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“Tot-toro, Tot-tooro….” The children bounce about excitedly, singing the theme tune to My Neighbour Totoro, their favourite Japanese animated film, or anime. Not again, I groan inwardly. In the past, I’d never been much of a fan of anime. Despite having a deep appreciation for Japan and its culture, I’d always found the Japanese fascination with anime childish and a little disconcerting, a fixation reserved only for nerds, or otaku, as they are known in Japan.

That was until I watched Spirited Away. The Oscar-winning fantasy about a girl who finds herself in a world of spirits and must find a way to save her parents, who have been turned into pigs, mesmerised me. It was imaginative and thought-provoking, and has inspired a love of anime, which I now share with my children.

So when a friend tells me about the Ghibli Museum, I am determined to visit it. Set in a wooded park in Mitaka, a suburban town west of Tokyo, the Ghibli Museum is an art museum dedicated to the work of Studio Ghibli, which has produced many critically-acclaimed and much-loved anime, including My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away and, more recently, Ponyo, a charming retelling of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson.

We arrive on a hot and sticky morning during the summer holidays. A sign near the entrance to the popular museum informs us tickets are already sold out for the day. Luckily we have reserved ours in advance and the children yelp excitedly when they were handed their tickets – each one is made from a piece of real 35mm Ghibli film print used in cinema theatres. Holding our prints up to the light, we recognise scenes from My Neighbour Totoro, Whisper of the Heart and Laputa: Castle in the Sky. Then we are left to explore the magical, wonderful world of Ghibli.

The Ghibli Museum’s motto is “Let’s lose our way, together” and it’s easy to imagine how one could get lost here, both literally and figuratively. The building itself looks as though it belongs in a Ghibli film, an enchantingly peculiar structure with spiral staircases, bridged walkways, a fresco-covered ceiling and a glass dome, somewhat incongruous to its leafy surroundings in a typical, suburban part of Japan. Stained-glass windows feature flowers, forest animals and various Ghibli characters. A five-metre Robot Soldier from Laputa: Castle in the Sky towers above surrounding parkland from the rooftop garden. It’s hard to believe we are only a twenty-minute train ride away from the heart of Tokyo.

The highlight of the visit is the short anime we watch in the colourful Saturn Theater. The children are entranced by Mei and the Baby Cat Bus, a 15-minute feature starring characters from My Neighbour Totoro. Although there are no subtitles, the charming film is very visual and easy to follow for even the youngest non-Japanese speaker. By turns the audience gasps in awe, then chuckles in delight as little Mei meets a baby cat bus (a magical, flying, bus-shaped cat) and is spirited off on a flying journey with hundreds of other cat buses.

All too soon, the film comes to an end, the curtains are drawn back and sunlight streams through the theatre, allowing us to see the film projector, which resides in a transparent booth at the back of the theatre, in all its glory. All the animated shorts shown in the 80-seat theatre are originals made especially for the museum and cannot be seen anywhere else. So far, the studio has made only seven such exclusive films, but is planning a catalogue of twelve so that they can be rotated on a monthly basis.

After the film, my youngest makes a beeline for the Cat Bus room on the second floor, where children are queuing for their chance to ride the Cat Bus. They take huge pleasure in climbing up, crawling over and sliding down the giant, furry creature.

While the museum is a huge draw for the young, there is plenty to entertain the many unaccompanied adults who also visit the museum. Zoetrope fans will love the enormous 3D ‘Bouncing Totoro’ zoetrope, consisting of 347 figures based on characters from My Neighbour Totoro, which uses strobing LED, rather than slits or mirrors.

Venturing up an iron staircase, we discover five rooms dedicated to showing visitors how a Ghibli film is born. Desks are piled high with books filled with thousands of sketches from different films. There are pictures, photographs and models of street scenes, architectural structures and props that provided inspiration for many Ghibli animations. A wall display shows the step-by-step process of creating an individual cell from a film. One room has been designed to look like the studio of an anime artist in the midst of sketching.

In an alcove, we watch a trailer for Studio Ghibli’s latest production, The Borrower Arrietty. The anime is based on the children’s novel, The Borrowers, by English author Mary Norton. It seems a sad and poignant tale, very much in keeping with the work of the studio. I make a mental note to hunt down a copy on my return to London.

Eventually rumbling stomachs force us to leave this wonderland in search of a satisfying bowl of tasty ramen noodles. But it’s clear the Ghibli museum is a big hit with everyone. Totoro and his friends are all the children talk about for days afterwards. I, for one, can’t get the theme tune out of my head: “Tot-toro, Tot-toooro…”

If you are looking for more anime-related fun in Tokyo, why not visit:

Suginami Animation Museum, Tokyo

Located in Suginami, the heartland of anime production, this free museum runs regular events and workshops, allowing visitors to make their own animated creations. The 150-inch screen theatre shows animated short films four times a day.
www.sam.or.jp

Tokyo Anime Center

The centre screens new productions and runs anime-related events, including talks by voice actors.
www.animecenter.jp

Toei Animation Gallery, Tokyo

Fans of Toei Animation, producer of many small-screen anime series including Dragonball, will find displays on previous and planned works by the veteran studio in this gallery at their headquarters.
www.toei-anim.co.jp/tag