Whimsy in a faux Parisian suburb

Hayao Miyazaki has the imagination of both a crafty warlock and a carefree child. The combination can be something to behold. As you might have seen in his movies Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, he animates creatures into existence that behave and move in impossible yet fully believable ways. And, it turns out, he has a museum! The Ghibli Museum, named after his animation studio, is a half hour ride on the train to the West of Tokyo in the little town of Mitaka.

We found our way to the museum from the train station by way of a lovely walk along a creek rimmed by sakura trees. Numerous bistros opened out onto the creekside. Once we got to the museum, nestled in a park, we saw just how cool it was. The entire building had been crafted as if it had come right out of one of his movies.

The inside was remarkable as well, with many neat exhibits demonstrating different parts of the animation process they use (often in exhilirating and whimsical ways, which I won't detail here to leave some surprise!) They also showed a animation short that was a great story of one girl's walk in the woods and the creatures and their sounds that she found. They don't allow photos inside, so enjoy this one of a character from one of the movies, found in the rooftop garden.

While the ticket process was a nightmare (reservations in advance! can only buy from japanese ticket machine! ahhhh! - save yourself the hassle and get them while you're in the States), it was SO worth it.