I have yet to meet an adult who doesn’t like to relax in warm, luxurious baths or tempting spa waters. What if the bath was made from coffee or ramen noodle soup? Would you be the first to jump in or to head straight out the door?

Hakone Kowakien Yunessan, a hot springs amusement park and spa resort, located in Hakone, Japan, is famous for providing guests with the most bizarre bathing options that one could ever imagine. The resort boasts having over 25 different bathing experiences for individuals to choose from. The following list includes just some of my favorites:

Red Wine Spa

It has been said that the Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, loved to bathe in wine. Apparently, so do the Japanese. Yunessan’s Red Wine Spa contains real red wine, and there are performances, several times a day, in which such wine is poured into the bathing waters from a 3.6m tall, gigantic wine bottle.

Japanese Sake Spa

Perhaps red wine is not your alcoholic beverage of choice. Maybe you’d rather enjoy a cup of warm sake. If so, why stop at just drinking when you can soak lavishly in the tasty liquid? Sake is said to be very good for the skin, so why not treat your entire body, not just your tummy, to such an experience?

Green Tea Spa

You guessed it: the Green Tea Bath contains real green tea, which is full of antioxidants and good for the skin. If nothing else, it just looks really cool to be relaxing in a pool of deep-green water. Algae not included.

Coffee Spa

Notice a trend? The coffee spa contains real coffee. Who would have ever guessed? The aromatic waters are believed to aid in the recovery of fatigue, perk up the senses, and add beauty to the skin. I just wonder if it comes in mocha or latte.

Dead Sea Spa

If floating in what you drank for breakfast does not seem like your thing, then head over to the Dead Sea Spa, which contains salt imported from the Dead Sea in the Middle East. The end result: you are extremely buoyant, just as if you were floating in the authentic Dead Sea, without having to take a trip all the way to the lowest point on earth. The salt is also rich in minerals which are, of course, good for the skin.

Ancient Roman Bath

No one excelled in the bathing arts quite like the Romans did, so it only seems fitting that Yunessan would include an ancient Roman bath at its resort. The Japanese version is decorated in the style of the ancient Roman period and contains different pools of varying temperatures of water, which was the standard of every Roman bathing experience. You can relax in a hot-water bath, take a dip in a pool of cold water, and then head over to a mist sauna.


Limited Availability

Occasionally, Yunessan creates a bathing experience that is only offered for a short period of time, as opposed to the others, which are offered year-round. Two of my favorite spas are, unfortunately, no longer available at the resort, but this list would not be complete if I did not mention them.

Ramen Spa

The waters of the Ramen Spa, when it was offered, were colored a light, milky brown, to look like the broth of ramen soup. The bath was pepper-flavored and contained garlic extract, as well as collagen, which is good for the skin. The tub itself was shaped and decorated like a ramen bowl, complete with large strands of noodle decorations hanging overhead, turning the bathers, themselves, into ingredients of the soup. “Cooks,” who stood close by, constantly added salt, in the shape of ramen noodles, to the aromatic broth, ensuring that bathers had a pleasant experience.

Chocolate Spa

The Chocolate Spa was open just before and after Valentine’s Day and contained lots and lots of gooey, chocolate syrup. Simple, I know, but who doesn’t like chocolate?