It appears that no time has passed. The scene of the family walking back towards their car is the exact shot of them walking towards the fair from the beginning. It could be assumed that the events of Spirited Away didn't happen at all.
How much time passed while Chihiro was in the Spirit World?
No one knows exactly how long Chihiro was stuck in the spirit world. It seems this particular detail was left ambiguous both on-screen and off. Miyazaki's right-hand man and Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki reckons it was about three days, based on the dust and leaves in and around her parents' car.
Spirited Away stages a modernizing Japan in the Meiji period (1868-1912) when Western influences overpowered the nation politically and ideologically and one of the most significant influences from the West to Japan was the reorganization of Japanese society into a capitalist one.
Why can't Chihiro look back at the end of Spirited Away?
So the very short answer to the question we embarked on in the very beginning, Chihiro doesn't look back because she learned her lessons. And we know she's learned her lessons, because we get two shots of the hair band that she got.
Hidden Meaning in Spirited Away (Miyazaki) – Earthling Cinema
What is the age gap between Haku and Chihiro?
According to Ghibli sources, Chihiro is 10 years old, Haku is about 12 or 13, Lin is about 16, Chihiro's mother is 35, and her father is 38. How long was Chihiro in the other world? The story line is tight enough to determine that Chihiro was in the spirit world for three nights—in spirit-world time.
There is evidence in the film that can lead people to believe Chihiro and Haku can be a couple, However, there are some who disagree that they had any sort of romantic element. On SparkNotes, it states the interaction between Chihiro and Haku is simply like a brother and sister relationship.
Haku was originally the spirit of the Kohaku River and knows Chihiro because he once saved her from drowning. When the river was destroyed and filled in with apartments, he no longer had a home and went to the spirit world, where he became Yubaba's apprentice.
Yubaba has a giant baby because everyone has a grating weakness they find difficult to manage. Whatever Zeniba's seal represents, Yubaba wants it because she's greedy and grasping for power.
Well, according to Okada, the hand belongs to Chihiro's brother, who reached in to save her, but he instead fell in and drowned. And because he sacrificed his life for someone else, he became the guardian spirit of the river.
There Are Clues Chihiro's Time In Yubaba's Bathhouse Wasn't A Dream. When Chihiro crosses the dried riverbed, she turns back to see that the bathhouse and the surrounding spirit world have been replaced by the wide open field from the film's beginning.
She soon spots Chihiro and yells at her, stating she is the human everyone is looking for. Kamaji then lies, telling her Chihiro is his granddaughter, and asks Lin if she can take her to see Yubaba to get a job. Lin immediately demurs, saying she is not going to risk her life.
He takes an interest in her new servant, a human named Chihiro Ogino, because of her actions and sincerity. Chihiro sees him out in the rain, and not knowing who he is, allows him inside the Bathhouse. No-Face follows Chihiro around the Bathhouse, even stealing several Bath Tokens for her.
Arriving at Yubaba's quarters, Sen finds Haku unconscious. The paper bird that has been hiding on Sen's back seems to turn into Yubaba, but actually it's her twin sister, Zeniba. Zeniba has followed Haku because he stole her gold seal.
Her mother and father are turned into pigs after they eat food that was not for them. In order to survive and turn her parents back into humans, she must work for Yubaba, the witch who controls the town.
By the end of the film Sen addresses both Zeniba and Yubaba as “Granny,” which suggests not only that both twins are wise in their own way, but that they are merely two sides of the same coin.
Yubaba said she swore an oath that she will provide jobs to whoever wanted it, which was the reason why Chihiro could get a job in her hotel. By keeping this somewhat odd clause of the contract, Yubaba can keep or strengthen her magical power.
As the main antagonist of the film, Yubaba is extremely overbearing, intimidating and authoritarian. Like many other workers of her infamous bathhouse, Yubaba obsesses greedily over gold and is shown to be willing to view gold as a priority over her own family (especially Zeniba, whom she expresses hatred for).
He is very kind to Chihiro, and wants to help her; he feeds her and comforts her when she becomes overwhelmed with her feelings, and is patient as she struggles with being brave. Over time, he begins to love her, as well.
Yubaba Controls Her Workers By Taking Their Names In Spirited Away. Yubaba, the owner of the bathhouse, rules over her business with an iron fist. In order to keep her employees under her control and not take the chance of them returning home, Yubaba takes their names.
Zeniba then explains that Haku stole her powerful magic seal and that he is a corrupt being who only became Yubaba's apprentice to steal her magic and then states that Haku is dying because of a curse on the seal anyway.
Not looking back is a huge theme in the movie, said Haku to Chihiro as she leaves the spirit world and goes back to the human world. When folklore and myths have characters entering the underworld, or dealing with spirits in general, there is usually a dire warning to not look back.
After that persuasion, he helps Chihiro work at the Bathhouse and even pretends to be her grandfather when questioned by Lin to protect her, though this ruse does not last very long. He gives Lin a roasted newt as a bribe.
No-Face (顔無し, Kaonashi, lit. "Faceless") is a character in Spirited Away. He is shown to be capable of reacting to emotions and ingesting other individuals in order to gain their personality and physical traits.
