Ghibli Museum*
http://www.beochan.com/guides/tokyo/stores/ghibli_museum.html
Tickets must be purchased in advance and tend to be sold out a month or so in advance. This is especially true if you want to visit on a weekend.The only way (currently) to get tickets is to buy them in person at a Lawson store, using the Loppi ticket purchasing terminal. Lawson convenience stores are located throughout Japan, which isn't very helpful unless you also happen to be currently located in Japan. As of this writing (December 2001), there is no mechanism set up for buying tickets outside of Japan (although they claim to be working on such a system). Your best bet is to find someone in Japan who will buy the tickets for you and mail them to you (this is what I had to do).
To determine which dates still have tickets available, you can visit the Ghibli Museum Ticket Calendar on the Lawson website. The museum is closed every Tuesday (火 曜 日), and the yellow circles on the calendar mean that the day is already sold out. Note that the calendar starts each week with Monday (月 曜 日).
Note that the tickets that you get are all timed, which means that you need to arrive at the museum at the time indicated on your ticket. Tickets are sold for 10:00, 12:00, 2:00 and 4:00. Once you get in the museum you don't have to leave until it closes (at 6:00), which means that the earlier tickets are much better than the later tickets since you have more time to browse through the museum. However, you must arrive within 1/2 hour of time indicated on the ticket, so for a 10:00 ticket you must arrive between 10:00 and 10:30.
Tickets are ¥1000 for adults, ¥700 for high school and middle school students, ¥400 for elementary school students, and Ñ100 for children over 4 (but not yet in school). Children under 4 are free.
You can get up-to-date ticket info from the ticket page on the Ghibli Museum website.
So, what can you do if you don't have tickets? Not much. The entire place is fenced off and the cafe and gift shop are not accessible unless you have tickets for the museum.
How to get to the Ghibli Museum
To determine which dates still have tickets available, you can visit the Ghibli Museum Ticket Calendar on the Lawson website. The museum is closed every Tuesday (火 曜 日), and the yellow circles on the calendar mean that the day is already sold out. Note that the calendar starts each week with Monday (月 曜 日).
Note that the tickets that you get are all timed, which means that you need to arrive at the museum at the time indicated on your ticket. Tickets are sold for 10:00, 12:00, 2:00 and 4:00. Once you get in the museum you don't have to leave until it closes (at 6:00), which means that the earlier tickets are much better than the later tickets since you have more time to browse through the museum. However, you must arrive within 1/2 hour of time indicated on the ticket, so for a 10:00 ticket you must arrive between 10:00 and 10:30.
Tickets are ¥1000 for adults, ¥700 for high school and middle school students, ¥400 for elementary school students, and Ñ100 for children over 4 (but not yet in school). Children under 4 are free.
You can get up-to-date ticket info from the ticket page on the Ghibli Museum website.
So, what can you do if you don't have tickets? Not much. The entire place is fenced off and the cafe and gift shop are not accessible unless you have tickets for the museum.
How to get to the Ghibli Museum
Take the JR to Mitaka...From Mitaka Station
When you exit Mitaka station to the south, you will find yourself on an expansive walkway one story above street-level. Immediately below you is a bus terminal and a little bit off to your left (on the ground floor) is where the Mitaka City Bus stop is located. If you go over to this bus stop, you should see little signs for the bus to the Ghibli Museum. Tickets are ¥300 (round-trip)/¥200(one-way) for adults, and ¥150/¥100 for children.
Another way to get there from Mitaka station is to walk the 1.1km to the museum. When you leave the train station, go down to the ground floor and head over to your left. You'll need to find a narrow road that squeezes between the train tracks (on your left) and the buildings (on your right). If you're not sure, just watch the City Busses and see which way they go. After the road squeezes through the opening, it splits into two separate roads (one for each direction) with a small wooded stream in the middle. If you stick on the right side, there will be a brick path that runs alongside the road. Follow this until the road ends, cross the street ahead of you and continue down the road to your right (there will be a sign to point you the correct direction). The museum will be on your left.
The advantage of walking is that you get to see the special Ghibli Museum bus stop and direction signs along the way. There aren't that many of them (I believe that I counted 3), but they're kinda cute. The funny thing about the Totoro decorated bus stop sign (shown on the left) is that if you got on the bus at that point, the bus would be taking you away from the museum.
