Day 2 - Kichijoji & Studio Ghibli Museum

We began our second day with an early start and breakfast at the hotel, which was surprisingly good. The hotel offers cooked-to-order eggs and a large assortment of both traditional Japanese and western breakfast foods, though the Japanese version of bacon is a thick sliced and less cooked version of what we have back home.

After our breakfast, Lauren and I walked to the nearby Suidobashi station, to catch a train to Kichijoji during rush hour - a relatively lengthy 30 minute ride down the Chuo line.

Upon arrival in Kichijoji, we headed to a nearby Yodabashi Camera, a ubiquitous department store here in Japan that is famous for its multi-floor layout selling everything from the expected cameras and electronics to cell phones, cosmetics and clothing. I picked up a tripod and handle for the GoPro, while Lauren got some fancy Japanese sunscreen called Anesa, which she has worn for years.

We continued to meander through the store, eventually stumbling across a massive aisle of GashaPon machines. These are coin operated vending machines that spit out a plastic balls with collectible items inside. While one might think these are just for kids, people of all ages seem to enjoy them and Lauren picked up a couple for fun.

On the top floor of the store, we found Tower Records, which always has a massive selection of CD's, so yours truly picked up a couple of metal albums that have "Japan Only" exclusive tracks on them.

Finally done with Yodabashi Camera, we left the store and began the 20-minute walk to the Ghibli Museum. Along the way, we ran into YouTubers Simon and Martina, who run a popular Japanese cuisine and travel vlog. Lauren was ecstatic to meet them, as she's followed their videos for several years now and spent a few minutes saying hello before parting ways.

The Ghibli Museum is located on the periphery of a large public park, surrounded by trees and tennis courts. Just like the films of Studio Ghibli, the museum itself is colorful and whimsical, featuring climbing vines on brightly colored walls, unique architecture and of course, a gift shop!

Lauren and I in front of the Ghibli museum. Note Totoro behind us!

Upon admission into the museum, we explored several rooms dedicated to the art and film methods of how Ghibli films are made, including some fascinating stop-motion animation demonstrations using strobe lights and a spinning model. The bottom floor's other half is taken up by a theater, where a Ghibli animated short is shown three times every hour. The show of the day when we arrived was about a small water spider and his misadventures in the pond where he lives. After the 15 minute show ended, we walked up to the second floor, where a variety of cells from the Ghibli films are on exhibit, including some displays showing how the scenes are painted layer by layer. In an adjoining room,  shelves are full of the specialized paint pigments used in the production of these films, though the area is roped off and you can only look on from the entrance.

The exterior of the Ghibli museum.

A life size recreation of the robot from the Ghibli film Laputa: Castle in the Sky. This is on the roof of the museum building.

The remainder of the top floor is taken up by the gift shop, and a giant replica of the cat bus from My Neighbor Totoro, and Lauren was very disappointed to learn that only those 12 years old and younger can jump on it.

We wrapped up our tour of the museum at the gift shop, where Lauren picked up some beautiful post cards, a paper weight for me, and a pillow cover for herself.

The sakura are just starting to bloom in Tokyo. We spotted this tree on our way back to lunch from the Ghibli Museum.

We left the museum just after lunch, and walked back towards the train station where there's a fairly large market area. This area features several famous eateries, including a Menchikatsu (fried meat ball) spot called Satou, where we each ate a rather messy and very juicy meatball. From Satou, we headed to another hole in the wall nearby that is well known for their Gyoza (pot sticker dumplings) before finishing up with Taiyaki, which are fish shaped pancakes traditionally filled with red bean paste or custard.

Stuffed to the gills, we hopped back on the subway towards home, but got off only a couple of stops later at Nakano station. Nakano is famous for a pedestrian mall called Nakano Broadway, a mecca for otaku culture (anime, manga, and video games) which gave Lauren and I a chance to look at some unique collectibles and people watch. Ironically, while being best known for its nerdy stores, Nakano Broadway also happens to be home to most of the ultra-high end used watch shops in Tokyo. There's something hilarious about seeing a business man haggling for a Rolex one shop over from plastic models of anime characters and keychains selling for a couple of US dollars.

We wrapped up day 2 with dinner at a hole in the wall near our hotel called Biodynamie Jimbucho, which serves farm to table Japanese-Italian food and also offers a nice selection of wines. Lauren and I shared a salmon and avocado salad for our appetizer, and ordered a bottle of Chianti to share. I ordered a margherita pizza for my entree, while Lauren ordered a berkshire pork bolognese pasta. Both entrees were delicious, and were quickly devoured. We then made the short walk back to the hotel, and fell into bed just before 9PM to prepare for a very early 3AM start the next morning.