Have Child, Will Still Travel... to Japan! - Day 4: Ghibli Museum and Shibuya Crossing

[Caroian]

Index can be found here

Day 4 - Monday 2nd April - Studio Ghibli Museum at Mitaka and Shibuya Crossing

Jet lag really hit me this morning and despite an early night the previous day I really struggled to get going this morning (in fact, Ian has an unflatteringly picture of me still fast asleep - needless to say that one isn't being shared here!) However we had places to be as today we had booked tickets for the Ghibli Museum at Mitaka.

You need to book tickets for the Ghibli Museum in advance as they cannot be bought on the day, and there are a limited number available. The limitation - along with the slight secrecy about the inside of the museum (no photography allowed) - does, I think , create a bit of hype which keeps the tickets selling out because people are afraid to miss out! That said, if you have even a passing interest in Studio Ghibli films then it is a fantastic day out. Tickets in the UK can be booked in a few ways however our lack of planning meant we had missed a couple of options where you can buy them 3 months in advance. So we used Lawson ticket sales, which open up on the 10th of the month for the following month (so 10th of March for the whole of April etc). We had to get up at 1am as we were aware that tickets sell fast and it took a lot of patience and constant refreshing to finally get our purchase to go through.

Our reserved time slot wasn't until 12 noon, so we did have a bit of time to get there. We had some more Japanese pastries for breakfast and then set off towards the opposite side of the city. We took the Tozai line to Otemachi and then the Marunouchi line down to Tokyo station where we transferred from the Metro to the JR Chuo Line. We got a Rapid Service, which stopped at fewer intermediate stations. Our destination was actually one stop before Mitaka. We got off at Kichijo-ji in order that we could explore the Inokashira Park before heading to the museum.

The park has a large and beautiful pond in the centre, made more so by the plentiful cherry blossom. The park is a popular destination for Hanami – basically a party underneath the sakura. As the blooms were coming towards ther end the park was not too busy and we spent some time exploring.

It is possible to take rowing boats and swan-shaped pedalo boats out on the lake, although we did not really have time for this. There is also a small zoo within the park, but again that was not on the agenda for the day.

We found this little guy (above) near to one of the bridges!

We walked through the park to visit the Benzaiten shrine there. Benzaiten is the Godess of water, so her shrines are usually built by the water, as here. There is a legend associated with this shrine which says that Benzaiten becomes jealous of couples who visit the park and will put a curse on them. We decided to chance it, as were many others!

It was fairly warn today and after exploring the park and shrine we were all a bit thirsty. Just beyond the shrine there were some of the ubiquitous vending machines and seemed as good a time as any for our first experience of this Japanese staple. They literally are everywhere. If you have a particular drink in mind and the first machine you see does not have, there will be another to try within 2 minutes. They usually have a range of both hot and cold drink and all are incredibly reasonably priced. Most things seemed to be around the 100 yen mark (about 65p).

We then walked on through the woods towards the museum. Thomas took the next couple of pictures!

There was plenty more sakura (cherry blossom) to admire too - and plenty of people taking photos and posing for photos with it. A selfie with sakura seems like a very Japanese thing to do!

We were soon at the museum.

We actually arrived a little early but this turned out to be a good thing as they allow people to begin getting in line well ahead of their time slot, and so we were towards the front of the queue. They then began letting you through to the museum earlier than our 12 noon time so we were in fact inside the museum by quarter to. (When we made it up to the roof around 30 minutes later a massive queue was still snaking down the side of the building, so this was definitely a good call!) Once you get inside they swap your ticket voucher for your proper ticket which is a 35mm film strip from one of the studio's films – a lovely keepsake.

There is a fair amount of secrecy about the content of the museum and photography in the indoor areas is forbidden. The benefit of this is that you don't go in with a pre-conceived idea of what it will be like, nor have you “already seen it”. If you don't want any spoilers, then you may want to skip on! We started on the ground floor in a room dedicated to animation which had some fascinating mechanical exhibits. One in particular featuring the Catbus (My Neighbour Totoro) really captured Thomas ane we went back several times to see this.

We then skipped up the museum by taking a spiral staircase in the centre of the museum up to the top floor and then went on outside to the roof terrace via another staircase. There is an impressively large sculpture of the Robot Soldier (Laputa:Castle in the Sky). There are some lovely view from up here and Thomas also found some train.tram tracks which he had great fun playing with.

Back downstairs we needed to re-enter via a room with a giant soft Catbus play structure which is open for children 12 and under to play on. Thomas was a little uncertain at first as there was a fair queue and as we came in the supervising staff were busy giving instructions in Japanese, which was probably a bit intimidating for him. However when I pointed out this might be his only chance to do it, he got in line. One of the staff immediately approached and asked if we spoke English and then gave Thomas some cards with cartoon instructions and written instructions in English (basically no pushing, no throwing etc) and he felt much happier. He had to wait a short while but then it was his turn and from the look on his face he absolutely loved it. Thomas had actually watched My Neighbour Totoro at school (of all places) not long before we came, and he had developed a fondness for Catbus that definitely grew today!

Now, we're in Japan and I haven't actually mentioned toilets all that much yet. However I must mention them here because these toilets were the first public ones where I had noticed the “sound feature”. Via a little panel on the wall you could have the toilet play running water sounds (perhaps if you were struggling to go) or fairly loud birdsong (perhaps if you were suffering from a shy bladder). This is all in addition to the standard bottom washing (front and back, one or both) features. I'm sure Japanese people wonder what tourists get up to inside toilet cubicles – we're pressing all of the buttons, that is what!

