Nouveau Chin Chin!

Eau de vie? Yes, me too. I like it:) But if I say you that this wine is not suitable for drinking;)

Let me start firstly by mentioning that I am not a Japanese, nor I have ever experienced a wine or sake bath before, even during my travels in Japan. I could not believe in seeing how someone would use precious fermented grape juice for a group bath:) So I was intrigued by it all. Here a relaxing wine-filled hot springs (Japanese: Onsen) in the mountains of Hakone:


Bathers soak in the red wine bath of Hakone Kowaiken Yunessun in Kowaiken, Hakone, Japan. Hakone is a mountain famous for its hot springs and Japanese style spa, not to mention its breathtaking views of Japan's celebrated Fuji-san (English: Mount Fuji), with 3776 metres the highest mountain in Japan.

Japanese like Beaujolais wines so much that they swim in it often. Real red wine is poured into the water. It's said that red wine smoothenes the skin, and its aroma relaxes the mind. Bathing in wine is a rejuvenation retreatment. It has been said that Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra even used to bathe in red wine.

By the way, Japan is the biggest importer of Beaujolais Nouveau with the wine of sold every where from fine restaurants to convenience stores. Even though beer and Japanese o-sake remain far more popular than wine. I'm also a big o-sake lover:) O-sake is a japanese beverage made from rice, commonly referred to in english as rice wine. Now I know that a lot of Japanese women use sake in warm bath as a moisturizer.

They have also other themed ''interesting'' baths and pools, like that red wine bath: the coffee and tea baths, noodle bath... See below:

The Coffee bath

The Japanese Ocha (Green Tea) bath

The Japanese Ramen (Noodle) bath

For sure, Spas around the world are luring guests and well-seekers with wild and wacky treatments.

Next time in Japan, I would like to try both Red wine bath and Green Tea bath:)