You can now take a rare, virtual tour of the Studio Ghibli museum in Japan for free

• The Studio Ghibli museum in Mitaka, Japan, is closed indefinitely due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
• Since fans can't visit in person, the museum has opened a new YouTube channel to provide virtual tours of exhibits featuring characters from classic movies including "My Neighbour Totoro" and "Kiki's Delivery Service".
• Visitors are usually prohibited from taking photos, making these videos a rare opportunity for Ghibli fans around the world to see inside the museum.
• Five video tours have been uploaded so far, with more to come.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

The Studio Ghibli museum in Mitaka, Japan, is closed indefinitely in response to government restrictions around COVID-19. Instead of welcoming visitors in person, the Studio Ghibli team have opened a new YouTube channel to give anime fans around the world the opportunity to tour the museum virtually.

Each of the five videos uploaded so far runs at around a minute long, and spotlights a chosen exhibit or feature, from the beautiful mural in the "Space of Wonder" room to the Straw Hat café offering Ghibli-themed snacks.

These free virtual tours give fans a unique opportunity to see inside the famously secretive space. While many galleries and museums are offering online exhibits, Studio Ghibli's decision is an unprecedented move.

Visitors have always been prohibited from taking photos, and the museum's website doesn't feature any pictures of the exhibits.

Tickets are perennially in high demand and visitors can only enter the museum via making an advanced booking at an allotted time.

For many global Ghibli fans, these virtual tours are a rare chance to experience the museum without buying a plane ticket to Tokyo.

The first video starts outside the museum, giving fans a moment to take in the building's pretty pink and yellow walls.

The tour pans through the main entrance to explore the "Space of Wonder" room. Sunlight streams through stained glass windows with designs featuring forest spirit Totoro.

The camera lingers on the ceiling, which features a stunning mural of a smiling sun, surrounded by green leaves and blue sky. Among the flowers and birds, spot fan-favourite characters like Princess Nausicaä on her jet glider and Kiki the witch with her pet cat Jiji.

The second video spotlights the museum's permanent exhibit "Where a Film is Born."

The quaint room is packed with props, models, books and artwork from iconic films such as "Laputa: Castle in the Sky" and "The Wind Rises."

The third video tours the museum at night, taking viewers past glittering stained glass windows and coloured lamps that light up the space after dark.

The most recent videos veer away from the exhibitions to tour the museum's Straw Hat café – which features themed tableware and desserts from fantasy flick "Howl's Moving Castle" – and the beautiful restroom, decorated with murals of fluffy clouds and colourful hot air balloons.

The museum's imaginative exhibits are sure to bring comfort and some whimsical escapism to Studio Ghibli fans around the world.

This isn't the first time the animation studio has reached out to offer hope during the pandemic.

There are 20 beautiful Zoom backgrounds currently available for fans to download on the Studio Ghibli website, with recent additions featuring a dragon from fantasy film "Tales from Earthsea" and a pastoral mountain scene from nostalgic drama "Only Yesterday."

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