Pilgrimage and Good Luck

Hello! It's Sun-chan from Lucky Sun Shine! ☀️

Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi) is director Hayao Miyazaki's timeless masterpiece, beloved all over the world. Weren't many of you captivated by the fantastical bustle of Yubaba's bathhouse, Aburaya, and the scenes of the gods healing their fatigue in the baths?

A rumor tends to spread that "Aburaya was modeled on Jiufen, Taiwan," but as Director Miyazaki himself has stated, the true source of inspiration lies in "Japan's historic hot spring culture" and "Tokyo's retro architecture"!

The film's theme is the reverence that the Japanese have cherished since ancient times for the "eight million gods" (Yaoyorozu no Kami), and the ritual of Misogi—a Shinto purification practice of washing away impurities from the mind and body.

This time, I'm introducing two great sacred sites: Dogo Onsen Honkan in Ehime Prefecture, said to be among the inspirations for the grand structure of Aburaya and its Shinto-rooted spirit, and the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum in Koganei, Tokyo, said to be among the inspirations for Kamaji's boiler room and Aburaya's facade!

Why do the gods come here to take a bath? And what wonderful purifying, luck-boosting power can we receive by visiting these sacred sites ourselves? Sun-chan will cheerfully and enjoyably guide you through it all! ☀️

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♨️ [Dogo Onsen Honkan, Ehime] The Soul of the "Aburaya" Where the Eight Million Gods Gather! 3,000 Years of Legendary Waters and the Power of Misogi

Dogo Onsen Honkan, in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, is said to be among the inspirations for the structure and sacred atmosphere of Aburaya, the story's central setting. Counted among Japan's three oldest hot springs, it's a miraculous, legendary bath with a history of over 3,000 years. It's also a hugely popular power spot right now, having just reopened in full in July 2024 after about five and a half years of major restoration work!

Dogo Onsen Honkan (The Three-Story Wooden Maze and the Shinrokaku Tower)

• 【Features】: A magnificent, castle-like three-story wooden building built in 1894 (designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan), with its complex, intricately interlocking structure. At the very top rises the drum tower "Shinrokaku," glittering with red giyaman (stained glass).
• 【Deep Background and Origins】: Built by the master carpenter Matahachiro Sakamoto, the Honkan has a maze-like structure, as if deliberately rebuilt and extended asymmetrically over and over, calling to mind the dense, dizzying vertical beauty of Aburaya, where Chihiro gets lost. The "Tokidaiko" (time-telling drum) hung in the rooftop Shinrokaku is still struck three times a day—at 6 AM, noon, and 6 PM—its deep tone echoing through the mountain hot spring town. This sound of the drum calls to mind the bell that, in the film, announces the opening of the world of the gods at dusk.
• 【Sun-chan's Top Pick Explanation】: At night, lights glow through the Shinrokaku's red glass, wrapping the scene in a fantastical beauty, as if a ferry bound for the otherworld has just arrived! Simply walking the maze-like wooden corridors and staircases fills your whole body with the thrill of being freed from everyday worries and becoming the protagonist of the story yourself ☀️
• 【Official Info】: Dogo Onsen Official Website (Dogo Onsen Honkan)

Yushinden, the Imperial Family's Private Bath, and the Baths of the Gods

• 【Features】: An elegant hot spring facility, the only one in Japan reserved exclusively for the Imperial family, added onto the Honkan in 1899.
• 【Deep Background and Origins】: A space of the highest order, embodying the architectural beauty of the Momoyama period, featuring sliding-door paintings scattered with gold and silver leaf, a gorgeous coffered ceiling, and a bathtub carved from the finest-quality granite. This structure—an isolated, ultra-luxurious VIP space existing amid a lively public bathhouse—calls to mind the finest guest rooms in Aburaya, used to entertain the most important deities, such as the spirits of great rivers.
• 【Sun-chan's Top Pick Explanation】: As you take in the elegant design of the Yushinden on the viewing tour, you can feel the dignity of the ultimate hospitality once given to the noble figures and deities who ruled this land. It leaves you feeling as luxurious as if you were treating yourself to the finest hospitality imaginable ☀️
• 【Official Info】: Dogo Onsen Honkan (Visitor Information)

The "Tama no Ishi" Stone and the Miracle of Shinto's Misogi

• 【Features】: A great stone enshrined on the north side of the Honkan, said to still bear the footprints of the gods, known as "Tama no Ishi" (Jewel Stone), along with the legend of the white heron.
• 【Deep Background and Origins】: According to a surviving fragment of the Fudoki of Iyo Province, when the land-creating deities Okuninushi and Sukunabikona visited Dogo, Sukunabikona had fallen ill. When he was placed in the hot waters of Dogo, he immediately recovered his strength and danced powerfully atop a stone. In Shinto, deities, just like humans, can accumulate the stains and fatigue of their environment (kegare, or "withered spirit"). Soaking in a hot spring to wash this away is itself a form of Misogi—a Shinto ritual of purification through water, used to restore vitality. In the film, the famous scene where Chihiro washes and purifies the mud-covered Okusare-sama, reviving him into the pure, named spirit of a river, connects in spirit with this very legend of healing waters at Dogo, in the way it depicts cleansing a deity's impurities through hot water.
• 【Sun-chan's Top Pick Explanation】: A hot spring is the life energy of the earth itself, taking the form of water! When you soak up to your shoulders in Dogo's waters, your everyday stress and negative fatigue melt away softly, and the original vitality (genki, your "source energy") sleeping within your heart gets fully recharged ☀️
• 【Reference Info】: Matsuyama City Official Tourism Guide (The History of Dogo Onsen)

