Ghibli Museum: Don’t forget to buy the admission ticket in advance!
Posted by: kirin on 
Jul 10th, 2011 | 
Filed under: Travel, Useful tipsI think I’m sometimes too lazy for a little thing. Only this fact that we cannot buy an admission ticket to enter Ghibli Museum at the entrance of the museum on the day has distracted me from trying out the famous Ghibli Museum until the other day with my husband!
I know they want to control the number of people in the museum, which must be the reason they don’t sell the tickets at the door. So now, I’d like to share with you how you can buy a ticket to Ghibli Museum successfully. As I told you, it’s an advance-purchased ticket, which you cannot buy at the door on the day. It seems that there are ways for the people from specific countries to gain the tickets from outside Japan. (Go to the page: How to buy the Ghibli Museum tickets outside Japan.)
Once you are in Japan, just like me, here’s the way to get it.
Visit Lawson convenience store near your area and find the little machine, which is called “Loppi” (Please follow the instructions in this page.) I don’t know what the L-code is, so I think you can simply choose “Person who doesn’t have L-code” on the Loppi screen.
When you finish it, a slip of paper will come out of the Loppi machine. Then bring it to the cashier, pay and get the ticket! Warning: Your ticket is valid within 30 minutes of your booking time. For example mine was booked for 12:00pm, which means I must enter the museum by 12:30pm.
Ghibli Museum
nearest station: Mitaka
(You can access from Kichijoji as well.)
address: 1-1-83 Shimorenjaku, Mitaka-shi, Tokyo (inside the Inokashira park.)
phone: 0570-055777
open: 10:00am-6:00pm with only 4 options: entrance option 1: 10:00am, 2: 12:00pm, 3: 2:00pm, 4: 4:00pm
close: Tuesdays and sometimes they close irregularly.
View Larger Map
Hmm…the picture is reflecting me in pink T-shirt who is taking the picture. ^ ^;; Well there is Totoro at a ticket vender…no, no place to sell the ticket, as you already have!
The reception is here,
people were already making a queue.
The tickets I bought at a Lawson were exchanged to these tickets. ^ ^ These are necessary to watch a short movie inside the museum. (Can you recognize the characters in the film ticket?)
It’s completely prohibited to take pictures or videos inside the museum. So…this is the last photo before I entered the reception to get above tickets. There were many stained-glass windows of Ghibli anime characters like this! They were so kawaii and nice!!
My husband found a way out after we exchanged the tickets. It was 12:10pm. We thought of lunch. If we take time to look around the museum, it can be 2pm or later when we finally can have a lunch. Also the cafe in this museum is so popular it’s normal to wait for 1 hour, according to the information I got in advance.
We checked out the cafe…
Just as expected, there was a long line of people…
I asked how long we would have to wait if we joined the line then. The answer was “30-40 minutes” which may not be bad!? We decided to take a lunch before we enjoy the museum. I’ll post about Ghibli Museum Cafe later! So please read that post when I upload it. ^ ^
For now, I’ll talk roughly about the museum. It tells how animation is created. But I don’t want to tell you more because that’s what YOU are to explore by yourself. 
Kids will love to play in a Neko Bus. I wished I were a small kid then. (Of course there were no adults playing with it.) There is a souvenir shop where you can purchase Ghibli character T-shirts, badges, stickers, soundtrack CDs, stationery, cell phone straps, books, the storyboards created by Hayao Miyazaki…and etc. so many kawaii goods. This reminded me of the feelings I get at Tokyo Disney Resort. Such a place can easily drive people so crazy about the characters. I warned myself if I was really such a big fan of Totoro first of all. Otherwise, I was about to buy a lot of unnecessary Totoro goods. >_<
Oh, BTW you can make use of this locker for free. You have to insert 100yen to lock it, but when you unlock it, the 100yen will be returned to you. To reach this locker, you have to get out from the right side of the hall of the museum. OK, let me explain. After you finish exchanging your tickets with the film-shaped tickets with Ghibli characters, walk along a way, go down the stairs, and here, look at your right side! I can see your eyes will be glued to the very entrance of the museum which you see just in front of you, but turn your right and then you'll see the way out. Once you are out, you can see these lockers at your right side. 
No pictures inside, so I took some pictures outside. ^ ^;;
Climbing up stairs…
Here it is! I just remember it’s from Laputa.
