This cool t-shirt features the kanji writing for "I love mixed-bathing hot springs", but instead of the symbol for the word "love" they have used the pictogram for "hot spring" in red. Cute, and no doubt a good conversation starter as people will notice your shirt and want to ask you about it!

Just keep it away from the panda bears. :-)

What is a bath bomb and how do you use it? Well, fill your tub with warm water, drop in the bath "bomb" and enjoy its lovely color and fragrance. Some LUSH bath bombs contain flower petals and or other romantic surprises.

Taking a bath in Japan is one of the events that most Japanese really look forward to. They enjoy everything from the "normal" bath to herbal baths of all kinds. Just open up a bag and empty the contents into your warm bath water that turns to a vibrant green tea bath for an invigorating experience.

First we were instructed to enter a small sauna and bake our bodies - this was apparently the proper preparation for the messy business to follow. Next, we gathered around large vats of warm, oozing brownish mud, which we were then instructed to scoop up in our hands and apply to ourselves. It felt a little naughty, this blatant violation of all those childhood instructions to "Stay away from that mud!"

- Jan Butsch Schroder

CNN has a nice review of Strawberry Park Hot Springs near Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

"Located about seven miles from downtown Steamboat, the facility is made up of a series of handmade masonry pools tucked into the natural landscape. The hot spring water is blended with cool creek water to fill the two large hot pools, the hottest of which is kept at around 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Massage treatments are offered in rustic cottages on the property."

The Detroit News has a good summary of the latest technology for in-home bathing, including this very interesting option that I'd really like to experience:

"There's the air bath that offers the champagne equivalent of tiny bubbles, which creates a soothing to invigorating massage. Some compare the air bath to bathing in hot springs..."

Speaking of cutting edge, or maybe just "edgy", in Japan you can now get bath salts that smell like your favorite chewing gum. If you're in to that sort of thing.

"Not being your average aromatherapy products, one has to wonder if the bather retains the aroma of coffee or sour plum after soaking in their essence."

The oil is extracted from the two varieties of fruit in an eco-friendly fashion by the native Indians of the Brazilian rain forest. This helps preserve this critical habitat by making it economically productive!

With a list of "flavors" like these, everyone is sure to have a few favorites: Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, Pomegranate, Pearberry, Apple, Coconut, Papaya, and Peach.

Mix a few together for a unique treat, and you'll feel like a real "dish" afterwards. :-) Someone here suggested inviting her husband in the bathtub to make a banana split (groan).