Ghibli Museum

After buying our tickets from Lawsons, we caught the train to Mitaka Station (Tozai line)..

And followed the signs..

Down a lovely avenue which follows a canal. Turned right at the park and walk along it until we reached the Ghibli Museum.

We found the giant from Laputa: Castle in the Sky.

Watched a movie..

And wandered around in Totoro's world..

The museum is set up like a big old house in which you can wander into different rooms featuring different things. Most things are not displayed behind glass cabinets but laid out as if in a real home so you can touch, examine and play with them.

Rooms displaying artwork are set up like the artist study. Not in a pretentious studio but a room with a writing desk and chair, paints and inks, books, toys, tins, baskets, lunch - everything scattered everywhere. The artwork pinned up willy nilly on the walls with thumbtacks! And we would just walk through this room.. flip through the artists Visual Arts Diary and play with one of his strobe experiments.

Some of the doorways were so low (designed for kids) that we'd have to duck to get through them. There'd be the odd vintage armchair with the tall back (very Alice in Wonderland like) for us to rest in. The ladies room had wooden cots and change tables for the little ones. Each toilet was its own little room with proper door, wainscoting, playful wallpaper and decorative watercan in the corner! I could go on about vintage brass taps, frosted glass and the like.. but I won't.