During my time in Tokyo recently I visited the Studio Ghibli Structures Exhibition held at the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum in Koganei, close to where Studio Ghibli is situated.

The exhibition is a wonderful celebration of the architecture, landscapes and environment designs featured in Ghibli’s animated films, realized through a combination of detailed miniatures and stunning background art work by artists like Kazuo Oga, Yamamoto Nizo and Ono Hiroshi.

(above) Photo opportunity – A life-sized backdrop from Spirited Away, just before the entrance to the exhibition. This is actually the only designated spot for pictures because photography is not allowed inside; you can see some press release pictures in this older post.

(above & below) Some previews of the exhibition catalogue I purchased at the museum shop. The front cover folds open to reveal gorgeous background art work from Spirited Away. There’s quite a bit to cover so I’ll post a full review of the book in a separate post. Limited copies are available for sale on Amazon Japan.

This exhibition is a rare opportunity to look at a huge collection of original background art from most of Ghibli’s films. I want to highlight the thrill and excitement in this because the originals are really a sight to behold; you can see the detailed brushstrokes of the art work and the dynamic colors and fidelity of the originals really set it apart from even the best reproductions found in this catalogue or any other Ghibli art book.

The exhibition runs till the 14th of December 2014, so if you have plans to be in Tokyo within this period I very, very  highly recommend a visit.

Update 11/12/14 – Due to popular demand the Ghibli Strutures Exhibition has been extended to the 15th of March 2015 ! Don’t miss this amazing exhibition if you’re visiting Tokyo.

For more details on the exhibition, visit this older post.