I came here before in 2006 and came back again in 2025. The biggest change was the number of foreign visitors.
There used to be fewer visitors so you could leisurely enjoy the museum, but now there are a lot of foreigners and it is crowded.
Admission tickets are sold in advance for a limited number of people, so there are no same-day tickets available. Check the website.
Miyazaki Movies are fantastic and you can enjoy how he draws his animation. And most enjoyable thing was the movie theater where you can watch the short Ghibli movie. Must watch it when you get there.
Also enjoyed the small cafe and you talk about the movies and his animation with your family or friends 😃
No photos inside the museum.
The Ghibli museum was smaller than a regular museum, but it was so thought-out with beautiful little details throughout. We were unable to take photographs inside, but the outside was just as beautiful! We loved it! We parked easily in the park nearby and did not wait long to enter. We had purchased our tickets in advance, I don’t believe they have walk-up tickets. Definitely visit the gift shop and cafe. The weather was perfect that day as well.
Small museum BUT the few rooms inside are worth the effort and trip to visit for any Studio Ghibli lover. The room of concept art & sketches by Miyazaki alone was magical, with so many drawings from every Ghibli movie up to date. There are even a few books of storyboard sketches you can flip through for two movies.
The short film shown at the museum rotates, and you would need to visit at least 10 times to watch them all!
The special exhibition during my visit this time was dedicated to The Boy and The Heron, a personal favourite, and despite the number of people at the museum, it felt intimate and so special. I recommend about 1.5 hours to explore the museum at an easy going pace, or longer if you want to thoroughly shop at the merch store. The pink Totoro is exclusive to the museum and cannot be found elsewhere, so be sure to grab if you are an avid collector.
The hot herbal lemonade at the cafe is not as herbal as I expected, and a touch too sweet!
Oh my gosh!!!! My Ghibli loving heart was so happy. We spent from 10-1:30 in this museum. The short film was so cute, the exhibits were amazing, and the stores had a great selection of books and souvenirs! Truly a one of a kind experience. We bought the tickets a month in advance. They sell out fast so be sure to plan your trip early and get on the website the day the tickets are released. It was worth it!
We managed to get tickets, which can be difficult for non Japanese visitors, for 4pm on a weekday. We were lucky the weather was lovely as there was a queue to get in at the allotted time. It was pretty busy but we managed to see everything, visit the shop and have a snack at the cafe, which was ok, but would recommend maybe going to a nearby place if you have a chance. If you're a Ghibli fan, it's a magical place, the architecture is amazing and the design is as whimsical as their movies. The exclusive short film was so much fun and the special exhibition was really cool. The cherry blossoms were in bloom near the cafe.
