Studio Ghibli Adventures Without a Ticket: Your Free and Fun Japan Itinerary

Planning a trip to Japan and dreaming of a day filled with Studio Ghibli magic? Many people hope to snag tickets to Ghibli Museum or Ghibli Park, but what happens when you miss out? It’s not the end of the world! When my wife and I faced this exact problem, I planned a wonderful, free day trip that gave her all the Totoro her heart could handle. The best part? The whole day didn't cost a single yen for entry fees, which meant more money for plushies!

Before we get to our free itinerary, let's talk about the ticket situation and why our backup plan was so necessary.

Ghibli Tickets: A Quick Breakdown

Securing tickets for Ghibli Museum in Mitaka or Ghibli Park in Nagoya is a competitive process. Tickets for both locations become available on the 10th of each month for the following month. This means if you're a planner, you'll need to be ready to buy tickets just a few weeks before your trip. The online queues are often thousands of people long, so treat it like you're trying to get a ticket to a Taylor Swift concert!

If you'd rather not leave it up to chance, some tour companies, like JTB Sunrise Tours, offer bus tours that include museum tickets. However, these tours can be pricey—up to $350 AUD per person—which can be hard to justify for a single activity. For us, this was the same price as a 1.5-day pass for Universal Studios, so we decided to skip it.

Our Ghibli-Themed Day Trip: No Tickets Required!

After our own luck ran out, I put together a special itinerary to lift my wife’s spirits. We were staying at the Century Southern Tower Hotel in Shibuya, which served as a great home base for getting around. After a hearty breakfast, we set off on our Ghibli adventure.

Stop 1: Tokyo Skytree Solamachi - Donguri Republic

Our first stop was a visit to Donguri Republic, an official Studio Ghibli store. This place is a treasure trove for any fan, selling everything from Totoro toys and Soot Sprites to detailed replicas of Howl's Moving Castle. You'll know you've found the shop when you spot the enormous Nekobasu waiting for you at the entrance, along with a life-sized Totoro that brought tears to my wife's eyes. Getting here is easy; the train station is located right beneath the mall, and you just follow the signs to the Skytree.

To get from Shibuya to Skytree we took two trains - totalling approximately 45 minutes.

Stop 2: Shirohige's Cream Puff Factory

Next up was a visit to Shirohige's Cream Puff Factory - the cafe/bakery owner is actually the sister-in-law of famed Studio Ghibli founder/director, Hayao Miyazaki, which gives them the right to produce their Totoro-themed treats. This charming shop sells smooth, sweet cream puffs shaped like an adorable version of Totoro. The space is small and can get crowded, so be prepared for a potential wait and a minimum purchase per person. For us, it was a small price to pay for a Ghibli-themed treat.

To get from Skytree to Shirohige’s Cream Puff Factory we took two trains - totalling approximately 1 hour and 3 minutes.

Stop 3: Kichijoji Petit Mura

This little park offers the immersive Ghibli architecture we were hoping to see. It’s small but packed with charm. Tucked away on a quiet street, this "park" is actually a tiny three-shop complex with a gift shop, a cafe, and a cat play center. The cat play center was a highlight for my wife, who loved getting some cuddles and seeing how the cats, some of which are a little grumpy, were handled with care.

The walk to Kichijoji Petit Mura can be long, but the beautiful design and sweet moments with the cats were well worth the journey.

To get from Shirohige’s Cream Puff Factory to Kichijoji Petit Mura we took one train plus a bit of a walk - totalling approximately 38 minutes.

Stop 4: The Grand Finale - A Visit to the Museum's Exterior

While we couldn’t get in, the Ghibli Museum is only a 13-minute train ride from Kichijoji Petit Mura. It's well worth swinging by just to admire the incredible architecture from the outside. You can even see the Totoro ticket-taker at the entrance. The walk from the station to the museum is long, but you'll pass several Totoro-themed checkpoints along the way, which adds to the fun. This final stop made us feel like we were right there, capping off our Ghibli-themed day perfectly.

After a full day of adventure, we headed back to the hotel. My wife put on her new Totoro socks, snuggled up with her plushies, and we watched Kiki's Delivery Service—because after a day filled with cats, who doesn’t love Jiji?