SoraNews24 —Japan News—

Ever wonder what it would be like to take a bath with some cute otters? Well, this lucky Twitter user gets to do exactly that — right in his own home!

Japan
(animals • bath • cute • Otters • video)

People in Japan are obsessed with a French holiday where you celebrate by bathing in a pool of wine

BUSINESS INSIDER
Nov 24, 2015

While the French still produce and consume the most wine per capita, Japan is continuing to grow as one of the biggest wine markets in the world — and they’re not afraid to show their passion for the beverage.

Japan
(bath • Beaujolais Nouveau • france • Japan • photos • wine)

Onsen in Nagano will now welcome foreigners with tattoos, as long as they patch ’em up

Evie Nyan
Apr 17, 2015

Many foreign visitors to Japan are curious about taking a dip in one of Japan’s many hot springs or sento public baths, but are deterred by two factors: the embarrassment of being naked in public, and the worry that even having a small tattoo – very much taboo in Japan – might result in being ejected from the premises. While the first issue is something that can be overcome with a little bravery, the second issue is undoubtedly a problem.

However, a resort inn in Nagano has now publicly stated that they will allow foreigners with small tattoos to enter, providing they cover up the offending ink with a patch.

Global, Japan
(bath • foreigners • hot spring • onsen • sento • tattoo • yakuza)

Handy bath pillow doubles as a smartphone holder, might also be giving you a hug

Casey Baseel
Jan 29, 2015

After a long, hard day at work or school, there’s nothing like a nice, hot bath. But then again, a lot of people also like to unwind by kicking back and sending a few emails, watching a video or two, or perusing the Internet’s most profound sources of knowledge on their smartphone.

Rather than choose between the two options, some people opt to take their phone into the tub with them. But if you’re so tired you’re craving two indulgences at once, having to grip your phone in your hand while you soak can really put a damper on maximizing your rejuvenating/loafing time.

So instead of doing that job yourself, why not get one of these inflatable bath pillows that double as a smartphone holder to do it for you?

Japan
(bath • cool • interior • Smartphones • technology)

DIY hydrogen bath kits all the rage in Japan, our reporter unleashes the bubbles for himself

Krista Rogers
Jan 6, 2015

Morians Kiodo, a firm based in Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture, is known for developing a new kind of heat pack that is powerful enough to heat food without having to use a flame. It’s certainly a welcome invention for both outdoor adventurer types and people who happen to be experiencing power outages.

Now, the same company has utilized their technological prowess to create user-friendly hydrogen gas-emitting bath kits, which can be easily administered in the comfort of your own home. So easy, in fact, that our ace Japanese reporter Yoshio decided to–wait for it–test out the water for himself!

Japan
(at home • bath • health • hydrogen • kit)

Tips from Japan to make your skin extra beautiful! It begins with a bath and…

KK Miller
Dec 20, 2014

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, in Japan, beauty is in the water of the bath taker. Over here, winter has arrived, and many people woke up to falling snow in much of the country this past week. And while pets are finding ways to stay warm and stylish, there isn’t much for us ol’ humans to do besides desperately stand in front of the heater or soak in a nice hot bath. Besides being a great way to heat up the frozen flanges, people around the country are using common items found in the Japanese household that are really great for giving your skin the extra luster and moisture to fend off the cold, dry months. Try adding any one of these three ingredients to your next bath!

Japan
(bath • beauty • life hack • moisturize • skin care)

Sink or drink? Japan celebrates arrival of this year’s Beaujolais Nouveau with special wine-bath

Audrey Akcasu
Nov 18, 2014

Japan is becoming known worldwide for its natural hot springs and public bath houses. Lately, bathers have more and more soaking options with specialty baths popping up all over. We’ve seen snow-covered baths, tea baths, sake baths and herbal baths.

Every November however, a bathhouse near Tokyo has a unique 10-day wine bath to celebrate the release of France’s Beaujolais Nouveau wine.

Japan
(alcohol • bath • france • onsen • wine)

Public baths in Japan add some extra fun with hundreds of rubber duckies

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Nov 13, 2014

Rubber duckies make any bathtime lots of fun, but what does a tub full of one thousand tiny yellow quackers have the power to do?

We’ve found three public baths that provide guests with the unique experience of bathing in a sea of rubber duckies. Check out the surreal photos after the jump!

Japan
(bath • rubber duck • sento)

New app will find you a bath on-the-go in Tokyo

Jessica
Aug 3, 2014

With blistering temperatures over the past week and record cases of heat stroke, just getting around Tokyo for business or pleasure can leave you dripping with sweat and a little—okay, A LOT—stinky. It’s enough to make you want to bathe several times a day.

