Following COVID-19 closure, Ghibli Museum posts mini-tours online

“Totoro ticket booth” at Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, Tokyo. By Flickr user chopperkuo. License: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

After closing temporarily because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, one of Japan's most beloved tourist attractions is offering short virtual tours on YouTube.

The Ghibli Museum is located in Mitaka, a leafy suburb about twenty minutes west of central Tokyo by train, and is devoted to recreating not only the animated worlds of Studio Ghibli, but also the artistic process of the studio itself.

Studio Ghibli's films, which include “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Spirited Away” by Hayao Miyazaki are popular with audiences all over the world. Each year the museum attracts thousands of visitors, and admission is limited. Only a certain number of visitors can enter the museum each day, and tickets typically must be reserved months in advance.

The museum has been closed since February 25. After sharing free-to-use backgrounds for web meetings to help people who must now work from home, Ghibli Studios have launched short video tours of the Ghibli Museum.

The five video tours begin with the museum exterior, before continuing on to various rooms and exhibits.

The room “Where a Film is Born” showcases “inspiration for what will go on to the blank piece of paper on the desk to become the origin of an actual film.”