But I've digressed.

We then went back though the museum to look at several of the other exhibits. There was lots of original artwork and exhibitions tracing some of the inspirations, there was also a temporary exhibition all about food in various Studio Ghibli films. We were all quite tired so we headed back down to the ground floor where there is a special animation shown only in the theatre in the museum. This involved insect poo so Thomas loved it (show me a 6 year old boy who does not find poo at least a bit funny) and so did we (although for slightly different reasons).

By now we were pretty hungry so we headed to the cafe. There is a sit down restaurant but also more of a cafe within the museum which sold things like hot bogs and ice cream. We opted for the latter as Thomas was keen on the idea of a Japanese hotdog. He likes the sausage but unfortunately wasn't so keen on the pickles they put on top, so we had to wipe that off.

We rounded out our visit with some time in the shop where we bought a fridge magnet, origami set, a couple of postcards and a small plush Catbus which Thomas had fallen in love with and which then accompanied him throughout the rest of our trip (along with faithful, well-travelled Teddy from home, of course).

There is a shuttle bus from the museum back to Mitaka station, but we decided to take a walk.

Once at the station we struggled to find the correct entrance, doing that classic go up one set of stairs and down another and find yourself round the corner from where you started. Eventually we founf our way and got a Chuo Line Rapid back to Tokyo Station. We headed back to the hoel to drop off our purchases and have a short rest.

In the evening we decided to head to another must-see Tokyo attraction – the world's busiest zebra crossing at Shibuya. We took the Tozai line to Otemachi and then changed on to the Hanzomon Line to Shibuya. It was already dark by the time we arrived and the crossing was quite a sight to behold. It is another things which becomes self perpetuating as so many people visit simply because it is so busy. There was all kinds of crazy Instagramming and videoing going on. People dancing their way across and guys giving out free hugs to anyone who wanted one. We watched for a few cycles before joining in to get to the other side! I'll be honest and say that I really don't think pictures or video do it justice. You really need to be right in the middle of to feel what it is really all about!

We explored the area and did do a little shopping too, but unfortunately I don't have notes of what we looked at or what we bought. Almost certainly Tokyu hands and Don Quijote though!

By now it was dinner time and we were ready for our fist experience of a Japanese Ramen shop. We had no particular way to pick one over another so just chose a fairly quiet looking one, ordered at the machine (ok, the lady took pity on us struggling a bit and had to help) and then took our tickets inside to eat. Thomas really impressed me here as he had a kids Ramen bowl and tucked right in despite it being covered in green stuff which he wouldn't normally touch at home! The food was good, and cheap, and ocne we'd had our fill we walked back towards the crossing.

Once here we decided to join the queue for one of the world's busiest Starbucks, which is basically just a glorified viewing platform for the crossing, where you need to buy a Starbucks to get in! Ian and I had coffee and we got Thomas a chocolate chip cookie for dessert. We got very lucky finding three empty seats right on front of the crossing as soon as we came upstairs. It was fascinating to see the crossing from a different perspective.

We were also amused to see little MarioKarts, complete with costumed drivers, whizzing through every so often as the lights changed. (We looked it up and you can do Mario Kart tours. Unfortunately as we had not planned on any driving we did not have the required International Driver's Permit, so there was no way this was going to happen for us! We do love a bit of Mario Kart in this house though!)

It was around 9.30pm by the time we finished our drinks so time to call it a night, we headed back to Nishi-kasai on the Metro.

[AntonyJ]

Thank you for this, we go in May and am devouring all info!

Still not sure about Ghibli museum, I quite like the films, Laputa was one the hooked me, but still not sure ...

[Fortytwo]

Yay, another day! I am loving reading about your trip. Having never seen a studio Ghibli film I am now planning to this weekend.
How did you feel travelling on transport at night with Thomas, did it feel quite safe?

[Pumpkin Pie]

Enjoying the trip reports. Looking forward to Day 5 (no pressure!).

[Caroian]

Originally Posted by AntonyJ

Thank you for this, we go in May and am devouring all info!

Still not sure about Ghibli museum, I quite like the films, Laputa was one the hooked me, but still not sure ...

See more...

Thank you! If you like the films then I'm sure you would enjoy it.

Originally Posted by Fortytwo

Yay, another day! I am loving reading about your trip. Having never seen a studio Ghibli film I am now planning to this weekend.
How did you feel travelling on transport at night with Thomas, did it feel quite safe?

See more...

Let me know which one you end up watching!

We did feel very safe on public transport. Allegedly there can be issues with "groping" in crowded carriages (hence there are female only carriages at certain times of day on many lines) but locals have told us that they believe that westerners are less likely to be targeted because it is perceived that we would make too much fuss! No idea if there is any truth in that, but we never felt at all unsafe anywhere in Japan.

Originally Posted by Pumpkin Pie

Enjoying the trip reports. Looking forward to Day 5 (no pressure!).

See more...

Thank you. Hopefully I will get day 5 up this weekend!

[ribena]

Looks amazing I so want to go! The only reason we hadn't is because I have a gluten & dairy free diet. How easy was it to communicate about food? What sort of choice was there? What were your breakfast choices? Thanks

[disney owl]

another fascinating day