It’s a water fountain. Looks nice ^ ^
Look at the faucet. ^ ^ It must be Jiji, right? Kawaii!! This place is made for kids, and near the cafe.
I found a video that shows outside the museum well.
Before we left, we ate ice cream and we chose to pass through the Inokashira park to go to Kichijoji. (There is a map like this, which you naturally find when you get out of the back gate.)
Have you been to Ghibli Museum, or are you interested in it? Share your experiences. 
I’ll upload a post about the Ghibli Museum Cafe sometime later.
Stay tuned!
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July 10th, 2011 at 1:28 pm
Super Kawaii!!!! Last time I went to Japan, the museum was under refurbish. So sad I didn't get to go. So glad your'e sharing this with us!
July 10th, 2011 at 5:03 pm
I love this post! it's so awesome!! <3
They have a Neko Bus for adults in plans, right? :3
July 10th, 2011 at 9:14 pm
Hey thanks! I'll definitely check out the museum when I get to Japan. So thanks for the tip about the tickets.
July 10th, 2011 at 9:30 pm
The characters in the tickets ? Mm the black thing at the top looks like the susuwatari ( soot sprites)) from Spirited away and My neigbour Totoro ( Ok I googled the name, but I recognized them straigth away )
left Kiki on her broom meeting the other witch , just after she leaves home. But I can't place the one on the right. A girl with brown hair and whatever the two things on top of her hair are ?
July 10th, 2011 at 10:36 pm
Totoro ga dai skii desu.
July 11th, 2011 at 8:50 am
Oh…was it? I'm sorry to hear that. >_<
I hope you can come next time.
July 11th, 2011 at 8:54 am
Ah, yes there was a Neko Bus for adults and we tried it. But basically we only sit down on the seats maybe to have some rest…it's not like kids' playing themselves with Neko Bus. Kids looked so fun. They crawled inside the Neko Bus, got out from the window, climb on top of it…because it's like a big soft toy.
July 11th, 2011 at 8:55 am
I think you can enjoy it! ^ ^
July 11th, 2011 at 8:59 am
The left one is Kiki (Kiki's Delivery Service…oh, I see this is their English title, OK, I'm used to Japanese one as "Majo no takkyubin") and right one is Arrietty (http://www.karigurashi.jp/index.html) right? Would it possible that Arrietty is not available in Europe yet? It was available here in Japan last year.
July 11th, 2011 at 9:01 am
Totoro wa kawaii ne!
(Totoro is cute! )
July 11th, 2011 at 11:53 am
Hi Kirin,
Thank you very much for the information!!
Now is my girl's Summer vacation so I thought of bringing her to the Ghibli Museum.
Kiki ,Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo 0n the Cliff, The Cat Returns, Totoro are my favourites!!
Now after finished reading this entry, I wish to fly to Ghibli Museum to explore!!
July 11th, 2011 at 5:08 pm
Wow! The museum looks very interesting and tempting to visit! I'll look forward to your post regarding the museum's cafe. I can't wait to see what yummy foods they have to offer. Oh yea,how long did you waited to exchange your tickets?
July 11th, 2011 at 11:49 pm
I went during Golden Week with my friend Moa, but… I…haven't post about it yet. So much I want to write!!! ><;
I tyhink it's great that you point out about the tickets too! We knew that, but some poor people who had gone all the way there didn't… And I think they probably wouldn't be able to get a ticket for entering until much later. :/ Ahh well.
One thing I noticed when we were there – although there were some families… it was mainly couples! Just boyfriend and girlfriend! That was a bit strange for me. (It's kind of like what I've heard about Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea)
See you tooodaaaaay!!! XD
July 12th, 2011 at 4:54 am
Oh for sure, do not forget to buy the advanced tickets! This is perhaps the last tourist thing I have not seen in Tokyo and I REALLY want to see it, thank you for the writeup. I was in Kichijouji this past weekend and I saw the outside of the museum and I really wanted to enter but could not, someday I will!
July 13th, 2011 at 12:24 am
how cute! I definitely want to visit the museum if I ever get a chance to go to Japan!
July 13th, 2011 at 8:01 am
That's a good idea! This is an ideal place for your girl, and I know you and your husband can enjoy it too! ^__^
July 13th, 2011 at 8:04 am
In this line, we didn't wait for a long time. Maybe around 5-10 minutes or so? That's because there were 3 persons working inside who were in charge of exchanging tickets. (You know Japanese workers are mostly work very promptly. You can see that cashiers also. People do it very promptly without mistakes here.) So don't worry much about that.
