On a trip to Yoshino, I met foresters involved with Yoshino's cedar and cypress. At Enzyme Bath En HANARE, located inside the Hyatt Regency Kyoto, you can experience an enzyme bath using Yoshino cypress powder provided by forestry manager Shota Nakai (Nakagami Lumber). Using thinned wood, this is the ultimate example of resource reuse. I tried an enzyme bath to soothe my travel fatigue.
Enzyme Bath En HANARE Kyoto Branch
■What is an enzyme bath?
Enzyme baths have been a hot topic recently. "Warming your body from the inside out not only provides a relaxing effect, but with continued use, it also increases your basal metabolism and improves your physical condition," says Naoya Yamaguchi of Flavor Co., Ltd., which operates En. It's garnering attention, as coldness is said to be the root cause of all illnesses. Surprisingly, the heat source for this enzyme bath comes entirely from natural fermentation heat produced by microorganisms. Hinoki powder is mixed with extracts from wild plants, vegetables, and fruits, and then fermented at high temperatures using a unique fermentation technique. While I was worried about the temperature rising to 65-80 degrees, it actually felt like about 40 degrees. This is because the sawdust contains air, allowing the heat to gradually permeate your body. Lying down on the soft sawdust, the aroma of hinoki cypress envelops you. A staff member is on hand, so just ask if you feel too hot or would like it heated up. When I mentioned stiff shoulders, they focused sawdust on my shoulders and warmed them up.
You can decide whether you want a hot or lukewarm enzyme bath during the consultation before you get in.
The good thing about enzyme baths is that they warm your body in a short amount of time. While a bedrock bath takes about an hour to warm you up, an enzyme bath can warm you from the inside out in around 15 minutes. Not only does it warm your body, it also has a moisturizing effect, leaving you feeling soft and hydrated. The carefully maintained hinoki powder has a self-cleaning effect thanks to the power of enzymes, so sweat is apparently broken down. Also, because it is fermented at a high temperature, there is no bacterial growth and it is said to be clean.
■ The true cycle of wood
Kousoyu En has four stores in the Kansai region and one in Tokyo, and all of them use only natural cypress powder made from thinnings from Yoshino, Nara Prefecture, in partnership with Nakagami Lumber.
"We used to use powder from a variety of regions, but the quality is completely different in terms of scent, fineness, etc.," says Yamaguchi of Flavor Co., Ltd., which operates En. This is no surprise, as the high-quality cypress powder is produced through the careful process of sifting sawdust by hand.
The sifting is done by hand. The baskets are doubled to make the sifting even finer.
Yoshino cypress is naturally of high quality, and is said to contain oils and have strong antibacterial properties. With high-quality cypress powder and proper maintenance, you can experience a clean enzyme bath without any unpleasant odors. The staff at En sometimes go for training in the mountains of Yoshino, but it seems that it takes several people in shifts two hours to finally produce enough cypress powder for one bath, so you can imagine how much work it requires.
"Even now, if you look at the mountains of Yoshino, you'll see thinnings lying around, abandoned. I'm thinking about how we can somehow make use of them, and recycle them through fermentation," says Yamaguchi. Incidentally, the cypress powder used in the enzyme bath is actually composted and sent to a farm in Osaka.
From the forests of Yoshino to Kyoto and then to Osaka. Our next visit will be to the Osaka farm to see for ourselves the fate of this recycled wood.
[Facility Overview]
Store Name: Enzyme Bath En HANARE Kyoto Store
Address: Hyatt Regency Kyoto RIRAKU Spa and Fitness, 644-2 Sanjusangendo-mawari, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture 605-0941
Telephone: 075-541-3180
Opening Hours: 9:00 - 22:00 (Last admission 21:00)
Website: http://kousoyoku-en.com/
Enzyme Bath En HANARE Kyoto Branch
■What is an enzyme bath?
Enzyme baths have been a hot topic recently. "Warming your body from the inside out not only provides a relaxing effect, but with continued use, it also increases your basal metabolism and improves your physical condition," says Naoya Yamaguchi of Flavor Co., Ltd., which operates En. It's garnering attention, as coldness is said to be the root cause of all illnesses. Surprisingly, the heat source for this enzyme bath comes entirely from natural fermentation heat produced by microorganisms. Hinoki powder is mixed with extracts from wild plants, vegetables, and fruits, and then fermented at high temperatures using a unique fermentation technique. While I was worried about the temperature rising to 65-80 degrees, it actually felt like about 40 degrees. This is because the sawdust contains air, allowing the heat to gradually permeate your body. Lying down on the soft sawdust, the aroma of hinoki cypress envelops you. A staff member is on hand, so just ask if you feel too hot or would like it heated up. When I mentioned stiff shoulders, they focused sawdust on my shoulders and warmed them up.
You can decide whether you want a hot or lukewarm enzyme bath during the consultation before you get in.
The good thing about enzyme baths is that they warm your body in a short amount of time. While a bedrock bath takes about an hour to warm you up, an enzyme bath can warm you from the inside out in around 15 minutes. Not only does it warm your body, it also has a moisturizing effect, leaving you feeling soft and hydrated. The carefully maintained hinoki powder has a self-cleaning effect thanks to the power of enzymes, so sweat is apparently broken down. Also, because it is fermented at a high temperature, there is no bacterial growth and it is said to be clean.
■ The true cycle of wood
Kousoyu En has four stores in the Kansai region and one in Tokyo, and all of them use only natural cypress powder made from thinnings from Yoshino, Nara Prefecture, in partnership with Nakagami Lumber.
"We used to use powder from a variety of regions, but the quality is completely different in terms of scent, fineness, etc.," says Yamaguchi of Flavor Co., Ltd., which operates En. This is no surprise, as the high-quality cypress powder is produced through the careful process of sifting sawdust by hand.
The sifting is done by hand. The baskets are doubled to make the sifting even finer.
Yoshino cypress is naturally of high quality, and is said to contain oils and have strong antibacterial properties. With high-quality cypress powder and proper maintenance, you can experience a clean enzyme bath without any unpleasant odors. The staff at En sometimes go for training in the mountains of Yoshino, but it seems that it takes several people in shifts two hours to finally produce enough cypress powder for one bath, so you can imagine how much work it requires.
"Even now, if you look at the mountains of Yoshino, you'll see thinnings lying around, abandoned. I'm thinking about how we can somehow make use of them, and recycle them through fermentation," says Yamaguchi. Incidentally, the cypress powder used in the enzyme bath is actually composted and sent to a farm in Osaka.
From the forests of Yoshino to Kyoto and then to Osaka. Our next visit will be to the Osaka farm to see for ourselves the fate of this recycled wood.
[Facility Overview]
Store Name: Enzyme Bath En HANARE Kyoto Store
Address: Hyatt Regency Kyoto RIRAKU Spa and Fitness, 644-2 Sanjusangendo-mawari, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture 605-0941
Telephone: 075-541-3180
Opening Hours: 9:00 - 22:00 (Last admission 21:00)
Website: http://kousoyoku-en.com/
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