Torani no totoro totoro!

I’m getting a little ahead of myself here, but I was definitely traveling on high spirits on the way to the Ghibli Museum! It was raining again when we left our hotel that morning. We got off at Mitaka Station and totally got confused trying to figure out which direction to go. We finally found a sign that pointed us in the right direction for Studio Ghibli, so we started walking. Along the way we passed by the main bus stop, which directly takes you to Ghibli. It looked like it would be a long wait, so we decided to tough it out and walk the 1.5km to the museum. My shoes were getting a little wet, but otherwise the walk was really nice.

Mitaka is another lovely place to be. The streets were calm and relaxing and there were so many trees and flowers lining the roads towards the Ghibli Museum. I was so jealous of all the people that lived in the houses off the main street. I’d trade places in a heartbeat!

As we got towards the front of the museum, I could definitely feel the excitement build up. Right at the front counter was this giant Totoro peering out through the window. Sooo cute!! Of course, this meant that the next five minutes were spent taking photos from all different angles! There’s also a little window at the bottom with a collection of the little black floating dust balls (sorry for lack of terminology…I think they might be called susu atari).

There was a bit of a lineup getting into the museum, but it wasn’t a long wait. We were handed maps of the museum and our little tickets with different film scenes on them. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take photos inside the museum, but I can tell you that the interiors were amazing, just what you’d imagine Miyazaki to come up with. There were all these staircases going up, plus this awesome birdcage spiral staircase that took you right to the top. All the rooms featured different work by him and it was just breathtaking looking through all the sketches and drawings from the movies. Even all the inspiration he used for his work was amazing to look through.

One of the rooms on the top floor housed a GIANT Catbus! All the kids were hopping and jumping on it. I was sooo jealous because it was only for little kids.

Our admission ticket included a screening of one of Miyazaki’s short films. I really wanted to watch Mei and the Kittenbus, but they were showing ‘Mizugumo Monmon’ instead. The film was really cute and it was about a water spider falling in love with a water strider.

We finished touring the inside of the museum, so we made our way to the rooftop to see the life-size statue of the robot from Castle in the Sky. There was also that ‘flying cube’ inside the garden as well. The robot was so cool. Too bad it didn’t come to life! Our last stop was the museum gift shop. Needless to say, I spent a small fortune there but it was well worth it. =)

I think we were done touring the entire museum around lunch time, so we stopped by the cafe to grab a bite. The Straw Hat Cafe was pretty packed, so we bought something from the snack shop next door. I didn’t know how good their hotdogs were, so I got the three-bean curry instead, which was really good. We took more photos outside before heading off towards Kichijoji.

*****

We were trying to figure out which direction to go after leaving the Ghibli Museum. There was a map right by the exit which showed where Inokashira Park was. The only problem was, it was so terribly drawn that even after starring at it for a good two minutes, I still had no idea which way I was suppose to go! Nevertheless, I went with my instincts and took the path towards the left, which turned out to be the correct way.

It had just finished raining so the ground was still moist but the air was really nice and fresh. After walking for a few minutes, we finally caught view of the lake and it was utterly beautiful. We walked towards the Benzaitendo Temple and took a few photos, then passed over the bridges as we made our way towards the rental boats. It was still early afternoon, so there weren’t a lot of paddle boats out yet, although the weather was now perfect for it. We spent time taking photos of the area, taking full advantage of the peace and quiet before the afternoon crowd fillled in.

I was really impressed by their swan boats and I saw quite a few couples and families with young children renting them by the side. I was thinking how romantic it must be to go on a date and paddle out in the lake. It was only later when I found out that the lake is reputed to be a spot for breakups!

*****

The rest of the day went by quickly. We were getting hungry after the stroll through the park, so we ended up at a fastfood noodle restaurant and got udon. It was yummy. We shopped a bit more at the department stores before heading back towards Shinjuku. Definitely a day well spent!! Now I officially want to live in Mitaka! Then I’ll have Totoro as my neighbour for real! Heehee!!