Spirited Away for a Day

Or half a day...

I just checked into my luxurious little hotel in Akasaka, between the hardcore nightlife districts of Roppongi and Shinjuku. Don't worry - I found a killer deal online. I'm saving my money for buying stuff in Shibuya. My mom's off at her friend's place in the suburb, and I'm gearing up for what'll hopefully be a big night.

But not before going and checking out the Ghibli Museum, an almost theme park-ish museum dedicated to the art and animation of Hayao Miyazaki. My Neighbor Totoro. Spirited Away. Naüsicaa. Laputa. All animated masterpieces under Miyazaki's belt, all imbued with an amazing mastery of ingenious simplicity.

The museum reflects this. It's an extraordinary place on par with Antoni Gaudi's creations in Barcelona, making you feel as though you're inside one of his films. It's not huge, nor sprawling, nor terribly complex - again, it's all the simple little things so meticulously paid attention to that draw you in. It's hard to explain how something so fundamentally childlike can be so fascinating, how one little place set off in a park in a Tokyo suburb can make you feel like a kid again, so like many things in Japan, you'll just have to see it for yourself.

I bought my tickets well in advance for this attraction (you have to, actually), and thought it might be a bit lame of me, going to a shrine worshiping someone who's work I always admired but never fully appreciated. I walked away in love. I'll be purchasing some DVDs in the near future, I'm sure...