Melissa no Meritto メリッサのメリット: Inside the Studio Ghibli Museum Part 2

Now that you've caught up on Part 1, let's find out about those short films shown exclusively at the Studio Ghibli Museum and the rooftop garden!

Short Films

There are a total of 9 short original Ghibli films shown exclusively at the museum, of which I have seen three (fell a little short of the goal! Unfortunately I can’t give you my opinion on all of them). Again, the films are all shown in Japanese, with two showings a day featuring Japanese subtitles, but many of the films have very little dialogue or even none at all. Even without understanding Japanese, you’ll enjoy the film anyway!

Takara-sagashi – “Treasure Hunting”

A little boy named Yuji and a rabbit named Gikku compete to determine who gets to be the owner of a stick they both found by race, jump rope, and sumo wrestling. However they are always equally matched! Thus they decide to play a final game of treasure hunting. It's based on the picture book by Rieko Nakagawa.

Mr. Dough and the Egg princess

A wicked witch – who looks a lot like Yubaba from Spirited Away – steals an egg which she bewitches into her own personal slave. Poor little egg girl is bullied and pushed around, until one day she escapes to a bread shop where a huge loaf of bread comes to life in the fire. Mr. Dough protects the girl, who turns out to be the princess of the kingdom, and the two become fast friends. I loved this film! It didn’t even need words to be cute or get you emotionally attached to dough and egg characters.

Kujira-tori "Whale Hunting"

Shigeru sees the older boys from his kindergarten class making a boat out of building blocks and wants to join their friend group, but has a hard time of it. The finished boat is dubbed “S.S. elephant and lion” and goes off hunting for whales (there’s a lot of searching and hunting involved in the movies to create mini adventures).

Koro no Daisanpo “Koro’s Big Day Out”/"Koro's Long Walk"

Little dog Koro follows after his owner going to school and gets locked out of the house. He walks around town and runs into many different people. When his owner returns she quickly begins searching for him. Should be pretty cute since it features an adorable dog.

Yado-sagashi “House Hunting”

There's almost no speaking in this one! All the sound effects, lines, and music are expressed by human voice. It's also unique in that characters appear on the screen in time to what happens on film (like the one used in manga to express the sounds, states, or feelings – Japanese onomatopoeia).

Fuki is a lively girl who looks a lot like Pippi Longstocking and goes on a journey to find a new place to live. In her bag she packs in everything she needs for her journey. How will she get past all the strange people she meets on her way? I’ve never seen it, so I can’t tell you.

Mizugumo Monmon “Water Spider Monmon”

This one is slower and less thrilling than the others, instead a serene look at the life of a water spider. One day the spider falls in love with a bug who can walk along the surface of the water and wears an cute pink bow. Naturally he must meet her. Not a ton happens, but there’s an exciting bit at the end! You can see a real live water spider swimming in a well next to the museum.

In all honesty, I'm gonna be brutal and just say this one kind of bored me.

Hoshi o katta hi “The Day I Bought a Star”

This one is my absolute favorite! It completely captured my imagination, of which I have plenty, and is based on a story by Noahisa Inoue. In the fictional world of Iblard, a little boy named Nona runs away from home and is taken in by a woman named Ninya. One day on his way to the market he meets a mole and a frog who convince him to trade his vegetables for a small jewel that is the seed of a planet. He plants the seed and a miniature planet grows before his very eyes! He nurtures it carefully and watches it form its own atmosphere, water, and life. Imagination is just exploding out of this piece. It's also the work of the artist who painted the fresco in the central hall. If you get to see this one, you're lucky! I would love the chance to see it again, but I still want to see the others...

Chuuzumou "A Sumo Wrestler's Tale"/“Mouse Sumo”

A long time ago mice Jii and Baa lived in a mountain village and every day go up and down the mountain and are plumb exhausted. Sounds like the life. One night when Jii goes outside he sees a group of mice going somewhere. When he follows them he finds they participate in sumo wrestling! Something exciting must happen at this point, something that involves more pint-sized sumo wrestling. It’s based on a folk tail of “Nezumi no sumou”.

Mei and the Kitten Bus

This is the one I’ve most wanted to see but haven’t gotten lucky yet! On a windy day Mei is enjoying sweet caramels when a whirlwind comes up and she chases after it. It turns out to be a kitten bus! The two become friends and venture into the forest that night. Surely this one is exploding with cuteness.

Sometimes just snagging tickets is hard enough so you can't get choosy about which short film you get to see, but if you find the dates of which films are being played on the Japanese site. Whoever scored tickets between May 1st and May 14th will get to see Mei and the Kitten Bus!

Here a snap from the waiting area next to the theater.

It looks like you could just climb through this window and take a walk out onto the country lane.

Some shots from the short films including Mei and the Kitten Bus!

Next, let's explore what's up on the roof!

Rooftop

Head to the Cat Bus play area and out onto the terrace where you climb up another spiral staircase to the grassy rooftop garden. Sorry tall folks, but this is not optional. And yes, it's made for short Japanese people. Mwa haha.

Twisting staircase to the roof. What treasures await?!

There's a flag on the top!

You've made it to the top! Now you have the treat of posing with this life-sized (5 meters!) replica of the robot from Castle in the Sky. It's easily the most recognizable feature of the museum, and as it's outdoors you're free to take as many pictures as you like! Hmm, does this mean we could get away with snapping pictures of the cat bus from the outside terrace...?

The amazing life-sized replica of the robot from Castle in the Sky.

In the shade. This guy is tall! 16 feet to be precise.

We must admire him from all angles to appreciate his awesomeness.

So tall!

In his natural habitat.

You’ll also find a cool block from the castle with ancient writing engraved in it!

Here's a close up!

Anyone read Laputan?

From here you have excellent views of the rest of the grounds!

A bird's eye view of the museum.

Here's another before photo.

The view before.

There are plenty more details to enjoy around the museum. Can you catch them all? Luckily I did.

Another pig!

Who lives here?

During Christmastime they even display a tree! There is also holly on your film strip!

The museum gets festive at Christmastime with a real Christmas tree.

There's a little courtyard down there where you can put your things in lockers. Down there you can try your hand at an old-fashioned hand pump well. You’ll find some of those nifty details here, too. There are even stacks of firewood by a rustic shed that are burned in the café stove during the winter.