During these trying times, few things sound more comforting than running a hot bath, maybe lighting a few candles, and sliding into a nice, warm bowl of tonkotsu. Though you might not be able to slurp your soup while you bath (actually, that sounds incredibly unsanitary....), a Japanese bookstore and novelty gift shop called Village Vanguard is in fact selling ramen-scented bath powders in the hopes of turning customers tubs into boiling vats of noodle stew.
According to Rocket News 24, the powders—which look like little packets of seasoning—comes in a ramen flavor, but is also available in miso, curry, gyudon (beef bowl), and jjigae (Korean-style hot-pot) scents. Still, Village Vanguard warns of the extreme hunger its alluring aromas may bring its customers.
“Too much like the stomach, it will be in trouble!” the website reads—at least according Google Translate. “Be careful because these bath powders could make you hungry.”
Though the concept of soaking in pork broth at home is a relatively new concept, the Japanese have been enjoying ramen baths at health spas for years. Bathing in a noodle jacuzzi is said to increase a person’s metabolism and act as a skin cleanser, while American patrons have called the baths both “gooey” and “weird.”
“Lately people are very concerned about having beautiful skin, and they know the effect of collagen, which is contained in our pork-based broth,” Ichiro Furuya, the owner of Yunessan Spa House in Hakone, Japan, said in a news report. “At this bath, everybody can have fun and take advantage of the healthy elements of ramen noodles.”
When you think about it that way, there’s really no reason not to take a dip in some miso.
[via Rocket News 24, Food & Wine]