Miyazaki loves Europe more than the Europeans do.

Point being: please don't rush here based on this article. It's an old bathhouse with tiny baths and a somewhat unique interior for Japan. The most interesting part is honestly the imperial bath suite, which is a museum that can only be accessed via appointment. The "Spirited Away bathhouse" is an entirely fictional construct based on a bunch of different locations, and Ghibli has said that there's no existing bathhouse that models the one on the movie.

I hate this kind of lazy tourist porn. For the past several years everyone has been overcrowding Shima Onsen in Gunma, because the outside of that one looks a bit like the movie, and lots of articles were written saying the same things. If you want Ghibli, go to the museum in Tokyo, and don't overwhelm random places looking for something that doesn't exist.

Turns out, it's the forest with the ancient moss and yakusugi trees from Princess Mononoke. Little did I realize that actually getting there is a pretty involved process, and it's a small miracle I was able to figure out the buses and do the whole hike in jeans and a t-shirt (most people came actually well-equipped to hike it)

Write-up and video: https://justin.searls.co/posts/go-to-yakushima/

Probably the most beautiful place I've ever been on earth.