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The latest news regarding renovations has revealed information about several exciting new exhibits which has us counting down the days to the July 16 re-opening.

It was a sad day when we learned that the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo, would be closing for two whole months in May and June for renovations.

But with every cloud comes a silver lining, and in this case that lining is gold and furry, because the latest news from the acclaimed anime house is that there’ll be a brand new Catbus for grownups to play about in!

▼ The Catbus is one of many magical characters from the Studio Ghibli anime film My Neighbor Totoro, which stars the pointy-eared grey-and-white Totoro below.

Totoro

Before its temporary closure on 6 May, one of the most popular displays in the museum was the Catbus, a large replica of the magical feline designed exclusively for children, who were able to climb inside, around, and on top of the furry one-metre-high beast. Grownups could only stand and watch the kids having fun prior to the museum’s refit, but now adults can enjoy the experience of riding the Catbus too, with a new exhibit called “Ride the Catbus to the Ghibli Forest”.

▼ Scheduled to appear from 16 July to May 2017, this tantalising poster advertising the new Catbus for adults has us wondering what lies in store for us when the museum re-opens this summer.

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In addition to the new Catbus, the museum also plans to celebrate its 15th year with a major lineup of exhibitions from previous years, including Spirited Away, Ponyo, Castle in the Sky, Heidi, Girl of the Alps, The View From the Catbus, and even Goldilocks and the Three Bears. This celebration of animation aims to help visitors get inside the thoughts and minds of the creators behind large-scale animation projects, and with the new Catbus at the centre of the event, visitors will be able to get a unique overview of some of the animations world’s best masterpieces. And with interior displays receiving even more goods from the storage vaults of Studio Ghibli, the new opening looks to be a feast for the senses.

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With acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki personally overseeing renovations, we can expect the new facelift to be filled with Ghibli magic, all the way from the tops of the eaves down to the tiny dark corners where soot sprites are sure to be lurking. The opening is so highly anticipated that tickets for the months of July and August are available only through a lottery from the official Lawson ticket-selling website, with entries for July tickets being taken from 25–31 May, and entries for August taken from 25–30 June. To help international visitors with ticket purchases, Lawson will be unveiling an exclusive website for visitors from overseas which can be accessed from 10 June.

Source, Insert Image: Ghibli Museum
Additional photos © RocketNews24