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🎨 [Koganei, Tokyo] Ghibli's Sketchbook! The Pieces of Aburaya Sleeping at the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum

If Dogo Onsen nurtured the "soul and overall form" of Aburaya, then the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum in Koganei, Tokyo, is said to be among the inspirations for the realistic, charming streetscapes and interiors scattered throughout the film's details. Located just a short distance from Studio Ghibli itself, it's a "living treasure trove of inspiration" that Director Miyazaki visited frequently to sketch.

Kodakara-yu (Aburaya's Grand Karahafu-Gabled Facade)

• 【Features】: A grand, shrine-like public bathhouse built in Adachi Ward in 1929, constructed in the formal "miyazukuri" style.
• 【Deep Background and Origins】: The elegantly curved "karahafu" gable roof rising above the entrance was originally a symbol of authority, permitted only for castles, the residences of high-ranking feudal lords, and shrines like Toshogu. Public bathhouses in Tokyo's old downtown districts adopted this style, hoping to let ordinary people experience a taste of the finest luxury. The overwhelming karahafu roof at Aburaya's main entrance, which greets the deities with such dignity, calls to mind the design of this very Kodakara-yu.
• 【Sun-chan's Top Pick Explanation】: As you take in the carvings of the Seven Lucky Gods beneath the eaves, and the magnificent painted mural of Mt. Fuji spreading across the bathhouse wall, you can feel the good old prayers for happiness from Japan's past! Experience the overwhelming "aura that invites good fortune" carried by this miyazukuri-style bathhouse up close ☀️
• 【Official Info】: Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum Official Website (Kodakara-yu)

Takei Sanseido (Kamaji's Boiler Room Herb Cabinet)

• 【Features】: A wholesale shop for stationery and calligraphy supplies, founded in the early Meiji period (the current building dates to 1927). Stepping inside, you're greeted by countless small paulownia-wood drawers covering an entire wall.
• 【Deep Background and Origins】: This very wall of drawers, once used to finely sort and store brushes and ink by size, is said to be among the inspirations for the "boiler room herb cabinet" that Kamaji, the six-armed spider-like boiler man, was constantly opening and closing. In the film, it's depicted as a magical cabinet packed with medicinal herbs used to heal the gods.
• 【Sun-chan's Top Pick Explanation】: Standing in front of Takei Sanseido, you get the vivid feeling that soot sprites (susuwatari) might come rustling out of the drawers at any moment! These beautiful wooden drawers, neatly organized by a craftsman's hand, are full of a pleasant functional beauty that seems to clear your mind just by looking at them ☀️
• 【Official Info】: Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum Official Website (Takei Sanseido)

Kagiya Tavern (The Gods' Food Stall Street) and the Toden Streetcar No. 7500 (Umihara Electric Railway)

• 【Features】: Kagiya, a tavern overflowing with Edo-period atmosphere, founded in 1856, and a retro yellow Toden streetcar (No. 7514) from the 1960s–70s.
• 【Deep Background and Origins】: The gleaming black wooden counter and dim, lantern-lit atmosphere of Kagiya calls to mind the "otherworldly food stall street" where Chihiro's parents helped themselves to mysterious dishes and were transformed into pigs. The preserved interior of the Toden streetcar on the museum grounds—its wood-plank floor and velvet seats—also calls to mind the interior of the "Umihara Electric Railway," the train that runs across the water, carrying Chihiro and No-Face to Zeniba's house.
• 【Sun-chan's Top Pick Explanation】: Sitting in the streetcar's seat and gazing out at the greenery through the window wraps you in a nostalgia, as if you can almost hear that famous melody from the film. It's the perfect healing spot to quietly relive Chihiro's emotional journey—a little bittersweet, but always moving forward ☀️
• 【Official Info】: Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum Official Website

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☀️ In Closing

What Spirited Away depicted was, at once, a frightening adventure into another world, and also a gentle vision of Japan's original landscape: gratitude toward the gods of nature, and the washing away of impurities from the mind and body through the warmth of hot water.

Being embraced by 3,000 years of hot spring water at Dogo Onsen to purify your mind and body completely (Misogi), and touching the warmth of wood lovingly crafted by artisans at the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum—this becomes the ultimate detox journey for those moments in daily work and life when you feel like you're starting to lose yourself, helping you reclaim your true name and your own shine once again.

If you've been feeling "low on energy lately" or thinking "I want to wash away the clutter in my heart!", please visit these real sacred sites that the eight million gods themselves have loved. The pure waters and the warmth of nature are sure to gently wrap around you and leave you feeling refreshed!

Wishing that your every day is filled with bright, clear light, just like the sun! That's all from Sun-chan at Lucky Sun Shine! ☀️

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