Roppongi Hills is a very hoity-toity shopping area in Tokyo. You have to buy tickets to get into the mall! But a seven minute walk from the Roppongi subway station you will find the brand new Snoopy Museum. Now, it may be called the “Snoopy” Museum, and from the outside it looks like the Snoopy Museum …
… in fact it’s really a “Peanuts” Museum. If your response to that is “Good grief,” then please hit the back button and all of Boing Boing awaits you. But, if you’re like me and you’ve been reading “Peanuts” your whole life, this is a sublime pleasure and I look forward to visiting in October.
The museum has just opened on April 23, and its English language website says that tickets sell for a measly 1,800 yen ($16.50) if you buy them in advance, which I would since the Japanese are very well organized and obsessive about this kind of stuff:
Visitors will have the opportunity to view unique original cartoons from the collection of the Charles M. Schulz Museum. This will include large-scale works created by Mr. Schulz himself, featuring popular characters like Snoopy and Woodstock.
Every six months, the Snoopy Museum will introduce new exhibitions curated by the Charles M. Schulz Museum. These will include early comics that were drawn before Peanuts, such as his Li’l Folks cartoons, animation art, Vince Guaraldi’s jazz music from animated Peanuts cartoons, and rare vintage Peanuts memorabilia. In addition, unpublished sketches and artwork will be displayed in a section highlighting an unknown side of Schulz sure to surprise and delight even his most loyal of fans.
Their opening exhibit is “My Favorite Peanuts,” 60 original Peanuts cartoon selected by Charles Schultz’s widow Jean. It runs from April 23, 2016 (Sat) to September 25 (Sun).
Love the art, but don’t we all love the museum shop even more? I’m drooling over the merchandise in The Snoopy Museum’s shop “Brown’s Store.” Where, “It is also a place to find exclusive Peanuts merchandise made EXCLUSIVELY for the Snoopy Museum … .”
From Museum guide books, to stationery, sundries, apparel, and confectionary items, you will find a variety of exclusive Peanuts and Snoopy products at BROWN’S STORE. Together with a range of originally designed products, you can find unique items inspired by artwork on view at the Museum, and special collaboration items with popular third party brands. Visitors will also find a classic Snoopy plush doll that resembles Snoopy in his earliest days, when he was still walking on four legs, and cute finger puppets featuring the whole Peanuts Gang.
This stuff is just too good so start saving your pennies. 
Yeah, and there’s more (it’s Japan, and nothing is complete until it’s perfect). You must visit “Cafe Blanket”:
You can also expect to find a nice relaxing cafe atmosphere at the Snoopy Museum. The name “Cafe Blanket” derives from Linus’ security blanket. There is a large blue table at the center of the cafe, symbolizing Linus’ famous blanket. Cafe Blanket is presented by the “Peanuts Cafe”, a popular cafe in Tokyo situated along the Meguro River. Cafe Blanket serves delicious food and beverages with a West Coast twist. The nice thing about Cafe Blanket is its warm and comfortable ambience. It provides a relaxing and pleasant experience, and will surely be a favorite destination for visitors.
As Linus often opined, “Sucking your thumb without a blanket is like eating a cone without ice cream!”
And where I can get … SNOOPY PANCAKES!
The details (because it’s Japan and everything is all planned out):
The Snoopy Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. seven days a week.
Advance Tickets
In order to ensure you have a great visit, the Snoopy Museum recommends purchasing tickets in advance. Admission is divided into five time slots per day and there is a limit to the number of visitors that can be admitted per time slot. (You are required to enter the museum within your admission time slot, but there is no time limit for your stay)
1) From 10:00 to 11:30
2) From 12:00 to 1:30
3) From 2:00 to 3:30
4) From 4:00 to 5:30
5) From 6:00 to 7:30
Tickets can be purchased at all Lawson stores, or through the Lawson ticket website, and picked up at all Lawson stores. Two month priors, reserved tickets will go on sale on the 20th of each month.
On-Site Same Day Tickets
On-site same day tickets will be available for purchase if there are openings, and only as they become available. As tickets are likely to be sold out, it is recommended that you purchase tickets in advance.
Adults : ¥2,000 ($18)
Before I let you go with visions of Woodstock dancing in your head, I must inform you that if they say the tickets are going to sell out in advance, they’re not kidding. So, the moment you reach Japan, find a “Lawson,” which is a convenience store kind of like 7/11 or WaWa. There is one on almost every other block in Tokyo—not joking (and if you’re looking for a good snack to eat in the morning, the Japanese standard pancake sandwich is a must). So, you must purchase your tickets in advance at a Lawson’s or on Lawson’s website. Don’t ask me how to do the website thing—maybe someone will figure it out in the “Comments” section. But, to give you a head start, this is what a Lawson store looks like.
Roppongi 5-6-20, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Original Sources: Kotaku, Rocket News, Time Out Tokyo
Richard Kaufman is the Editor of Genii, The Conjurors' Magazine: www.geniimagazine.com and lives in Washington, DC.