But what if you are dying to clean up but don’t want to go all the way back to your home or hotel? That’s when a cheap Japanese bathhouse, or sentou, can come in very handy. For a few hundred yen, you have a place to take a bath, grab a snooze on a bit of tatami, and put your game face on again. These little places used to be hard to locate, but as with most things these days, now there’s an app for that.

Japan
(app • bath • sentou • Tokyo)

Bath noodles — Do you know about this strange Japanese bathing custom?

Amy Chavez
Jul 3, 2014

As soon as my husband started building an iwaburo rock bath in our house, curious neighbors poked their heads in and asked, “When are we going to eat udon?” This is local parlance for: “When will the bath be finished?”

Japanese is said to be a vague language and thus difficult for foreigners to understand, but this was rather extraordinary. Why such a strange way to ask when a bath will be completed?!

This unusual pairing, I soon learned, can be traced all the way back to Shikoku, one of Japan’s four main islands, and an island famous for its udon noodles. Kagawa Prefecture, known as udonken (the udon prefecture) is particularly well-known for its delicious thick, starchy noodles. And we can thank Kagawa for a very strange custom: that of eating udon while sitting in a new bathtub!

Now, you probably want to know why they would do such a thing. And why udon? Wouldn’t beer and peanuts be more logical? Or, if you’re going to celebrate a new bathtub, why not go all out and have a pig roast in there? Our intrepid bathing reporter tells you why and oh, so much more about Japanese baths.

Japan
(bath • goemonburo • japanese bath • Kagawa • Shikoku • udon)

How to take a bath for only 0.0000076 yen using ordinary plastic bottles

Master Blaster
Apr 13, 2014

With Japan entering the new month with a higher sales tax, people are beginning to feel the squeeze. In addition, April is the time of year when many people make big changes in their lives such as moving out on their own. This is already an expensive time made even more so by the economic climate.

One such person is Omocoro writer ARuFa. He feels that he has successfully come up with a way to reduce your water bill drastically by taking baths that would only cost 0.0000076 yen (US$0.000000075). This is his story.

Japan
(bath • Omocoro • plastic bottle)

Japanese netizens go crazy for a kitty who wants a bath

Oona McGee
Mar 10, 2014

If you’ve ever owned a cat, you’ll know just how much some kittens love to follow their owners around, checking on their every move to make sure their attention is not foolishly lavished on anything else. One owner in Japan has tweeted photos of their possessive cat, who seems irked at the fact that bath-time can bring a person so much pleasure. This kitty peering over the bathtub with its what-about-me? eyes has everybody aww-ing in Japan. But it’s what happens next that has everybody squealing in delight.

Japan
(bath • cats • cute • Scottish Fold)

Splish-splash, kitty taking a bath! Cute videos to help you enjoy the weekend

Preston Phro
Feb 23, 2014

There’s a long-lived stereotype that cats love to eat fish–particularly the fish we like to keep in bowls in our homes. For a house kitty, a fish bowl is like having an ice cream truck in your living room–but never having the change to get a cone.

Of course, no one wants their pets–furry or scaly–to get eaten! But keeping a house full of cats entertained is a tall order…and whipping a laser pointer around the living room might turn it into a disaster zone. Fortunately, one cat gentleman has found a way to keep a room of cats both docile and engaged: Letting a mechanical toy fish swim circles in the bathtub!

But just how well do you think that’s going to work out for all the munchkin kitties gathered to watch?

Internet, Japan
(bath • cat • cute • funny • Kitty • munchkin)

Girl builds herself a boyfriend out of soap bubbles

Philip Kendall
Nov 29, 2013

“I’m taking a bath with my boyfriend,” tweeted one Japanese netizen going by the name of Machiko, uploading a photo with her message. Despite the suggestion of sauciness, however, rather than being something that moderators would quickly remove or fellow users would tag as inappropriate, the image was retweeted and favourited thousands of times in just a few short minutes.

After all, it’s not every day you see a life-sized boyfriend made entirely out of soap bubbles…

Internet, Japan
(bath • cute • funny • photo • twitter)

Meet The Beetyu, Volkswagen’s one-of-a-kind bathtub Beetle

Joan Coello
Nov 6, 2013

The Volkswagen Beetle (often known as the Bug in the US) has been around since the 1930s, and is adored worldwide for its simplistic and cute rounded design. Though the German automobile has evolved over the years, it still keeps the characteristic bug-like shape that everyone recognizes at a glance.

But will you still be able to recognize a Beetle on the road if it had a Japanese bathtub in its backseat? We’re not kidding, the Beetle makers in Japan really did make such a car!