyazaki, animated films, or just wanting a break from adulthood for a brief moment 🙂
Travel Note: Tickets to the museum are often sold out and must be purchased in advance for a specific date and time. So for those who would like to visit, they would need to either book it through a travel agent (if traveling from abroad) or buy it at Lawson’s in Japan. More info can be found on the official museum website.
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