Latest news with #hotsprings
The Standard
21 hours ago
- The Standard
Japan venture seeks to export 'espresso' of hot springs
Bathers pose for a photo as they swim in the geothermal hot springs at Iceland's Blue Lagoon near Grindavik September 30, 2006. REUTERS/Bob Strong
Malay Mail
21 hours ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Hot spring in a bottle? Japan's ‘craft onsen' venture seeks to export the essence of onsen to the world
TOKYO, Aug 14 — Japan's famous 'onsen' hot springs were long considered unexportable, until an idea struck Naoki Mita one day: what if he could condense them like espresso coffee? Mita's Tokyo-based venture firm, Le Furo, has invented a technology it calls 'craft onsen' — whereby hot spring ingredients are extracted and filtered into an ultra-high concentration. Le Furo now seeks to use that patented technology to export Japan's hot springs overseas, with a view toward opening several onsen facilities in the Gulf region in 2026. Transporting hot springs overseas long seemed logistically impossible because of the sheer volume of water involved, as well as their susceptibility to germs. But with Le Furo's invention, 'just like you extract coffee as espresso, we grind the mineral resources to fine, sand-like powders,' CEO Naoki Mita told AFP. The entrepreneur says many commercially available 'onsen powders' are synthetic and put an emphasis on mimicking the relaxing colour and scent, and don't necessarily contain the necessary ingredients. Only after solid metals such as iron, magnesium and zinc dissolve into water does it become possible to chemically resemble onsen and recreate the therapeutic effect, Mita said. Le Furo's technology sticks to the natural soil and minerals of hot spring sources, and uses a special method to make them soluble in water. Its 'Craft Onsen' concentrate comes in bottles or small tanks, which can then be distributed and poured into water in other countries to feel like the real thing. Onsens — bath houses where patrons relax naked together in hot spring water of various temperatures — are a major domestic industry in Japan beloved by both locals and tourists. As of 2021, Japan was home to 28,000 confirmed hot spring sources, according to the environment ministry. Le Furo is setting its sights particularly on countries like the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia where 'water is considered a more precious resource than oil', Mita says. 'Here in Japan, we have this culture of soaking ourselves in a good, long bath to attain better health — that's the kind of story that I believe (other countries) will show great interest in,' Mita said. — AFP
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Japan venture seeks to export ‘espresso' of hot springs
As of 2021, Japan was home to 28,000 confirmed hot spring sources, according to the environment ministry. (AFP pic) TOKYO : Japan's famous 'onsen' hot springs were long considered unexportable, until an idea struck Naoki Mita one day: what if he could condense them like espresso coffee? Mita's Tokyo-based venture firm, Le Furo, has invented a technology it calls 'craft onsen' – whereby hot spring ingredients are extracted and filtered into an ultra-high concentration. Le Furo now seeks to use that patented technology to export Japan's hot springs overseas, with a view toward opening several onsen facilities in the Gulf region in 2026. Transporting hot springs overseas long seemed logistically impossible because of the sheer volume of water involved, as well as their susceptibility to germs. However, with Le Furo's invention, 'just like you extract coffee as espresso, we grind the mineral resources to fine, sand-like powders,' CEO Naoki Mita told AFP. The entrepreneur says many commercially available 'onsen powders' are synthetic and put an emphasis on mimicking the relaxing colour and scent, and don't necessarily contain the necessary ingredients. 'Only after solid metals such as iron, magnesium and zinc dissolve into water does it become possible to chemically resemble onsen and recreate the therapeutic effect,' Mita said. Le Furo's technology sticks to the natural soil and minerals of hot spring sources, and uses a special method to make them soluble in water. Its 'Craft Onsen' concentrate comes in bottles or small tanks, which can then be distributed and poured into water in other countries to feel like the real thing. Onsens – bath houses where patrons relax naked together in hot spring water of various temperatures – are a major domestic industry in Japan beloved by both locals and tourists. As of 2021, Japan was home to 28,000 confirmed hot spring sources, according to the environment ministry. Le Furo is setting its sights particularly on countries like the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia where 'water is considered a more precious resource than oil', Mita says. 'Here in Japan, we have this culture of soaking ourselves in a good, long bath to attain better health – that's the kind of story that I believe (other countries) will show great interest in,' Mita said.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
New tensions trouble small town America in Trump's second term
Visitors are still flocking to the quaint mountain town of Berkeley Springs in West Virginia to savor its hot springs, art galleries and gift stores. Residents, however, say they are navigating new tensions. They still smile and shake hands with neighbors at the bakery while getting their morning coffee, as long as they don't mention two words: Donald Trump. The 850 residents of Berkeley Springs are a mix of rural conservatives who have lived here for generations and people who arrived more recently to the town, which is nestled in the Appalachian Mountains. The differences have existed for decades, but things are now growing tense. "A lot of people who quietly stand up for goodness are getting louder, and then that's making the people who are upset by that also become louder," says Kate Colby, 44, owner of Mineral Springs Trading Company. A large rainbow flag hangs on one wall of her gift store. Some locals told her to take it down, saying it made them feel unwelcome, she says. "They feel like they've got to be louder, and they're aggressive... It just sort of builds, until it combusts," she said with a bitter laugh. The small town dynamics are a portrait in miniature of what is happening across the country: liberal Americans hear the president's frequent diatribes as attacks, while conservatives feel legitimized by his rhetoric. - Keeping quiet - Society in general has grown less civil in the United States in Trump's second term, as he attacks the balance of powers and his political adversaries. "Trump does a really good job polarizing everything. He is like, you're on my side, or you can get out," says Nicole Harris, 47. Born in Oregon, Harris recently moved east to landlocked West Virginia, a rural and industrial state where almost 90 percent of the population voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election. To avoid problems, she keeps quiet: no political discussions with neighbors or with guests at her bed and breakfast, the Grand Castalian Inn. "We're a business, so we accept everyone, and we accept everyone's opinions. I keep my own opinions for myself," she says. Beth Curtin has owned an antiques store in one of the beautiful brick homes in the center of town for 36 years. Many of her friends are Trump supporters. She is not. "It is a small community, and so we bump into one another. It's not like, you know, a bigger metropolitan area where you can just hang with people who share your same views.... it's more important that we try to get along and, you know, sometimes you have to bite your tongue," she says. Curtin says she avoids some stores in town because she does not want her money going "towards people who have those views." - 'Communists' - In the air-conditioned chill of the Lighthouse Latte cafe, Scott Wetzel, a wiry, bright-eyed 62-year-old, recalls his farm-based childhood and adult life in landscaping and construction. He views Democrats as "communists" who threaten his way of living. "If I speak of freedom, their idea of freedom is telling me how I could live. That's not freedom. They just don't get it so, but you can't fix that. That's something that's twisted up in their heads," the retiree says. He says people are still welcome to "spew that garbage" but "I'm just not gonna listen to it." In early July, some town residents held a march in Berkeley Springs against Trump's "big, beautiful bill." A truck nearby sold caps with his face on them. "There's gonna have to be some shift. We can't keep escalating like this," says Colby, the gift store owner. "We need to get back to a point where everybody can just sort of like, calmly live their own lives side by side, which I think was happening a lot more before Trump's first term," she says. Standing on the balcony of his elegant bed-and-breakfast, Mayor Greg Schene offers a more conciliatory view on town life. "This is certainly more of a melting pot," says the Baltimore native, adding that having a spectrum of political beliefs "makes us better." "Finding, you know, some solutions and coming to a middle ground is always better than having one dominant party," Schene said, smiling as he greeted people passing by. pno/cyb/ksb/aha
