Spirited Away to Studio Ghibli: the story of the tiniest Totoro

 Look right here. Do you see this?! Do you KNOW what that ticket is for?!?!?! Well, I'll tell you either way. That right there is a ticket to the Ghibli Museum. You know, that reservation only peek into the world of Miyazaki that ranges from difficult to reserve to absolutely impossible depending on the time of year. The place that only allows people to attend in 2 hour blocks due to the sheer volume of reservation requests they receive. Yup. That Ghibli Museum. And that, my friends, is where I started my day.

The Museum is only a 1.4km walk from the hotel through a cute shopping alley and a breathtaking park. Everyone met in the hotel lobby at 11:30am to begin the trip, since our ticket reservation began at 12 and nobody wanted to miss a minute. We walked through the shopping area and entered a large park by crossing a lake. As we waked across the bridge, we could see all of the fish. There was even a large water snake gliding through the water below! We passed the boat rentals (a potential activity for another day), the park zoo (yet again, something to check out), and through the parks forest path. Finally, we came to a road which we followed shortly before seeing what we had been looking for. A large gate reading 'Ghibli Museum'.

 Photos inside were strictly forbidden (as in there is literally a staff member in each room who ensures that your phone and camera remain in your bag) but certain outdoor areas were okay to photograph. The inside was absolutely amazing! It was exactly like stepping into the various worlds of Studio Ghibli. Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Nausica and the Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea; you name it and it was there! Original sketches, explanations of the animation process, recreations of the room where the all the magic started, a short film theatre, and even a life sized CatBus were all included in the experience. Sadly the CatBus is exclusively for small children and the staff members think it's inappropriate to fight the kindergartners on fieldtrip for their place in line. Don't question whether or not I attempted, you may be disappointed in me when I answer. I have never been to a museum that was so much fun, or so crowded! The gift shop looked more like Walmart on Black Friday than a museum on a Monday. Wall to wall people fighting for expensive, but totally awesome, souvenirs. Good thing I had adequate Black Friday training to be prepared for the experience; I had important things to pick up! Outside in the Ghibli Cafe, they were filled to capacity, so since I couldn't get in I just grabbed a Japanese Pair Sherbet in the outdoor stand and watched all the fun around me. There was even a little girl dressed as Kiki, she was so adorable!!!



I wish I could've stayed all day, but eventually my reservation block came to an end and it was time to go back to the real world. Luckily, the real world comes with food.
8 of us walked back towards the hotel to the Kichijoji JR Station and hopped on a train to Shinjuku.

Once in Shinjuku, our first objective was to find some lunch. We walked around near the station for a bit before finding a small restaurant hidden from the main road. Between us we had all sorts of delicious foods from ramen to yakitori, all of which was thoroughly enjoyed.

With happy tummy's, we began to explore the shopping available in Shinjuku. Our first stop was an enormous Forever 21 with 4 levels of clothing! I found something I wanted, but let's just say I was having Gaijin problems. Such a shame too, for cuteness to be so wasted in not joining my clothing collection.

I don't know, but it was in the street

After Forever 21, we went over to the 0101. Inside there were many shops throughout 8 floors, as well as a movie theatre on the opposite side of the building. We looked through what was playing, but today was not the day for movies. that will happen one day after class, but not today. The 0101 included a small Uniqlo (Personally, I'm looking forward to the 12 level one in Ginza). I tried on an adorable dress. The sales clerk in the dressing room started speaking English to me when he saw me, but when I responded in Japanese he went back to speaking Japanese. I was sad to have to give him back the dress, especially when I had to awkwardly explain that going up a size would not help my particular sizing problem (haha, Gaijin problems... at least my waist fitxD). I looked through all the stores on the several levels, I almost bought Japanese press-on manicure (you know like the fancy schmancy acrylics with bows and sparkles and 3D thingys glued to your nails, except for $20 instead of $200) but decided against it because, let's face it, I'd chip one in about 3 seconds.
0101 was followed by Takashimaya Time Square. In similar fashion it contained many small stores including Tiffany's,Hermes, and Gucci, Docle & Gabbanna. I'll admit I took a peek in Louis Vuitton to see if they still had my bag available, and of course I picked up some eyeliner in Tokyu Hands, but I was really only in that department store around 20 minutes before I crossed the 5th floor bridge over to the neighboring bookstore for some fun.
Eventually it was time to take the train back to Kichijoji. The station was crowded with people riding home from work, but we all packed into a train and made it safely back to our home station. Once there, our group split up between the grocery store and the hotel. I made a quick run to

Adorable grapes are yummy. 

マクドナルドfor a teriyaki burger and a fried apple pie. Don't judge me for my tacky American moment, everyone is entitled to one and mine was delicious. I couldn't resist taking a peek at the bookstore across the street I had spotted during dinner. Somehow that turned into 2 more magazines, bringing my total to 4. Not ashamed, I love me some Japanese magazines. That was my last time out before I walked back to the hotel for a relaxing hot bath and some grapes. I'll give you a picture of the grapes; they're miniature and possibly the cutest form of fruit I've ever seen. 

I Skyped with my Mumful and Daddy for awhile too, totally worth posting my blog entry a few hours late. Today was a good day, and plans are being formed to make tomorrow equally fantastic. 

Peace, love, and hairspray!

~Jenn