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Green onion baths return to Japanese bathhouse to celebrate Labor Day

You know, you really have been working hard, so why not treat yourself to a dip in a bath full of negi?

In Japan, there’s a custom of putting foodstuffs into your bathwater. This isn’t an everyday practice, but the occasional addition of fruits or herbs to the bath is said to aid relaxation, beautify the skin, and provide a soothing aroma.

Some of the most common special baths of this type are orange, apple, or yuzu citrus fruit baths, the last of which is pictured above. However, one bathhouse in Saitama Prefecture, Tokyo’s northside neighbor, is mixing things up with a very unorthodox idea: a green onion bath.

You’ll find this unusual option at Ofuro Cafe Hareniwa no Yu, a bathhouse in the city of Kumagaya. Situated right next to Kumagaya is the town of Fukaya, which is one of Japan’s largest producers of green onions, or negi, as they’re called in Japanese. Fukaya is so proud of its negi that even though the city’s mascot character, Fukka-chan, is of a non-specified species (“sort of like a rabbit, and sort of like a deer” according to Fukka-chan’s official bio), the character clearly has two green onions on its head.

As for why it’s tossing green onions into the bath now, this November 24 is Labor Day in Japan, and negi sounds very close to negirai, meaning appreciation for hard work. As such, Ofuro Cafe Hareniwa no Yu is officially calls its negi bath the “Negirai Bath,” and it’s an annual limited-time affair, in both the men’s and women’s outdoor baths, taking place this year on November 22, 23, and 24.

Oh, and Ofuro Cafe Hareniwa no Yu also has a yuzu bath planned for December 19 to 22, so they’re not turning their back on more established food-in-bath combinations.

Ofuro Cafe Hareniwa no Yu has made no statement regarding how the negi baths will smell, but considering that negi have a noticeable aroma, bathers should probably brace for a certain amount of pungency. On the other hand, since it’s a sure bet that anyone interested in taking a soak in a green onion bath also like eating green onions, on the days of the negi bath packets of negi to take home will also be given to visitors, while supplies last.

Location information
Ofuro Cafe Hareniwa no Yu / おふろcafeハレニワの湯
Address: Saitama-ken, Kumagaya-shi, Kubojima 939
埼玉県熊谷市久保島939
Website

Source: PR Times, Fukaya City
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: PR Times, Fukaya City, PR Times
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