I went to the most marvelous museum today -- the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, in the western suburbs of Tokyo. Ghibli is the name of the animation studio led by Hayao Miyazaki, director of "Spirited Away" winner of the 2003 Oscar for best animated feature film. I'd never heard of Miyazaki till I moved to Japan and until I went to the museum today I had no idea of the wonderful magical worlds he has created on film. His work is wildly popular in Japan and today I saw ample proof of why. His imagination and inventiveness are boundless. His body of work is prolific. The museum is as popular as his films, so much so that one must make an appointment in advance to even visit it. I feel so fortunate to have even been able to set foot in it today. KC, Michiko and I had gone to Kichijoji today for lunch, shopping and a walk in the park. We noticed the Ghibli museum on a map, saw that it was close by and decided to pop in. That was when we learned about the restrictions for ticket sales. But those restrictions apply to Japanese only. As foreigners, KC and I would be granted access if we went to a travel agent. Lucky for us, there happened to be a travel agent outside the museum who sold us some tickets on the spot (Michiko was granted entry as well!). What a delightful experience it was, despite the hordes of kids roaming about. The building itself is quite fanciful both inside and out with brightly colored walls, stained glass featuring the imaginative creatures envisioned by Miyazaki, playful sculptures and displays. There was a recreation of the studio where Miyazaki does his work. Samples of sketches and handpainted cels decorated the walls. Scrapbooks that illustrated his influences were available for browsing. Displays of several types of animation projectors had us spellbound. We got to see two short clips of work by Miyazaki and I was thoroughly entranced. Now I've simply got to get my hands on some videos of full length feature films.