What Is Yunohana? - Yunohana vs Onsen Bath Salt

Monday, November 13, 2017

What Is Yunohana? - Yunohana vs Onsen Bath Salt

Because Japan is a volcanically active country, Japan has numerous natural hot springs, which is called onsen (温泉) in Japan. People in Japan have enjoyed natural hot springs for more than a thousand years. Even though most Japanese people don't have time to go to a natural hot spring very often, Japanese people take a bath at home every night before sleeping, and onsen bath salt (like Tabinoyado) which contains active ingredients like onsen does is popular in Japan because you feel like as if you were soaking in famous natural hot springs such as Kusatsu Onsen (草津温泉) and Hakone Onsen (箱根温泉). However, onsen bath salt is not 100% natural yunohana.

What Is Yunohana?
Have you ever heard of yunohana (湯の花)? Yu (湯) means hot water, onsen or bath water, and hana (花) means flower in Japanese. Thus, yunohana, yu no hana, means onsen flower, but it's not really flower. Yunohana is a powder extracted from the hot water at the Yubatake. The photo below is yubatake (湯畑), located in the central of Kusatsu Onsen (草津温泉), one of the most famous natural hot springs in Japan. Yubatake is hot water field where yunohana is cultivated. Yunohana contains dried mineral sediment, which depends on quality of the hot spring.

Yubatake at Kusatsu Onsen 草津温泉

Yunohana (湯の花) vs Onsen Bath Salt (温泉入浴剤)

Yunohana (湯の花)
・natural
・contains mineral sediment from natural hot springs
・difficult to dissolve
・can be only found in hot spring areas
・more expensive

Yunohana (湯の花)

Onsen Bath Salt (温泉入浴剤) such as Tabinoyado and Niho No Meito
・not natural
・contains active ingredients like natural onsen does
・easy to dissolve
・can be found at any drugstores in Japan
・affordable

Tabinoyado 旅の宿, Japanese Onsen Bath Salt

Yunohana is natural bath powder cultivated from natural hot springs. I'm going to share with you some of natural yunohana you can find at souvenir shops around hot spring areas in Japan. You can probably find these at Tokyu Hands and Loft as well.

Natural Yunohana from Okuhida Onsen Gou (奥飛騨温泉郷)
This yunohana is from Okuhida Onsen Gou (奥飛騨温泉郷) in Gifu prefecture, but you might find this one at many souvenir stores around other hot spring areas in Japan as well.