April 27th: The Adventures of a Sick Girl

Now I would never advise someone to go take a two hour trip into the outer parts of Tokyo when they have the flu, its not a fun time at all even if you do take a lot of medicine to feel better. But sometimes a girl has got to do what a girls got to do. You see ever since I was a kid I have dearly loved the Studio Ghibli movies. The first obviously being Spirited Away followed by the rest of their masterpieces. So it would come as a surprise to no one that when I found out I would be studying in Japan one of the first things I planned was a trip to the iconic Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. As soon discovered though that getting tickets to go is one of the hardest tickets to get in the world. I barely managed to get mine three hours after the sale period for the month of April opened. (the tickets go on sale for the next month on the 10th of the previous month and 10 am Japan time and they always sell out quickly). So it was an intense struggle to get the tickets I had, and it was very unlikely I would be able to get another ticket so thats why this Saturday I bundled myself up took as much medicine as possible and adventured into Tokyo. I did luck out a little for my entry time was later in the day so I could rest as much as possible before leaving. The way there was a long stressful battle trying to manage to amen my trains and stay warm since surprise surprise the only cold day of Golden Week was the day I was sick. Once I got to the city of Mitaka though and I started to feel the anticipation for what was to come I started to forget I was even sick. To get to the museum you have to take about a fifteen minute walk through the city park. The park was beautiful like a peaceful oasis in the middle of a bustling city. It was a well needed break of stress before I approached the majesty of the museum. Now quickly for those who do not know much about the Studio Ghibli Museum it was designed in the late 90's by Studio Ghibli creative mind Hayao Miyazaki as a place for kids to enjoy a space specifically designed for them, while also being a place to sell the merchandise of their movies. (their movies are notoriously expensive to make so they did as a way to support the studio among many other reasons). So stepping on to the grounds of the museum is like stepping into a childhood dream. To the right you are greeted by a Totoro working a ticket booth (that obviously isn't really in use) and then you are meet with the wonderfully unique exterior of the museum. Not the Studio Ghibli Museum is one fo those places that doesn't allow photographs so people can enjoy it at face value so I unfortunately won't be able to show many pictures of the inside... but I can describe it. When you walk in you are greeted by stain glass doors and windows of your favorite Ghibli characters. You feel like your are stepping into the space of one of their movies with the beautiful inspired architecture. Once inside you exchange your ticket you brought for the real ticket which is a piece of film from one of their movies (mine is from Howl's Moving Castle one of my favorites).After that you take down the staircase and come into the main space. Here the ceiling goes all the way up to the garden rooftop so the space feels enormous. Above are different brides to connect the different parts of the museum as well as spiral staircases and more stained glass. As much as I wanted to appreciate the space for hours, I was a sick girl on a mission to see everything I wanted to see in the two hours I had before it closed. I first made my way to the Saturn Theatre where they showed museum exclusive short films made by the Studio. They change every month and this month was Koro's Big Day Out (2002), and film and the theatre were just spectacular works of the Studio. Miyazaki even thought to add windows to the theatre so kids won't get scared. Back to the movie though it was a cute twenty minute film about a small dog who gets lost trying to find disowner and then dining his way back to them. It was entirely in Japanese and I could understand some of it but you didn't really have to understand it to enjoy it. After the movie I made my way to the permeant exhibits that showed the process fo making movies. They could have made these exhibits and lot more stereotypical like any other museum, but they made it dynamic and interactive. The whole room came alive to teach you the history of film and how it started from spinning images to projectors. It was really one of the coolest places in the museum. The other room showed how their movies go from sketches and storyboards to actual film. I nearly died in this section because the room was covered in Miyazaki's original sketches for my favorite movies. You oddly also see how their desks and rooms used to be arranged. It was a little too relatable for me since everything was covered in books and nit knacks. It was an amazing sight to see though. After that I made my way to the temporary exhibition. This one I probably enjoyed the least because while it was very interesting excuse it talked about how there color in their movies come to life, I couldn't really understand it since there was no english translation and I do not know enough Kanji to read it. I still enjoyed it none the less. After that I skipped the third floor (for a reason) and made my way to the roof. Climbing an ivy covered spiral staircase you are greeted by a beautiful roof garden that plays tribute to Studio Ghibli's first official film Castle in the Sky (or Laputa depends on how hardcore you are). Since I was outside for this part I could technically take pictures which I proceeded to do so with everything that was a reference to the film. The main one being the Robot Solider standing tall (you can even see him from ground level). After the serene beauty of the rooftop garden I made my way  back to the third floor where I was greeted my the Cat Bus from My Neighbor Totoro which I sadly could not play on since I was an adult. I then began to face my biggest enemy: gift shops. Which the museum had two of for good reasons. The first being "Tri Hawks" reading room. Here the room is filled with books about the museum and movies, but most importantly books Miyazaki himself recommends for kids and adults to read. The other being the main gift shop called "MAMMA AIUTO!" a reference to the film Porco Rosso. Here you could get museum exclusive Studio Ghibli merchandise which my wallet cried over immensely as I helped myself to the goods. Finally heading back to group level was a small courtyard (mainly for storage but also with some interactive things) and the museum's cafe. At this point though I was so tired that I just made up my mind to skip the cafe and head back home. The train ride home was uneventful except for the fact that I always got to have a seat on the trains, maybe it was the universe saying sorry for giving me the flu. Other than that I managed to get home safely and sleep like a rock for most of Sunday, but I will talk more about the rest of Golden Week in the next blog, until next time!