MYSTERY SHOPPER
Yunomori Onsen & Spa
In its inaugural year, Thailand’s
first Japanese onsen has become a busy, popular facility. But how has it coped with introducing the Oriental tradition of naked
bathing in a conservative culture? Lee David Stephens pays a visit
The background If Bangkok had a ‘Japan Town’ it would be the area around the Phrom Phong sky train station. This busy part of Thailand’s capital is home to a large number of Japanese expats and Oriental establishments catering to their tastes. It made sense to Thai entrepreneur Smith Mekaroonkamol that an onsen – a traditional Japanese bathing facility with sequences of hot springs/pools – would work well there. But it could also be risky: while stripping naked for communal bathing (albeit only with people of the same gender) might not be unusual to the Japanese, it would be alien Thai people who are naturally conservative. Despite potential challenges, Mekaroonkamol invested a reported THB70m (US$2.1m, €1.5m, £1.3m) to create Yunomori Onsen & Spa which opened in September 2012.
Yunomori mixes Japanese design and facilities with traditional Thai treatments to appeal to Japanese expats in Bangkok and locals looking for something different
Location and access The two-storey building sits off Rama IV road in A-Square, a complex of boutique shops and restaurants which is easily accessed by train, the underground or by driving.
The offer The ground floor of Yunomori features the separate male and female onsen compris- ing an impressive array of seven different bathing and thermal experiences. The circuit starts with a soda bath which uses a specific Mitsubishi carbonator to infuse the water
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with carbon dioxide which, Yunomori claims, helps with micro-circulation and general wellbeing. All water has been imported from Ranong hot springs in southern Thailand and is filtered on-site. The first floor is dedicated to a more local offering – it has 15 simple Thai massage rooms, with tatami floor mattresses, and oil massage rooms with treatment tables. There’s also the separately operated Bino- mori Beauty Clinic where semi-invasive anti-ageing procedures are performed alongside more simple hands-on facials. Other facilities on-site include Gastronom
– a bistro/bakery café which serves light snacks, deserts (think macaroons) and coffee; and Dontaku – a Japanese restaurant offering a gamut of hearty, casual Japanese cuisine from sushi and saké to bento boxes.
Spa Business 1 2014 ©Cybertrek 2014
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