Tokyo’s Ghibli Museum set to crack down on ticket scalping and resales with pre-entry ID checks

Want to get in to see the Catbus? Then the name on your passport better match the one on your ticket.

Whether you’re of a fan of anime specifically or animation in general, the Ghibli Museum, located in the Mitaka neighborhood of Tokyo, is definitely worth visiting. Not only does it house a theater that screens Studio Ghibli short films you can’t see anywhere else, the entire building and surrounding garden are filled to the brim with cameos by Ghibli characters and other design elements inspired by Japan’s premiere animation company.

However, there are a number of rules that have to be observed for a visit to the museum, which perhaps isn’t so surprising seeing as how it’s dedicated to the works of the company founded by strongly opinionated director Hayao Miyazaki. For instance, photography is strictly prohibited at the facility, in order to keep guests from spending all their time posing for pictures instead of looking at the exhibits. Also, to prevent overcrowding, only a limited number of tickets are made available for any one day, which are further divided into four entry times between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Moreover, the tickets must be prepurchased, meaning the Ghibli Museum essentially runs on a reservation system.

The tickets are routinely all snatched up soon after they become available, but some of the people buying them aren’t motivated by a love of Totoro or Ponyo, but simply a fondness for money. With demand for tickets always high, some speculators buy up as many tickets as they can, wait for that day’s to sell out, then sell them at a higher price through online auctions, pocketing the difference.

This doesn’t sit well with the museum’s management, and so from July the Ghibli Museum will be asking visitors to show some form of ID, such as a passport or driver’s license, at the gate. If the name on the ID doesn’t match the one the reservation was initially made under, the ticket holder won’t be allowed to enter.

In addition, the museum will be selling a portion of its tickets for July and August, the Japanese summer vacation period, through a prepurchase lottery system, which it also employed last year. For those wishing to visit in July, lottery applications ca be made between 10 a.m. on May 25 and 11:59 p.m. on May 31. Winners will be informed by email on June 9, one day before the general reservations are opened and given the option to purchase up to six tickets. For those wishing to visit in August, lottery applications will be accepted between June 25 and 30, with winners contacted on July 9.

The drawing can be entered online here, and if you are chosen, again, don’t forget to bring your ID. Not only will you need it to get in, it’ll come in handy should they card you when you order some Valley of the Wind Beer.

Related: Ghibli Museum website
Source: Gihlbi Museum (1, 2) via IT Media
Top image: Ghibli Museum
Insert images: Ghibli Museum, Valley of the Wind Beer image ©RocketNews24

Origin: Tokyo’s Ghibli Museum set to crack down on ticket scalping and resales with pre-entry ID checks
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