Tips for Buying Ghibli Museum Tickets (2024 Update)

Have you ever wondered why the Studio Ghibli Museum is always a must-see spot in Tokyo? Are you familiar with Spirited Away? How about Princess Mononoke?

Those two and four other Studio Ghibli films are among the top 15 highest-grossing anime films in Japan. With Spirited Away is the second-best animated film with a worldwide gross of $331 million. It even surpassed Titanic as the highest-grossing film in Japan.

The person behind these films is Hayao Miyazaki who also designed the museum himself.

How much is a Ghibli Museum ticket?

The ticket price for the Ghibli Museum is only ¥1,000 (or about US$9) each and must be purchased in advance.

When do Ghibli Museum tickets go on sale?

Tickets for the Ghibli Museum go on sale every 10th of the month at 10 a.m. Japan time.

How quickly do Ghibli Museum tickets sell out?

Ghibli museum tickets tend to sell out quickly within 30 minutes to an hour after tickets go on sale.

7 Ways to Buy Ghibli Museum Tickets

1. Lawson’s website.

While this is the original and the CHEAPEST way to get tickets to the Ghibli Museum for ¥1,000. However, it’s also the most TROUBLESOME due to the website being unreliably SLOW on the sale date.

Entry tickets for next month go on sale at 10 a.m. (Japan time) on the 10th of the current month. In other words, if you want tickets for January, you need to buy them on December 10th. You must be on your computer at EXACTLY 10 a.m. and quickly book those tickets. This is a challenge if you live in a different time zone.

What you need during the booking process:

  • Credit card – They only accept credit cards as a payment method.
  • Intended address in Japan – This could be your hotel address.
  • 4-character password – You MUST write this down (to avoid forgetting) to log in to print your tickets.
  • Passport number.
  • Phone number and email.

The website says you can buy up to 6 tickets in one booking occasion but I’ve NEVER seen this work because the website is VERY slow and always having issues.

The website had gone crazy! When I booked tickets for me and my husband, we ended up getting two different time slots! My ticket was for 2pm admission and my husband’s ticket was for 4pm admission. The 12pm and 2pm admission tickets sell out VERY quickly. By noon that day, tickets on the website were all sold out!

~ Yours Truly

And this is a warning for visitors traveling with their families…

I will not rely on the website if you’re a big family. I was only able to get 1 adult ticket on the website! I have one more adult, two teenagers (13 and 15), and one 7 years old.

~ A Sightsee & Sushi reader email

If you’ve booked successfully, a confirmation will be sent to your email. Inside that email is the link to log in to Lawson’s website.

Enter the email address, the exact phone number, and the 4-character password you entered during the booking process. Upon logging in, you will be redirected to a screen with your ticket that has a barcode.

You must print or save this ticket to your smartphone. The staff will scan it at the museum entrance and your ticket will be EXCHANGED for an “official ticket”.

Ghibli Museum 35mm Film Tickets

The official ticket has a real 35mm film print framers from Studio Ghibli films that were used in theaters.

2. Lawson Loppi Machine.

If you’re already in Japan (i.e. living in Japan or staying long-term), this is another recommended option. Lawson is a convenience store you can find on nearly every corner of Japan.

There are some Lawson stores that don’t have Loppi Machines. Usually, these are special Lawson stores like Natural Lawson (maroon exterior) and Lawson 100 (green exterior). So you need to find a regular Lawson store, which has a blue exterior.

You can buy tickets from Loppi Machine anytime but the earliest dates that will be available to you are for the month after (i.e. tickets for May will be available on Loppi Machines in April).

3. Ghibli Museum with Inokashira Walking Tour

The tour combines a visit to the Ghibli Museum with tickets and a walking tour to Inokashira Park with an English-speaking tour guide. You can check the availability here.

4. Ask your Hotel Concierge to book you the tickets.

If you’re staying at a premium hotel, contact your hotel concierge and ask if they can buy your tickets in advance and they will usually buy them for you. Many hotels in Japan have done this favor for their customers while they have not arrived in Japan yet. They get the tickets from a Lawson Loppi Machine. But they’ll probably charge a 10-30% fee for the service.

5. Ask a friend who lives in Japan.

If you have a friend who lives in Japan, ask that friend to buy the Studio Ghibli ticket for you from Loppi Machine. The ticket price is only 1,000 yen, which is the original price of the Studio Ghibli Museum ticket.

I have done this as a favor for a friend who was visiting Japan. I bought the ticket a month before his visit. All I needed was his full name and his desired date and time of visit.

Best Alternatives if You’re a Studio Ghibli Fan

  1. Overnight in Nagoya with Ghibli Park Package. Just like the Ghibli Museum, Ghibli Park requires an advanced reservation in order to get tickets, so this overnight package is a good way to get tickets. A round-trip bullet train ticket from Tokyo to Nagoya is included with the hotel stay.
  2. Visit a Donguri Kyowakoku store. Donguri is Studio Ghibli’s official online store. It’s where you can buy Studio Ghibli merchandise and souvenirs.

WHAT TO READ NEXT: Studio Ghibli Museum Review: Is it worth the time and money?

13 thoughts on “Tips for Buying Ghibli Museum Tickets (2024 Update)”

  1. Hi,

    Thank you so much for post this useful blogs. When you try to book ticket online in Lawson’s website. Can you use Canada/USA phone number and email address? Do you need to register a Lawson account before purchase the ticket? Thanks.

    Reply
  2. Do you need a Japanese phone number to book the tickets or can you book the ticket on your computer anywhere in the world?

    Reply
  3. Hi, when u successfully bought the tickets online via Lawson’s website, when you mention “print the ticket” do you mean i still have to go into a Lawson in Japan to printout the ticket or do i just need to printout the ticket with barcode on any paper will do and bring it to the museum?

    I heard people saying that you will still need to print the tickets (within 24 hrs?) from a Lawson to secure your seats. Not sure if they have changed the ticketing purhcase for 2023.

    Reply
  4. I was just looking for this info for a while. After 6 hours of continuous Googleing, finally, I got it in your web site. I wonder what’s the lack of Google strategy that does not rank this type of informative websites about Japan attractions in top of the list. Generally, the top web sites are full of garbage and just written by their ‘writers’.

    Reply
    • Just a heads up I observed today’s ticket sales. Expect Lawson’s website to get very congested as soon as the clock hits 10 a.m. japan time. I finally got to the check out page after trying for an hour and the tickets are pretty much sold out at around 11.30 japan time. Have your info ready on your clipboard if you’re on your phone. You’re gonna be entering your phone number and email over and over again.

      Reply
    • Same here! Google is showing 10 years old threads from TripAdvisor!! Took me a while to find this post. Finally, I was able to secure tickets with Inokashira tour! THANK YOU!!!

      Reply

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