Ghibli Museum, Mitaka: how to get tickets, and how to get there

How tickets work for foreign visitors

Admission is by advance reservation only, and no tickets are sold at the museum. From abroad, the official site lists two routes: online through Lawson Ticket, which has an English site, or a Sunrise Tours JTB bus tour that includes the museum. Tickets for the following month go on sale at 10 a.m. Japan time on the 10th of each month, so tickets for December open on 10 November. Weekends, holidays and school breaks often sell out quickly, so set an alarm for Japan time and create your account before the day. Resale is not allowed, so avoid tickets offered by third parties.

Entry times, closed days and ID

Each ticket has a date and an entry time, on the hour from 10:00 to 16:00, and you should enter within one hour of the time printed on it. There is no set exit time, so you can stay until closing at 18:00, but there is no re-entry once you leave. The museum closes every Tuesday, plus other days and longer maintenance breaks that change each year, so check the calendar on the official site before you book. Tickets carry the name of the person who booked, and staff may ask for ID at the door, so the lead booker should bring a passport and arrive with the group. Prices are modest, ¥1,000 for adults at the time of writing and less for children; the official site has the current list.

Inside the museum

Photos and video are not allowed inside the building, which is part of the charm: people look rather than film. Visitors take their pictures outside, in the gardens and up on the roof, which may close in bad weather. Most visitors spend two to three hours on the exhibition rooms, the short film in the little cinema, the café and the shop.

Ghibli Museum or Ghibli Park?

They are two different places with separate tickets. The Ghibli Museum is in Mitaka, inside Tokyo. Ghibli Park is in Aichi Prefecture, inside the Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park near Nagoya, and it has its own booking site and sale dates. From Tokyo, Ghibli Park is a long day trip, best done by Shinkansen to Nagoya and then local trains, while the museum fits easily into half a day in Tokyo.

Inokashira Park and Kichijoji

The museum sits at the edge of Inokashira Park, with its pond, rowing and swan boats and wooded paths, and the walk through the park leads to Kichijoji, one of the most pleasant neighbourhoods in western Tokyo for cafés, small shops and an easy lunch. By train it is simple too: the JR Chuo Line reaches Mitaka in about 20 minutes from Shinjuku, then it is a 15 minute walk from the south exit along the canal, or a community bus from the station every 15 minutes. From Kichijoji it is about 15 to 20 minutes on foot through the park.

By car, and the price

By car the museum is roughly 40 to 60 minutes from central Tokyo, depending on traffic. There is no car park at the museum, so a chauffeur is the easy way: he drops you at the entrance on time for your slot, waits nearby, and collects you afterwards for Inokashira Park and Kichijoji. A chauffeur by the hour is from ¥16,000 per hour with a two hour minimum, and the museum plus Kichijoji usually takes five to six hours. A full day of 8 hours is from ¥126,000 if you want to add more of Tokyo. Tolls, parking and fuel are included, and your chauffeur can speak English, Italian, Spanish, French or Japanese, at the same price.

See the full By the hour private tour, with prices and itinerary →