My final domestic travel destination in 2025 was Shibu Onsen in Nagano Prefecture.
It’s about 3 hours from Nagoya on the JR Shinano Line, then 45 minutes from Nagano Station on the Nagano Dentetsu Limited Express.
Before going, I searched “Shibu Onsen” online and noticed it often appeared alongside “Spirited Away” in search suggestions.
Why Spirited Away? I wondered. Searching revealed that the inn Kanaguya in Shibu Onsen is said to have inspired the model for the inn in Spirited Away.
Indeed, the actual building felt like something straight out of Ghibli’s world.
I couldn’t book Kanaguya this time, so I stayed elsewhere, but I had one thing I wanted to do in Shibu Onsen: the “Nine Hot Springs Tour”.
There are nine public baths accessible only to guests staying in Shibu Onsen. You visit them, collecting stamps on a prayer towel.
When I bought the prayer towel at my inn, some familiar characters caught my eye.
The “Japanese Trademark Registration No. 1565863” in the lower right corner really caught my attention. I dropped my bags in the room and immediately searched for it on J-Plat Pat (laughs). The trademark was for “巡浴祈願” (Onsen Hoping for Blessings), filed in 1979.
I never expected to encounter a trademark in such a historic hot spring town. I was surprised and also felt a little happy. (Rabbit)