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Yunohana onsen powder
Courtesy Jinen

Experience Japanese Hot Springs From the Comfort of Your Bathtub

Emily Jiang

January 7, 2022
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In the Mount Nyuto forest in Japan’s Akita prefecture, a certain smell pervades the air. It’s an enigmatic concoction of earthen minerals, fresh water, and steam that rises from the area’s hot springs, or onsen, and that can induce an almost instant mental calm. The natural phenomena, found in locales with geothermal energy beneath their terrains, are also known for their skin-enhancing effects: Silica and the mineral content of sulfur provide a soothing sensation and can even be used to treat topical conditions such as psoriasis, acne, and eczema. These myriad benefits prompted some companies to create bath accessories that use the hot springs not only as olfactory inspiration, but sometimes as the direct source material for the products themselves.

The Yunohana Onsen Powder, for example, made by the Japanese company Okuhida Onsen, is extracted directly from a mineral deposit on Mount Yakedake in the northern Japanese Alps, which has 159 onsen in its vicinity. Because the mountain is an active volcano, it continues to produce highly concentrated mineral hot springs that, over time, have seeped into and hardened within the underlying soil. The minerals are extracted, then refined to produce a fine powder. To use, spoon two tablespoons of the particles into a full tub to create a translucent, mineral-rich bathwater that mimics the experience of sitting in an onsen, including the relief it provides from body fatigue, tension, and stress.

For a more fragrant dip, try the Nyuto Onsen Bath Soak from the Tokyo brand Bathclin. It comes in the form of salt-like crystals that, when added to the tub, create a milky white pool that gives off a homey, calming scent meant to recall that of Mount Nyuto’s forest. Those wanting to celebrate the recent arrival of winter might prefer to use the Daily Transformation Soaking Salts—part of a new collection called The Snow Onsen—which are made in Japan by the brand Aymayori and intended to evoke the experience of bathing en plein air during a snowfall. Notes of Siberian fir, white pine, and hinoki cypress oil mingle with wild orange, tangerine, yuzu, and geranium to create a refreshing, woody redolence. We recommend using the salts with the line’s Hikaru Multi-Use Oil, an antioxidant-rich treatment made for use directly after bathing. Massage it into skin to prolong the soothing onsen scent, or run it through the ends of your hair to add moisture and shine.

# Home# Health and Wellness# Nature# Asia

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It’s late August, and I’m walking on Grand Street in Lower Manhattan. It’s one of those summer evenings that’s cooler than expected, a pleasant foreshadowing of fall. I’m on my way to discuss compost with the artist Alex Tatarsky, and as I head east from the subway, I pass through the dense, networked scents of the edge of Chinatown: the briny tang of fish markets, the sweet snatch of a fresh egg waffle from a rolled ice cream shop, the yeasty cloud that floats around the famous bialy shop. Approaching Abrons Art Center, where Tatarsky is doing pick-up rehearsals for an out-of-town run of their show Dirt Trip, this close-packed olfactory landscape opens up into something with more space: a faint vegetal whiff from a small vacant lot, the not unpleasant chemical tang from a passing truck, and beyond these, the smell of a certain rot rolling in from the East River.

Courtesy Blue Note Records

culture

An Album of Cover Songs Honors the Legacy of Leonard Cohen

Though nearly six years have gone by since Leonard Cohen’s passing, the long shadow cast by his legacy as one of the 20th century’s most esteemed and idiosyncratic singer-songwriters shows no signs of lifting from the public’s imagination anytime soon. From the enveloping warmth of “Suzanne,” to the high drama of “Hallelujah,” to the chilling minimalist and gospel juxtaposition of his swansong “You Want it Darker,” Cohen managed to constantly reinvent himself, leaving behind the rare achievement of a musical body of work whose most impressive moments exist across eras.