Ghibli Museum tickets: how to book from overseas, the 10th-of-the-month release and the closed days

In this guide

💡 The Short Version: Every ticket is dated and timed, bought in advance, and sold exclusively through Lawson Ticket’s English portal (or packaged within a Sunrise Tours JTB bus tour with guaranteed admission). Tickets for an entire month go on sale at 10:00 Japan Standard Time on the 10th of the month before, meaning December dates open on 10 November and January dates open on 10 December. An adult ticket costs ¥1,000; none is sold at the gate, and unauthorised ticket resale is strictly prohibited. The museum is closed 4 to 18 November and 27 to 31 December 2026, as well as on most Tuesdays. Or book a tour: when official ticket allocations sell out in minutes, the Studio Ghibli Highlights and Tokyo Day Tour provides entry alongside hotel pick-up and transport, or you can secure Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyoad (from ¥6,600, 4.9 stars from 1,018 reviews) as an alternative themed studio excursion.

⚠️ Scheduled closures: the museum is closed for autumn maintenance from 4 to 18 November 2026, on 24 November, and for the New Year holiday from 27 to 31 December 2026, as well as on 1 and 2 January 2027. Review the official calendar before fixing your itinerary.

The official tickets

Admission rates from the Ghibli Museum official ticket office. All entry requires an advance booking specifying a designated entry date and entrance time window (10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, or 16:00). You must enter within 30 minutes of your scheduled entry slot, but once admitted, there is no departure limit; you may explore until closing time at 18:00.

• Entry conditions: entry is granted only to the lead booker named on the voucher, who must present the electronic ticket on a mobile device along with their physical passport. Resale tickets purchased through third-party ticket marketplaces or non-authorised individuals are invalid and refused at the turnstiles.
• Operating hours: 10:00 to 18:00. The Straw Hat Café operates from 11:00 to 18:00 (last food order 17:00, last beverage order 17:30).
• Physical admission token: when handing in your digital Lawson reservation at the entry reception, the receptionist exchanges it for a collectible commemorative cinema ticket printed on a genuine piece of 35mm film containing three distinct frames from a classic Studio Ghibli release such as My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away, or Princess Mononoke.

Inokashira Park bordering the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka. Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

When tickets go on sale

Tickets for an entire calendar month are released in a single coordinated window at 10:00 Japan Standard Time on the 10th of the preceding month. Because global demand far outstrips the museum’s limited daily capacity, high-season dates and weekend slots frequently sell out within fifteen to twenty minutes of opening.

To secure tickets successfully through the Lawson Ticket English portal:

1. Create a Lawson Ticket account in advance or load the international booking page ten minutes before 10:00 JST.
2. Synchronise your clock to Japan Standard Time (UTC+9).
3. Refresh the booking page precisely at 10:00 JST to enter the virtual queue.
4. Have your passport number, travel dates, full names of all attendees, and a 3D-Secure credit card ready for payment.

Tours and package options

When Lawson Ticket’s allocation is exhausted, the only authorised alternative carrying guaranteed admission is the official package tour managed by Sunrise Tours JTB. GetYourGuide does not sell standalone Ghibli Museum admission because resale is forbidden by the museum; instead, readers looking for major film and digital art studio experiences in Tokyo can explore dedicated alternatives across the city.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo – The Making of Harry Potter

From ¥6,600 · 4.9 stars from 1,018 reviews · 3 to 4 hours · themed studio lot

Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyoad: Tokyo’s largest indoor studio attraction, situated on the former Toshimaen site in Nerima. Features the authentic Great Hall, the Ministry of Magic set exclusive to Tokyo, Diagon Alley, and interactive broomstick flight experiences. Timed tickets must be pre-booked online.

teamLab Planets Digital Art Museum

From ¥3,800 · 4.6 stars from 15,131 reviews · 2 hours · immersive installation

Tokyo: teamLab Planets TOKYO Digital Art Museum Entry Ticketad: an immersive digital sensory museum in Toyosu where visitors walk barefoot through water filled with projected koi carp, wander through the infinite crystal universe, and enter the floating orchid garden room.

Tokyo Skytree Observation Deck

From ¥2,000 · 4.5 stars from 16,436 reviews · 1 to 2 hours · panoramic views

TOKYO SKYTREE® Observation Deck Admission Ticketad: ascend to the Tembo Deck at 350 metres and the Tembo Galleria at 450 metres for 360-degree vistas stretching across Tokyo to Mount Fuji. Booking online saves ¥500 compared to ticket window rates.

Official admission or studio alternatives: prices side by side

Comparing official Ghibli entry against Tokyo’s major studio and cultural exhibitions.

The bronze Laputian robot soldier on the Ghibli Museum rooftop. Photo: Laputian Robot, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Closed days and seasonal schedules

The museum shuts on Tuesdays as a standing rule, alongside multi-week maintenance shutdowns and the Japanese New Year holiday period. The Ghibli Museum operating calendar lists the dates:

If a scheduled Tuesday falls on a Japanese national holiday, the museum stays open and closes on the following Wednesday instead.

