Bathing in Coffee (and Red Wine, Green Tea, and Sake)

There are many things in Japan that are commonplace and totally normal to the Japanese that would turn heads in the U.S. of A. One of the strangest-seeming customs is the Onsen (pronounced own-sen). It's a public spa, separated by gender, where you bathe totally nude. Picture a stone jacuzzi. I can say from experience that they are really relaxing, especially if you've spent a day snowboarding/outside and then get warmed up and cleaned up in a giant spa. My sister (Lisa) who lived in Korea for a time, said that the Koreans also have similar public baths, so this is not merely a Japanese custom. This past Saturday, Kylee and I were able to go to a different kind of onsen, the Yunessun. This is a family-friendly onsen, where you can bring children, and is not separated by gender (don't worry, everyone wears swim suits). It's a perfect way for a westerner to ease into the idea of an onsen. It also offers a traditional Japanese onsen, with the standard gender-separated rooms. There was an indoor area, with kid play pools and fountains, and several different themed rooms. There were Roman columns, an aroma-therapy room, and a special Valentine's Day pool (complete with rose petals on the water). There was also a special pool filled with the "fish-doctor". You sit on the edge of the pool, dip your feet into the water, and small (1-2 in) fish will swim up and start nibbling away at your toes and feet! I guess they clean off all the dead skin and anything else that might be clinging to your feet. Kylee screamed. My favorite part was the outdoor area, Yu-topia. Although the weather was quite cold, the water was hot, so you'd have a nice contrast of cold air on your face while your core was warm. Additionally, Yu-topia offered pools filled with liquids other than water! They had coffee, red wine, green tea, sake, a natural rock pool, a charcoal heated pool, and a cold water pool (not sure who would go in that one). Every couple of hours they would have a demonstration of pouring the above mentioned liquids in their respective pools. I'm sure it's still mostly filled colored water, but still a cool idea! Website here: http://www.yunessun.com/english/