Day 12 Ganbanyoku

Off to one of my favorite places in Japan-Ganbanyoku, there are 9 baths, of which one is a cold plunge pool, there's 4 barrel type hot tubs, a sauna that averages around 90 degrees and a steam room. Also one of these baths have  cubicles where you can sit and have a strong jet flow of water similar to a very strong spa, in this bath in one of the cubicles there's also a seat and there's a small amount of electricity that flows through the water obviously not enough to cause any problems.The steam room has a barrel of course salt that you rub all over your body, it acts as a defoliator and leaves the skin remarkably smooth. Then there's upstairs where there are  rooms, one of which I cannot comment on as it's only for women, 3  other rooms are hot about 45 - 50 degrees 2 of which have a TV in them and you relax on the hot rocks and watch Japanese TV, the other room is like a chiller so the idea is to spend about 15 - 20 minutes in either of the hotter rooms and then cool off in the cooler room. My favorite out of all these rooms is a room where there's no TV, I manage to fall asleep for about 20 minutes or so in this room. Needless to say I feel so relaxed after a day spent here, when I'm in Japan I'll visit this place about 5 - 6 times , it's the ultimate in relaxation, oh and by the way there's also a massage available if you're up for it. Food and drink are available too.

Ganban'yoku (岩盤浴^?) is Japanese term for a popular form of hot stone spa. It is said to have originated in Thailand.

Body-sized stones, such as granite, are inserted into the floor and heated. Bathers lie clothed on the stones while their bodies gradually heat up.

Like low temperature saunas, ganban'yoku are commonly advertised to have a detoxification effect, improve the circulatory system and are good for the skin. A ganban'yoku room in a spa would typically be visited after the baths and would be in a clothing-on area with mixed genders. (from Wikipedia).

Lunch at Ganbanyoku

Lunch at Ganbanyoku