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Waiting for the next Studio Ghibli film is like waiting for the next Game of Thrones book, it never comes soon enough! And with no new projects announced since the completion of When Marnie Was There in 2014, Ghibli fans may have a longer wait than those waiting for The Winds of Winter.

Luckily, movies aren’t the only way to lose yourself in a Studio Ghibli world. For those who can’t wait, there are six different exhibits in Japan that are connected with the fantastical Ghibli places that have become so familiar thanks to the movies and better yet, they are all being held right now.

If there was ever a reason to take a road trip across Japan, now might be it. Spread across five prefectures this is certainly the season to enjoy an art museum or six. Get out your GPS and free up your calendar, it’s time to get lost in the world of Ghibli.

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スタジオジブリ『思い出のマーニー』監督 米林宏昌原画展
Studio Ghibli When Marnie Was There Director Hiromasa Yonebayashi Original Pictures Exhibit

Starting with the works included in Yonebayashi Hiromasa Ganju Yogorenaki Itazura, (Director Yonebayashi’s original art book), the exhibit also displays other pictures of beautiful girls drawn by Yonebayashi himself, and includes more than 100 unfinished drawings, many of them never shown before.

Dates: March 7, 2015 (Saturday) to May 10th, 2015 (Sunday)
Place: Niigata City Manga and Anime Johokan (新潟市マンガ･アニメ情報館)

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思い出のマーニー×種田陽平展
When Marnie Was There x Taneda Yohei Exhibit

The world in When Marnie Was There, created by designer Taneda Yohei, is awesomely reproduced in life-size 3-D. This exhibition is even better than a similar one that was held in Tokyo earlier because there is so much more that has been added and it is certainly worth seeing for a second time.

Dates: April 3, 2015 (Friday) to June 7, 2015 (Sunday)
Place: Ehime Prefecture Art Museum, second floor (愛媛県美術館　2階)

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日本のアニメーション美術の創造者　山本二三展
Creator of Japanese animation art, Yamaoto Nizo Exhibit

This exhibit is an introduction to the many works of Yamamoto Nizo, the artist behind the unforgettable background scenes of Castle in the Sky, Whisper of the Heart, Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. There will be around 200 pieces of art featured, including early sketches and storyboards from the beginning of his career all the way to his more recent work.

Dates: April 11, 2015 (Saturday) to June 7, 2015 (Sunday)
Place: Niigata City, Niitsu Art Museum (新潟市・新津美術館)

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誕生50周年記念「ぐりとぐら展」
50th Anniversary Guri and Gura Exhibit

This exhibit showcases the picture book Iyaiyaen, the debut work of the sisters Nakagawa Rieko and Yamawaki Yuriko as well as 170 other original pictures. A retrospective video of Miyazaki Hayao and Nakagawa Rieko is also being shown. You can lose yourself in their wonderful drawings and marvel at the way they invoke the magic of Studio Ghibli.

Date: April 11, 2015 (Saturday) to May 31, 2015 (Sunday)
Place: Hyogo, Itami City Art Museum, Itami City Industrial Arts Center (兵庫・伊丹市立美術館　伊丹市立工芸センター)

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館長庵野秀明　特撮博物館　ミニチュアで見る昭和平成の技
Director Hideaki Anno, Special Effects Museum, Showa and Heisei Art viewed in miniature

Although much of its focus is on Neon Genesis Evangelion, this exhibit will display miniatures and design pictures for Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra as well as masks, plastic models and original illustrations of Ultraman.

Anime historians might know Hideaki Anno for his earlier contributions to Studio Ghibli, like his work on Grave of the Fireflies and Nausica of the Valley of the Wind where he was a key animator. Even new fans won’t be able to miss the connection as a special short film Kyoshinhei Tokyo ni Arawaru (Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo) made by Studio Ghibli and directed by Higuchi Shinji will be shown.

Dates: April 11, 2015 (Saturday) to June 28, 2015 (Sunday)
Place: Kumamoto Contemporary Art Museum (熊本市現代美術館)

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北斎とその弟子たち　北斎絵画創作の秘密
Hokusai and his pupils-The secrets of Hokuto’s picture production

Even a famous animation studio like Ghibli admires the amazing work of Katsushika Hokusai. His woodblock print The Great Wave off Kanagawa is well-known around the world and his other woodblock prints are an inspiration to many other artists. This exhibition was set up in cooperation with Studio Ghibli who helped pen the information panels and plan out the exhibition itself.

Date: April 4, 2015 (Saturday) to June 30 (Tuesday)
Place: Nagano Prefecture, Hokusai-kan (長野県・北斎館)

If you can make it out to all these exhibits, you will truly be able to call yourself a Studio Ghibli mega fan. You’d better hurry though, you only have until the end of June to hop on a plane to Japan. Make summer 2015, “When YOU were there”.