Ashiyu

Outside in the square is the even more popular ashiyu, or foot bath - simply whip off your boots, ease your tootsies into the searing water and watch your appendages turn lobster red, all for free.

East Japan Railway Co., known as JR East, this week unveiled its newest luxury shinkansen cars featuring ashiyu, in which passengers can soak their tired feet while speeding through the beautiful, mountainous, hot-spring-rich region.

The Japanese Couples Experience kicks off with a traditional Ashiyu foot soak, followed by a purifying Ofuro bath in a cypress tub and an 80-minute signature massage that combines Swedish and Japanese techniques.

Foot spas, or ashiyu, are a very popular form of enjoying hot springs, as it is a nice way to relax as you soak your feet in public.

A ‘fire’ area will feature three different types of saunas – salt sauna, herbal sauna and Finnish sauna – which will then lead guests to a central passage and onward to an outdoor terrace with a large glazed sauna surrounded by cold pools at different temperatures, as well as an Ashiyu – an invigorating Japanese treatment for the limbs.