This bus information is given in the How To Go page on the Ghibli Museum website. On this webpage, you can see one of the Mitaka City Busses painted with special designs for the Ghibli Museum. There is, indeed, a bus that is painted like that, but the majority of the busses are rather drab looking.When you exit Mitaka station to the south, you will find yourself on an expansive walkway one story above street-level. Immediately below you is a bus terminal and a little bit off to your left (on the ground floor) is where the Mitaka City Bus stop is located. If you go over to this bus stop, you should see little signs for the bus to the Ghibli Museum. Tickets are ¥300 (round-trip)/¥200(one-way) for adults, and ¥150/¥100 for children.
Another way to get there from Mitaka station is to walk the 1.1km to the museum. When you leave the train station, go down to the ground floor and head over to your left. You'll need to find a narrow road that squeezes between the train tracks (on your left) and the buildings (on your right). If you're not sure, just watch the City Busses and see which way they go. After the road squeezes through the opening, it splits into two separate roads (one for each direction) with a small wooded stream in the middle. If you stick on the right side, there will be a brick path that runs alongside the road. Follow this until the road ends, cross the street ahead of you and continue down the road to your right (there will be a sign to point you the correct direction). The museum will be on your left.The advantage of walking is that you get to see the special Ghibli Museum bus stop and direction signs along the way. There aren't that many of them (I believe that I counted 3), but they're kinda cute. The funny thing about the Totoro decorated bus stop sign (shown on the left) is that if you got on the bus at that point, the bus would be taking you away from the museum.
Aquariums & Zoos
 Shinagawa Aquarium10:00-17:00, closed Tuesdays ¥1100 for adults Address: Shinagawa Kumin Park, 3-2-1 Katsushima, Shinagawa-ku Telephone 03-3762-3431 5 min. from Omori Kaigan Stn. on the Keihin Kyuko Line. About 15 min. from Omori Stn. of the JR Keihin Tohoku Line. |
 Sunshine City AquariumWorld Import Mart Building 10F in Sunshine City (Namja Town & Gyoza Stadium are also in this building) Telephone: 03-3989-3466 Hours: 10:00 - 18:00 Sundays and Holidays: 10:00 - 18:30 July 20 - August 31: 10:00 - 20:30 Tickets are sold until 30 minutes before closing. Entrance fees: (Adults ages 16 and up, Children ages 4-15, children under 4 are free)
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| Tokyo Sea Life Park Aquarium* If they look tasty, you've been in Japan too long Open: 9:30-16:00 (doors close at 17:00) Closed: Monday Admission: ¥700 (adult), ¥250 (middle school), free (senior & child) Access: 5 min on foot from Kasai Rinkai Koen Station (JR Keiyo Line); also accessible by water bus from Hinode near Hamamatsucho Station (JR Yamanote Line) Typical Tokyoite visitors: School groups, families Best time: A clear day, for views over the Bay What to bring: Binoculars |   |
| Itabashi Ward Children's Zoo/Children's Zoo & River-water Aquarium* (within Higashi-Itabashi Park) 3-50-1 Itabashi, Itabashi-ku Tel: 3763-8003 The park which we like near to our home is the Higashi-Itabashi Park consists of Children's Zoo & River-water Aquarium which is open free to the public. We have been there almost every week. Emiri likes animals very much. The nearest train is from Itabashi-kukyakushomae which on Toei Mita Line. About 10 minutes walking distance from the station. Children's Zoo(within Higashi-Itabashi) Open: March to November: 10:00A.M. to 4:00P.M., December to February: 10:00A.M. to 4:00P.M. Closed from December 28 to January 4. This zoo has animals like ponies, goats, sheep, etc. which children are allowed to touch them, but not to feed them. There is a small pond where fishes like carps, turtles and ducks. Next to this pond there is a hamster's corner. Children are allowed to carry, stroke & play with them. They are open during these hours 10:45 to 11:15, 1:30 to 2:00 P.M. and 2:30 to 3:00 P.M. Higashi-Itabashi Park: Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Toei Mita subway line, Itabashikuyakushomae station. (10 min. walk) / 7 minute walk from Itabashi Kuyakushomae Station on the TOEI Mita line (crosses the JR Yamanote line at Sugamo station.) Higashi-Itabashi Park - Three outdoor pools for children of varying ages an sizes open from about July 21 to about August 28. CLOSED FOR ALL OR PART OF OBAN HOLIDAYS so call and check! 10:00 - 16:00. Entrance is FREE. 3-50-1 Itabashi, Itabashi-ku Tel: 03-3962-8419 (Japanese only) |
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