Stop #2 on my water tripping was Friday afternoon in Japantown San Francisco. I treated my Mom and I to an afternoon at the Kabuki Springs Spa. The Spa is open for women on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for $22 a person. We hit the timing right and didn’t have to wait to enter. They control the number of guests to keep the experience a serene one. The locker rooms were well equipped with all sorts of lotions, potions, hair dryers, cotton balls, hair combs, hair sprays, and accoutrements. Once in the bathing area we were shown the drill. For communal bathing they ask guest to shower or rinse off first. They had a line of bathing stations where one could sit on a little stool and use a pan to pour water over your body or use shower head. I felt very tall at one of these stations. They also offered regular shower stalls standing up. After the shower they suggest:
1.steam or sauna for 10-15 minutes
2.dunk in the cold plunge (wusses can take a cold shower)
3. back in steam or sauna
4. Dunk in cold plunge
5. Rest period
6. Hot pool at 104 degrees
I ended up doing shorter but extra sessions in the steam room, forgoing the sauna and loving the salts on hand for exfoliation. I drank plenty of water and used up several iced wash clothes for my face. Half way through the process my Mom said, ‘this is just as good as a massage’. The atmosphere in the spa is close to a yoga meditation retreat. The best part was the gong with a sign that invited you observe silence when you heard the gong and to ring it if you wished. Once floating in the final hot mineral pool I thought to myself ‘this is even better than a massage’. Now I just wish I could be able to ring a gong on the subway and have others fall silent into meditation.
1.steam or sauna for 10-15 minutes
2.dunk in the cold plunge (wusses can take a cold shower)
3. back in steam or sauna
4. Dunk in cold plunge
5. Rest period
6. Hot pool at 104 degrees
I ended up doing shorter but extra sessions in the steam room, forgoing the sauna and loving the salts on hand for exfoliation. I drank plenty of water and used up several iced wash clothes for my face. Half way through the process my Mom said, ‘this is just as good as a massage’. The atmosphere in the spa is close to a yoga meditation retreat. The best part was the gong with a sign that invited you observe silence when you heard the gong and to ring it if you wished. Once floating in the final hot mineral pool I thought to myself ‘this is even better than a massage’. Now I just wish I could be able to ring a gong on the subway and have others fall silent into meditation.
She helped me create not just outfits but a style statement for how I go out in the world in the morning. She’s given me a new sense of confidence, especially when I go to professional meetings