Girls always seem to be going to the 'spa' here in Japan. What's all the fuss about anyway? They go on about that massage, or this facepack, or that esthetic treatment, etc. Are men missing out on something here? Can a man go to the spa and still call himself a man? Is it possible to take the term 'metrosexual' a bit too far? Only one way to find out!
Since our package was a bit more luxurious than most, I was taken to a private booth at the back of the shop. Good start! I didn't really want to have witnesses until I knew what the deal was.
First thing on the list was a haircut, which I suppose I didn't really need as my hair was already pretty short. After snipping off a few strands of hair, the guy in charge of beautifying me proceeded to rub shampoo into my scalp like he was getting rid of all the dirt I ever accumulated in my entire life, and perhaps some past lives as well. The main thought running through my head was 'If I end up being bald after this I'm going to be pretty pissed off'. My head was then stuck under the sink and my hair was rinsed then washed (more shampoo!) no less than three times. Does this guy think I've been living on the street for that past few years? With water running into my eyes and my scalp tingling like it had just been peeled off, I couldn't exactly figure out what girls enjoy so much about this.

It's always good to have an excuse when you do stuff like this. In my case, I was getting married, and Kumi convinced me to join her in this package deal for a 'couple' spa treatment.
Actually my skin is super sensitive and dries out at the slightest provocation, which means it needs extra special care. Maybe this spa treatment is just what I need? Bring on the creams and facepacks!
Here's my skin getting ready to be soothed.

I'm not getting embalmed, just getting a little eye spa. They think of everything here.

To be honest time really dragged on, and the guy seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time on every little thing. Lying back in a chair getting 200 different creams, packs, oils, emulsifiers, and what have you, applied to your skin is pretty dull. I think I might have dozed a bit.
Had to hold in a couple yawns here. Spas are tough work!

The hot towels were pretty good though, and I had warm steam blown into my face a lot of the time too. Gotta open up those pores! I think I had a total of ten hot towels put on my face. If nothing else, this place doesn't skimp on towels.

The pore sucker was the highlight of the whole experience, although I have to question its effectiveness. I somewhat doubted that it could really pull out dirt or blackheads with it's minimal suction power. Double or triple the power and then let's see what happens.

The whole experience took around an hour, but it seemed longer. At the end the guy asked me if I wanted a massage and when I said 'no thanks' he promptly went ahead and started pounding on my shoulders. Maybe he couldn't believe that I'd actually turn down such an offer? Apparently my shoulders are quite stiff, something I've never noticed. I never really had much use for massages and this one didn't change my mind much.
Finished at last! So is my skin softer and smoother than a baby's butt now? Well, aside from looking very polished and pink, I couldn't say that I was amazed by the results. I suppose that one session isn't really enough and that I need to come here every month or so. But will I be back? Doubt it.

What would a spa treatment be without a little video footage? Thanks to Kumi who dutifully filmed and snapped pictures throughout the whole tedious process.

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