July 13th, 2011 at 8:07 am
I think it's also a good place for a couple. But…compared with Tokyo Disney Sea for example, this place is not that romantic though.
It was fun talking with you yesterday! ^ ^
July 13th, 2011 at 8:36 am
I thought you've already seen most of the tourist things in Tokyo. ^ ^;
But yes, I believe you will soon. ^ ^
July 13th, 2011 at 8:43 am
Please! Although you will have to wait for about an hour if you go there between 10 to 2, it deserves. ^ ^
July 13th, 2011 at 10:17 pm
I stayed near it in 2008. But unfortunately husband was not keen to visit. =( Perhaps next time!
July 15th, 2011 at 7:21 am
omg this place looks sooo nice! will add this to my "to go list" for my next trip to japan!!!!
July 15th, 2011 at 9:17 am
I think he will be keen if he watches Miyazaki anime with you and your kids before he visits there again. Or did he do so but that didn't work? ^ ^;;
July 15th, 2011 at 9:17 am
Definitely!!!! Don't miss this.
July 16th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
Kirin, I'm coming to Tokyo in September but I am only there for 8 days. I want to know if the ticket need to be bought by a week or a month earlier? Because I heard some rumours that even at the Loppi machine, you can only buy tickets by weeks earlier, not days.
So, I really want to know, if I arrive on a sept 11, and i go to Lawson Loppi machine one sept 12, Can i buy the tickets for sept 13?
I really do not want to miss out on Ghibli! So i just want to make sure everything will go according to plan. THANKS!!
July 16th, 2011 at 3:21 pm
Aaaa im so jelous of you!! i want that arietty ticket..huhu..mine is a picture of two big couple.im not sure it is from which animation..but i love that ticket that has arietty!!
July 17th, 2011 at 8:04 am
I LOVE Miyazaki movies so much so it would be a dream to visit this museum! My favorites are Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, and Howl's Moving Castle. What is your favorite Ghibli movie Kirin?
July 17th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
You can, if only the day has not reached the number that they want to limit. I bought tickets like 3 days before the date I want to go but I could get them with no problem because I chose one of weekdays. But of course there's no guarantee. If I were you, I'd try to reserve tickets in advance at a travel agency before coming to Japan. Otherwise, I'll try to stay longer in Tokyo so I can still try 14 or 15 or 16, even if the 13th is occupied and unavailable.
Good luck to you!!
July 17th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Haha! I didn't appreciate Arietty that much. ^ ^;
July 17th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
I think Spirited Away is my favorite. ^ ^
July 28th, 2011 at 3:37 am
Hi Kirin!
i wanna ask how much is the entrance ticket to this museum? and are there extra charges to enter other part of e museum or one ticket is enable to enter every part of the museum? Because i'm a fan of Miyazaki san's work i would very much like to go and have a visit during my trip in this September! i'm so excited ^^
From KEI
July 28th, 2011 at 10:58 am
Hi Kei,
For adult and university student, it's 1000yen and no extra charge is needed to enter some other parts of the museum. (such as the museum cafe.)
I hope you have a nice trip to Japan and enjoy it fully! ^ ^
August 19th, 2011 at 4:01 am
A few summers ago, when my family visited Japan, we went there. My dad bought our tickets online. We took the train to a stop and then took the CAT BUS there
I really want to go back and visit. I wish I was small enough to play in the cat bus room :'-(
this brings back really really happy memories!
August 19th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
Haha, you exactly had the same thought as I did. I wish I could be a small kid to play with the neko bus. (Cat is called neko in Japanese, so the character's called neko bus.) Kids were even making a line to play with it! They looked sooo happy!
June 20th, 2012 at 6:12 pm
You got some awesome admission tickets
I collect those I nearly have them all just missing 1 
I'd sooo want to visit the musum, the 1st thing I must do when I visit Japan 
July 22nd, 2012 at 7:43 pm
Is it possible to buy any products of "Totoro" cartoon there?
August 2nd, 2012 at 6:32 am
YES. I bought Totoro magnet then. ^ ^ But besides magnet, there were many Totoro goods sold at the shop.
March 5th, 2013 at 4:35 pm
The Ghibli Museum has seen huge success since it's opening in 2001. "The View from the Cat Bus" and "The Gift of Illustrations" are two of the newest exhibits on display.
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