Inside the museum: rules and features

Designed by Hayao Miyazaki, the building itself functions as an architectural showcase filled with labyrinthine staircases, stained-glass windows depicting Totoro and Kiki, and hidden passageways.

• Strict photography ban: photography and video recording are strictly prohibited inside the museum building to ensure guests focus on the artwork and maintain atmosphere. Photography is permitted only in exterior areas, including the central courtyard, the rooftop garden, and the patio outside the café.
• Saturn Theater (Eiga-kan Saturn): this charming 80-seat basement cinema screens exclusive Studio Ghibli short animated films produced solely for museum visitors. These 9 to 16-minute short films—such as Koro’s Big Day Out, Mei and the Baby Cat Bus, and House-Hunting—are not released commercially or streamed. Your film-strip entry ticket receives a commemorative stamp on entry, permitting one viewing per visitor.
• The Cat Bus Room (Neko Bus): on the upper floor, a large plush Cat Bus allows children up to 12 years old (primary school age) to climb, slide, and play inside. Adults are not permitted inside the Cat Bus structure itself, though they may observe from the perimeter.
• Straw Hat Café (Mugiwaraboushi): serves organic dishes, pork cutlet sandwiches, soft drinks, and house-brewed Valley of the Wind beer. Queues frequently exceed 45 to 60 minutes during peak midday hours; dining between 11:00 and 11:30 or after 15:00 reduces waiting times.
• Mamma Aiuto Gift Shop: named after the sky pirates in Porco Rosso, the shop stocks exclusive merchandise unavailable in standard Donguri Republic shops, including hand-painted animation cels, ceramic tableware, music boxes, and themed postcards.

The spiral staircase cage tower leading to the rooftop garden. Photo: Stéphane Gallay, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Getting to Mitaka from central Tokyo

The Ghibli Museum is located at 1-1-83 Shimorenjaku, Mitaka-shi, Tokyo, situated along the southwestern border of Inokashira Park.

• By JR train: from Shinjuku Station, board the JR East Chuo Line (Rapid service) to Mitaka Station. The journey takes 17 to 20 minutes and costs ¥230 each way on an IC transit card (Suica or Pasmo). From Tokyo Station, the JR Chuo Rapid Line takes approximately 35 minutes and costs ¥410.
• From Mitaka Station south exit:
  • Community bus: yellow Mitaka City buses decorated with Studio Ghibli characters depart from Bus Stop 9 outside the south exit every 10 to 15 minutes. The fare is ¥210 for adults (¥110 for children) one way, payable with IC card or cash. A round-trip bus ticket costs ¥320 for adults (¥160 for children) and can be bought from the automated vending machine at the stop.
  • Walking via the Wind Promenade (Kaze no Sampomichi): a pleasant, signposted 1.1-kilometre walk along the scenic Tamagawa Josui canal path takes approximately 15 minutes.
• Alternative route via Kichijoji Station: you can also disembark at Kichijoji Station (JR Chuo Line or Keio Inokashira Line) and walk 20 minutes through the pleasant wooded avenues of Inokashira Park.

Fitting Ghibli into your Tokyo trip

Because Mitaka sits in western suburban Tokyo along the Chuo Line, it pairs naturally with nearby neighbourhood explorations:

• Morning in Mitaka, afternoon in Shinjuku: combine a 10:00 or 12:00 Ghibli slot with afternoon shopping and dining in Shinjuku, as suggested in 5 days in Tokyo (day four).
• Kichijoji and Harmonica Yokocho: walk through Inokashira Park after your museum visit into Kichijoji, exploring the post-war tavern alleys of Harmonica Yokocho for yakitori and craft beer (Tokyo food tours).
• Other timed cultural sights: plan museum days alongside teamLab Borderless and Planets, the Harry Potter Studio Tour, and the traditional theatrical arts at Kabukiza in Ginza.
• Transit and card planning: remember that national JR Passes no longer offer savings for city travel (JR Pass worth it analysis); use a digital Suica or physical IC card detailed in our Tokyo public transport guide to cover your Chuo Line rail fares seamlessly. For a complete city overview, refer to the Tokyo hub.

Common questions

How do you buy Ghibli Museum tickets from overseas?

Through Lawson Ticket's English online portal. Tickets for each calendar month go on sale at 10:00 Japan Standard Time on the 10th of the preceding month: tickets for December 2026 go on sale on 10 November, and tickets for January 2027 on 10 December. Official bus day tours from Sunrise Tours JTB also carry guaranteed museum entry.

How much is admission to the Ghibli Museum?

¥1,000 for adults aged 19 and over, ¥700 for youths aged 13 to 18, ¥400 for primary school children aged 7 to 12, and ¥100 for children aged 4 to 6. Children aged 3 and under enter free.

Can you buy Ghibli Museum tickets at the gate?

No. All admission is strictly by advance timed reservation. The museum ticket window does not sell admission tickets under any circumstances.

When is the Ghibli Museum closed?

The museum closes on most Tuesdays, during scheduled maintenance blocks, and over the New Year holiday. In late 2026, it is closed from 4 to 18 November, on 24 November, and from 27 to 31 December 2026, then on 1 and 2 January 2027.