Each month, Yū chooses a Japanese bathing product to share with the Thousand Cranes Club. Here, we explore what makes each one special.

November 2026:

Natural Yunohana from Okuhida

This month’s selection comes from Okuhida Onsen-go, a group of hot-spring villages high in the Japanese Alps.

Yunohana (literally “flowers of the hot water”) is a name given to mineral deposits formed from hot-spring water. This version is made from 100% natural hot-spring water from Okuhida, at the foot of the Northern Alps in Chūbu-Sangaku National Park.

Added to the bath, a spoonful or two transforms ordinary water into a milky-white, mineral-rich soak. Naturally mildly alkaline, the water has the soft, silky feel associated with some Japanese hot springs, leaving the skin feeling smooth after bathing.

A 250g packet provides around 15–20 baths, offering something unusually simple — a little of the character of an actual Japanese hot spring, brought home.

Winner: announced by email 1st November 2026

October 26:

Japan’s Famous Hot Springs, The Pleasure of Cloudy Waters

This month’s selection comes from

Nihon no Meitō, a Bathclin collection created to bring the character of Japan’s celebrated hot springs into the home.

Bathclin’s developers visit each onsen region, study its water and work to capture its distinctive yushitsu: the particular sensation of the water on the skin. Colour and fragrance are chosen to evoke the landscape and atmosphere of the place. Each formula in the collection has been approved by the onsen region it represents.

This special nigori-yu, or cloudy-water, collection contains 14 baths inspired by eight onsen across Japan: Noboribetsu, Towada, Nyūtō, Yamashiro, Yugawara, Ryūjin, Beppu and Kurokawa.

Added to a deep, hot bath after washing, the powders offer a different journey each time, from the forests and mountains of northern Japan to the great bathing towns of Kyushu.

Winner: announced by email 1st October 2026