We were invited to a therapy session at Ganbanyoku at Far East Plaza, and it was my first time experience at a rock spa. Anyone near my age will know what a Hot Stone restaurant is, but what is hot stone therapy?
It has a whole array of health benefits , for everyone from 12 years old to 99 years and beyond. Read more about Ganbanyoku in general in Japan here. After you enter the spa, you take off your shoes and receive a locker key, a set of yukata, and a set of towels.
Then you change in the changing room, removing all your clothes, underwear optional. You will probably be super sweaty so you might want to consider bringing a change of underwear too. Upon entering the room, you might feel that the room is rather stuffy, but you will slowly get used to it. It is recommended to lie on the rock bed for about an hour.
My first time everything felt really hot, and I needed to place the towel over the stones to lie on the bed. But the second and subsequent times felt more tolerable. If at any point the heat is unbearable you can just lie on a towel instead. The first time I also sweat a lot more compared to subsequent sessions, which I thought was very interesting.
Greta, the owner, said that I could have had less toxins to sweat out on the subsequent sessions. I have some sort of rheumatism or something going with one of my elbows, so I was interested to see how that would respond to the ganbanyoku, and I have to say that the therapy was very good! As with massages, you are recommended not to shower after a session but there are showers available if you really need them. The best would not to meet anyone after a session or to go with friends so you can all be sweaty together.
