Kelcie Lee
Beyond the visual similarities to the iconic Studio Ghibli film, Jiufen also boasts stunning architecture, nature and history.
Jiufen market. Vernon Raineil Cenzon. Unsplash.
Jiufen, a mountainous village in Taiwan, is known to many Studio Ghibli fans as the town that brings the animated film “Spirited Away” to life. The film follows a young girl named Chihiro, whose family moves to a new neighborhood and stumbles into a supernatural world full of Japanese spirits. She spends the duration of the film working in a mystical bathhouse and trying to free herself and her parents so that they can return to the human world.
Jiufen is approximately an hour’s drive from Taipei and is a popular travel destination, featuring beautiful teahouses and cobblestone streets. For those who haven’t yet heard of Studio Ghibli, it is a highly renowned Japanese animation studio that was founded in 1985. Besides “Spirited Away,” some of the most iconic animated films from the studio have been “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Princess Mononoke.” Studio Ghibli has excelled in its popularity, with multiple Japanese museums and parks honoring its creations. Its impact also spreads worldwide, with its characters represented in keychains, posters and paintings in all corners of the globe.
A-Mei Teahouse in Jiufen. Y K. Unsplash.
“Spirited Away” fans have been drawn to Jiufen because of its resemblance to the onsen (hot spring) town featured in the film. One of Jiufen’s most iconic landmarks is the A-Mei Teahouse, a stunning three-story building with Japanese-style architecture. Many Studio Ghibli fans and travelers recall the teahouse’s striking visual resemblance to the film’s grand bathhouse. With its wooden structure, elaborate attention to detail and red lanterns, Jiufen brings the animated building to life.
Additionally, the village’s narrow, lantern-lit streets filled with bustling food markets mirror the early film sequence, when Chihiro’s parents overindulge on food they weren’t supposed to eat. Their act of gluttony quickly triggers a curse that transforms Chihiro’s mother and father into pigs, citing the film’s key cautionary tale about greed.
In 1895, Japan’s initial invasion of Taiwan led to 50 years of occupation on the island. During this time, Jiufen was a successful gold mining town, and many of the Japanese miners ended up building unique architecture here. As a result, Japanese culture and infrastructure left a lasting influence on Taiwan, including the village of Jiufen.
This unique swirl of culture hosts some of Taiwan’s must-try restaurants, with traditional Taiwanese comfort food, including classic sesame oil chicken drumsticks, Jiufen gold mine pancakes and egg bubble waffles. While drinking tea under Japanese architecture, travelers can take in and enjoy Jiufen’s stunning sunsets and nightscapes.
Aside from its visual ties to “Spirited Away,” Jiufen also boasts gorgeous natural sites. A hike up the Keelung Mountain leads to a panoramic view of Jiufen, while a trip to the Golden Waterfall might be something you’ve never seen before. The waterfall flows in various directions over golden-hued hedges, creating a view only found in Jiufen.
The nearby area is also rich in Taiwanese history and culture, with its neighboring town hosting the Jinguashi Gold Ecological Museum, which features gold-mining lifestyle and mining tunnel exhibits from the 19th and 20th centuries.
Travelers continue to visit Jiufen to see the resemblance to the animation for themselves. Booming travel rates support the local teahouses, night market stores and food spots, leaving a lasting legacy of Taiwanese culture and Japanese architecture.
Jiufen continues to be a physical echo of Studio Ghibli’s “Spirited Away,” and a stunning landmark all travelers and film fans alike continue to visit. So whether you would like to walk a mile in Chihiro’s, or maybe No-Face’s, footsteps, or want to have a taste of Taiwan’s food and culture, Jiufen might just be your next travel destination.
Kelcie Lee
Kelcie is a second-year student at UC Berkeley majoring in history and sociology, with a minor in journalism. She developed her passion for writing and journalism in high school, and has since written for a variety of news and magazine publications over the last few years. When she isn't writing, Kelcie can be found drinking coffee, listening to music or watching the sunset.