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Cute Animals Enjoy Hot Water Massage Therapy in Japan 【Video】

Cute Animals Enjoy Hot Water Massage Therapy in Japan 【Video】

Have you ever seen a capybara? Originally from South America, and immensely popular in Japan, capybaras are actually the world’s largest rodents. They can weigh as much as a person, can run as fast as a young horse, and they can bark and purr. But that’s not all. These cute little animals love to bathe in Japanese-style hot springs. And when they do, they do it with such blissful expressions that you can’t help but smile.

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Watch this Adorable Video of a Shiba Inu Taking a Bath (Rubber Duckies Included)

Watch this Adorable Video of a Shiba Inu Taking a Bath (Rubber Duckies Included)

What a good old dog. Just soaking away in the tub with her rubber duckies. This little shiba inu is named Kinako and she loves taking baths. Since Kinako is an older doggie, her skin get irritated from time to time, so she enjoys taking a relaxing dip in the bathtub every night. The following video is a minute and a half of Kinako smiling in the tub.  But really, Kinako’s snow-white face peeking out of the water is so cute, that’s really all you need.

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Soak in A Nice Hot Spring Bath With Ted the Dirty Little Old Teddy Bear!

  • Feb 9, 2013 by
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Soak in A Nice Hot Spring Bath With Ted the Dirty Little Old Teddy Bear!

So, have you seen the movie Ted yet? If you have, I’m sure many of you will agree that it’s an absolutely hilarious movie (probably not profound or enlightening in any way, and you may even lose a couple of brain cells watching it, but yes, definitely hilarious)! Well, it appears the antics of the cute teddy bear with a bad mouth and a dirty mind has captured the hearts of movie goers in Japan, because as of last weekend, the movie is the top box office hit in Japan. But what does a middle-aged borderline delinquent teddy bear have to do with a hot spring bath? Read More

Presenting: Traditional Japanese Onsen Hotels… in Taiwan 【Giant Photo Gallery】

Presenting: Traditional Japanese Onsen Hotels… in Taiwan 【Giant Photo Gallery】

When we first caught sight of these images, we wondered whether we ought to go back and update our recent unusual hot spring resort article. Checking the location of these hot spa resort hotels, though, we soon learned that – despite looking unmistakably Japanese in every way – these hotels are actually situated in none other than Taiwan. And I always thought the British dull for seeking out an English pub as soon as they arrive abroad…

Enormous photo dump after the jump!

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Google Maps Easter Egg Lets You Street-View Famous Open-Air Hot Springs Bath

Google Maps Easter Egg Lets You Street-View Famous Open-Air Hot Springs Bath

On 15 January, a tweet emerged revealing a secret Google Maps Street View available nestled deep in a valley in Nagano Prefecture.  The tweet simply read “Open-air bath on full display in Street View.”

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Hot Spring Lovers Rejoice! Three Unique Onsen Resorts to Try Before You Die

Hot Spring Lovers Rejoice! Three Unique Onsen Resorts to Try Before You Die

During these chilly winter months, there’s nothing quite like taking a dip in a natural hot spring and feeling your aching muscles soften like a pan of chocolate on a warm log cabin stove. But if you’ve seen every onsen (hot spring) that Japan has to offer or are simply wishing to avoid the crowds of like-minded visitors, locating a new place to bathe isn’t easy. Thankfully, help is at hand.

In an article over at Yahoo! Japan’s R25 digital magazine, a member of the Nihon Onsen Kyoukai (Japan Hot Spring Association) lets readers in on three little-known, not to mention rather unusual, hot spring locations that are sure to leave you with plenty of tales to tell family and friends. All the juicy info after the break.

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Don’t Forget Your ‘Wrap Towel’! Our Female Reporter Experiences Japanese Mixed Public Bathing for the First Time

Don’t Forget Your ‘Wrap Towel’! Our Female Reporter Experiences Japanese Mixed Public Bathing for the First Time

When it comes to mixed bathing in public, it is an experience that perhaps most of us are unfamiliar with. In many respects the aspect of unfamiliarity is only just the beginning; acting naturally around not only strangers, but those of the opposite-sex — whilst baring all, no less — is undeniably something that requires great courage! It is with such bravery that our female reporter, Tomoe, entered into a Japanese “konyoku” to experience what all the fuss was about first hand!

“Admittedly, the male bathers’ glances were something that played on my mind a little, however this in itself had its own element of fascination,” admits Tomoe.

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Capybara Hot Springs Celebrates 30 Years of Giant Rodent Relaxation

Capybara Hot Springs Celebrates 30 Years of Giant Rodent Relaxation

There’s nothing quite like taking a dip in a hot springs to warm chilled bones during the cold months. In Japan, soaking in hot springs water, or onsen, is considered the ultimate form of relaxation—so much that even Japanese animals, such as the “snow monkeys” of northern Nagano, seek them out.

But it’s not just native species who appreciate Japan’s thermal waters; every year, Izu Shaboten Park, a theme park and zoo located in Ito City Shizuoka, runs a hot springs for their capybara to help them make it through Japan’s cold winter season.

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Steamed Boob Buns Teach Us the Warmth of a Woman’s Flesh, but Only When Heated First

Steamed Boob Buns Teach Us the Warmth of a Woman’s Flesh, but Only When Heated First

In their seemingly endless quest to experience the softness of a woman’s breast,  our Japanese reporters in Tokyo caught word of a store in Beppu, Oita, that sells manju (steamed pork buns) that look and, presumably, feel like boobs. 

We think you know what happened next.

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Take the “Public” Out of Public Bathing and Make a Natural Hot Spring in the Comfort of Your Own Home

Take the “Public” Out of Public Bathing and Make a Natural Hot Spring in the Comfort of Your Own Home

One of Japan’s greatest features is its many natural hot springs called onsens.  Thanks to its highly volcanic location, Japan’s countryside is dotted with resorts welcoming tourists all year round.

For some foreigners visiting or living in Japan, public bathing isn’t a very appealing recreation.  Reasons for this include tattoos which are considered verboten in many onsens, and the fact that foreigners tend to stick out like a sore thumb and might draw uncomfortable stares while bathing.

Now there’s another way to enjoy the relaxing and curative properties of a natural hot spring in the comfort of your own bathroom.  If you want to know how, then give our easy manual “How to Set Up an Onsen in Your Own Home” a quick read.

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