Fans of the acclaimed Japanese animation studio can now visit its popular museum from home
Calling all Studio Ghibli fans: you can now lose yourselves in its whimsical, fantastical world at home. Currently closed in view of the pandemic, the Ghibli Museum – located in the city of Mitaka, within the Tokyo metropolitan area – is now sharing virtual tours of its premises and exhibits on its new YouTube channel.
The channel, which currently features a series of minute-long videos, kicks off with a tour of the museum’s exteriors and space, giving virtual visitors and fans a chance to appreciate the building’s striking yellow and pink walls. There are also video tours of its Straw Hat Café, an exhibition room titled “Where a Film is Born” and even its mural-decorated restroom.
The legendary Japanese animation studio, founded by Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki and the late Isao Takahata, is behind over 20 acclaimed feature-length movies, including timeless classics like the Academy Award-winning Spirited Away (2001), Only Yesterday (1991) and My Neighbour Totoro (1988), to name a few.
For avid fans who’d like to spruce up their office video calls, the studio has also made available a series of Zoom backgrounds on the Studio Ghibli website featuring scenes from its movies.
This is a rare glimpse into the museum, which not only disallows photography or videos inside, but is also famously hard to purchase tickets to, owing to limited ticket numbers.
One thing’s for sure: if you’re in the mood for a taste of that Ghibli-style escapism, these virtual offerings are most certainly a welcome treat.
