Hey, I'm Medha, and today I'm headed
to SoJo Spa Club in Edgewater, New Jersey,
to try a Japanese volcanic sand bath.
SoJo Spa is the only spa in
the world outside of Japan
to use authentic sand
directly from Ibusuki,
and they really try to
replicate the experience
by the traditional cotton robe
that they give you to wear,
and they literally rake
you over with the sand
in a communal-like sandbox setup.
Now, I'm excited to go try out this bath
and learn a little bit
more about the history
and its benefits.
Esther Cha: The volcanic
sand bath is an experience
that you can add on to
your day at SoJo Spa Club
where you get covered in
authentic Japanese volcanic sand.
You relax in it for 10 to 15 minutes
to get a supercharged sauna experience.
Medha: At the original
site for the treatment,
activity from Sakurajima
volcano heats underground water,
which creates the steam that
heats Ibusuki's beaches.
SoJo Spa Club is the
only spa outside of Japan
to use Ibusuki's special
sand in a bathing treatment.
It replicates the 300-year-old
Ibusuki bathing tradition
by evenly heating a
sandbox-like enclosement.
The first step in the
treatment is changing
into a traditional Japanese
yukata, or cotton robe.
When you enter the sandbox,
you'll be escorted to a sand plot,
where your bathing
experience will take place.
To ensure the sand is pristine,
SoJo Spa Club allows only one
sandbox to be used at a time.
The other is cleaned by submerging
the sand in very hot water.
Next up is a 10- to 15-minute nap,
which I was definitely excited for.
Sand bathing is thought to have benefits
like improving blood circulation,
improving metabolism, and easing pain.
Hakusuikan Spa, which offers
the sand-bathing experience in Ibusuki,
says the experience is
detoxifying because of two things:
first, the sweat released when
buried beneath the hot sand,
and second, the alkalinity
of the sand and water,
which is said to have
cleansing properties.
And detoxification is also
burdened with lots of controversy
since only a small amount of toxins
are excreted through sweat.
Still, people travel from
all parts of the world
to soak in Ibusuki sand.
I feel so warm.
I feel like someone's
giving me a big, big hug.
It does remind me of a sauna.
There's less steam involved,
obviously, from the sand,
but I feel like it feels better
because there's, like, a big hug
that's surrounding me with the sand.
Breaking free from the
sand has a few steps.
This way. [laughs]
I feel like a grandma getting up.
Wow! I just felt, like, all
of this weight leave me.
I feel immensely lighter.
As soon as I broke my hands from the sand
and my feet as well,
I just, my body felt very, very relaxed,
and I felt, like, very floaty. [laughs]
And I'm someone who gets
really, really stressed out all the time,
so it was amazing that this one treatment
actually was able to relax me.
I am not the best with
massages or anything like that,
so this was very, very
helpful in terms of relaxing.
