This is the moment every Ghibli fan has been waiting for. Built in 1929 in Ashio, Tochigi, Kodakara-yu is the direct inspiration for the bathhouse in Hayao Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away” (千と千尋の神隠し). The ornate facade with its carved decorations, colorful tiles, and Mount Fuji mural inside captures the exact aesthetic that defined the film’s iconic setting.

Walk down a recreated Edo-period shopping street where every building tells a story. Explore authentic merchant shops including a stationery store, cosmetics shop, flower shop, tavern, and umbrella shop. Unlike museum displays behind glass, you can enter every building, touch the merchandise, and imagine daily life in old Tokyo.

Experience how Tokyo’s wealthy elite lived during the Meiji era (1868-1912). This designated Important Cultural Property showcases hybrid Japanese-Western architecture – a hallmark of Japan’s modernization. The mansion combines traditional tatami rooms with Western-style parlors, featuring stained glass, Western furniture, and exquisite craftsmanship.

Step into the rural world of Edo-period farmers with authentic thatched-roof farmhouses (kayabuki-yane). These buildings showcase irori hearths (sunken fireplaces), earthen floors (doma), and agricultural tools that sustained Japan for centuries. Feel the cool earth floors in summer, see how families cooked over open flames, and understand the rhythms of rural Japanese life.

Walk down a complete Showa-era (1926-1989) downtown street that served as another inspiration source for Hayao Miyazaki. This photogenic streetscape recreates early 20th-century Tokyo with shops, police boxes, streetlights, and signage frozen in time. The nostalgic atmosphere captures the old Tokyo aesthetic that permeates many Ghibli films.