spa world

i've been in osaka 9 months, and today was my first time in spa world, this amazing ultra-huge onsen “theme park” place that everyone who has been raves a lot about.

i call spa world a “theme park” of sorts, as it somewhat fits the characteristics of a one. you enter, suspend belief, are transported to another world for a period of time, then re-emerge into the real world when your time there is up.

spa world is cool because it brings together “onsen from around the world” within a single building. there are 2 floors of themed onsen – european and asian – and each has onsen from various countries in that area. on odd months, the european floor is for women only, on odd months, the asian floor is for women while the men get the european floor.

it’s really cool inside, as the onsen are all themed such that you’re supposed to feel as if you’re in the country that the onsen is originally from. on the european floor, they have onsen from greece, rome, spain, finland and italy. in greece, there’s a mud spa (for women only) that’s meant to make your skin really smooth, and a herbal bath that i really liked. finland had wolves on the roofs of the sauna houses, of which there were 2. one was really hot, and that was the one i went into. it was rather nice though, as the heat was enough to make you feel like you were benefitting from the extreme temperature.

spain was awesome as well, as there was an open-air area with a ‘waterfall’ and deck chairs that you can relax in.. i really love the open air onsen, as they allow you to breathe well, and the juxtaposition of the cool air on your face and the warmth from the water increases the pleasure of soaking in the onsen..

italy was the best though, as there was a “grotto” with royal jelly, honey and milk. there were also a few tubs with oxygenated water that bubbled on your skin, and also the best part of all – a salt spa. there, you basically rubbed salt scrub all over yourself, then remain in the sauna room where and slowly see the salt melt on your skin. sooo amazing!!

it’s good, and even better that i was there on a weekday afternoon when it wasnt busy and hence relaxing. plus, they’re having a campaign where entrance is only 1000yen, which is a lot cheaper than the 2400yen or thereabouts for a weekday. shiok.