10-year-old Chihiro and her parents are riding along during a family outing through the countryside when they stumble across an amusement park that has seemingly been abandoned for years. Despite Chihiro's premonitions about the creepy setting, her parents explore the area and eventually discover and indulge in an empty eatery filled with fresh food. As a result of their unfaithfulness, they are magically turned into pigs, which in turn scares away Chihiro. She meets the enigmatic Haku, who explains to her that this land is actually a magical bath house, a kind of holiday resort, where supernatural beings seek comfort away from the earthly realm and she must work here, as laziness is not permitted, to free both herself and her parents from the mystical land.
Chihiro is the 10-year old protagonist of the movie. Chihiro is in the process of moving to a new town when her family stumbles upon the entrance to the spirit world. During her adventure she matures from a whiny, self-centered, and pessimistic child to a hard-working, responsible, optimistic young girl who has learned to care for others. She is renamed "Sen" (千, sen, lit. "a thousand") by the proprietor of the bathhouse, Yubaba. In Japanese orthography, "Sen" is an alternative pronunciation of "Chi", the first kanji in her name "Chihiro", which roughly translates as "a thousand fathoms". The movie ends with Chihiro retaining her new inner strength. It is implied that someday she will meet Haku again. It is unknown and unimplied, but it seems that Chihiro might have fallen in love with Haku since his spell broke.
Haku appears to be around 12 years old in physical age. He has straight, black hair in a bob haircut and slanted, green eyes when he is human. Haku wears a traditional white Haori jacket tied with a lavender sash, a traditional indigo dyed Jinbei underneath, and beige sandals. When he transforms into his dragon form, he has a teal and mint green mane, with a white, scaled body. Haku has multiple personalities. He can be kindhearted and supportive at times, strict and high-strung at other times. He is wise, and is able to act accordingly to the situation. He is more than willing to stick his neck out when he cares about someone. From the beginning of the story, through to the end, he does everything within his power to keep Chihiro unharmed and to help her leave safely. His steadfast resolve helps Chihiro finally trust him, amidst contradictory information from other Spirited Away characters about him.
Yubaba (湯婆婆, Yubaba) (Granny by Chihiro at the climax of the film) is the proprietor of the Bathhouse and the main antagonist of the Japanese animated film Spirited Away. She is the identical younger twin sister of Zeniba and the mother of Boh. She has a bird servant affectionately referred to by fans as Yu-Bird, an apprentice by the name of Haku, and is the employer of maybe hundreds of other bathhouse workers.