Bathers already steaming over a recent deluge of spa-mislabeling scandals will likely wonder what ``natural'' hot springs really are when they learn the results of a recent land ministry survey.

Nearly nine out of 10 hotels and inns with onsen hot springs dilute, heat or recycle their spa water. And almost 80 percent of them do not tell their patrons, the survey shows.

But 17 admitted they soak patrons with ``artificial'' onsen that use thoron, a radioactive isotope that gives water that mineral-rich appearance, or with simple heated tap water.

omae mona wrote:

But 17 admitted they soak patrons with ``artificial'' onsen that use thoron, a radioactive isotope that gives water that mineral-rich appearance, or with simple heated tap water.

Science: Physics: Anti-thoron Radiation
Energetic anti-particles.

Anti-thoron bombardment is used to decontaminate a planetary crust before polyferranide can be excavated.

thoron
Naturally occuring. Radioactive isotope by-product from the decay of thorium. Thorium is also known as radon-220.

* DS9: If Wishes Were Horses - Elevated thoron emissions accompanied the appearance of aliens in the Denorios Belt.
* DS9: The Emissary - A thoron field was used as a shield against Cardassian sensors by the crew of DS9 to hide the true strength of the station.

omae mona wrote:Federation Gaming Network writes:

Physics of Star Trek wrote:Science: Physics: Anti-thoron Radiation
Energetic anti-particles.
Anti-thoron bombardment is used to decontaminate a planetary crust before polyferranide can be excavated.

Town of Misasa Tottori wrote:Three main types of hot springs can be found in Misasa :
-radioactivity/sodium/chlorides containing springs,
-radioactivity/sodium chlorides/carbonic acid and hydrogen containing springs,
-radioactivity containing springs.

OFUNA, Japan - It has been singled out as the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, right behind smoking. But to Shiro Umeda, sprightly at 74, radon is the best thing since aspirin.



Every month for the past 10 years, he has come to a radon bath here to soak it up and breathe it in. He's convinced it has helped ease his back pain and improve his overall health.

AssKissinger wrote:Related Thread http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8748&highlight=radon

Such warnings are nowhere to be found at this popular indoor radon bath on Tokyo's southern outskirts. Signs instead claim radon can tame everything from high blood pressure to hemorrhoids.

"Alpha waves emitted by the gas are brought into the body when you breathe," one sign says. "They go to every corner of your capillaries. ... This active metabolization brought about by radon is the cause of its refreshing and rehabilitating powers."

Pamphlets for the center add that its "health rooms" are "pumped full of radon from six large-scale radon-producing machines." The bath's manager refused to comment on the specifics, but said the machines used are set to "safe levels."

FOR foreigners, it is a time-honored image of Japan: a meditative soak in the mineral waters of a hot spring, preferably pondering jagged black volcanic rocks, a bough of cherry blossoms, or even, for the most luxurious, the snow-streaked slopes of Mount Fuji. Few knew that offstage, hotel employees might be surreptitiously piping in heated tap water, recycling old water between natural rock pools or even dumping coloring powders into water to make it look rich in minerals.

For Japanese, who cherish the cleansing, calming and healing mystique of a hot spring, or onsen, vacation, the scandal has almost been as traumatic as Japan's dispatch of soldiers to Iraq. After a steady drumbeat of confessions and apologies from hot spring owners, this fall the Environment Ministry conducted a survey of water use practices at 19,445 onsens. The results confirmed some of the worst fears of customers, often women who are office workers in their 30's and who cling to hygienic standards bordering on perfection.

Though anonymity was guaranteed, 40 percent of the nation's hot spring owners declined to respond to the survey. Of the respondents, about a third said they diluted their hot spring baths with tap water, half said they recycled their water through filters, and half said they heated their water.

Mulboyne wrote:Washington Times: ...
... From next year, the Japanese government will actively encourage elderly people in particular to visit public baths ...
... to stretch out and soak in a large pool-sized tub with water at around 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 degrees Fahrenheit) ...
One problem is that about 3,000 people die each year while bathing as blood circulation to the brain becomes too rapid. Nearly 80 percent of those who die from such a cause are over 65 years old ...

Goldman Sachs leverages golf course expertise in move to rehabilitate Japanese inns.

After becoming one of the biggest players in the Japanese golf business, the Goldman Sachs group is getting its feet wet in hot spring inns.

Since the latter half of 2004, the U.S.-based investment bank has been acquiring financially troubled onsen ryokan, Japanese-style inns featuring hot spring baths.

In November, Goldman Sachs announced it will acquire Komaki Hot Spring Shibusawa Park Co., an Aomori Prefecture onsen ryokan, which has filed for bankruptcy protection.

The company has also been assisting Izumiso, a long-established onsen ryokan in Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture. The facility initiated rehabilitation procedures in January.

The Komaki hot spring posted overall sales of about 8 billion yen for the year ending December 2003. For 10 straight years since 1992, it held first place in Nippon no Onsen Hyakusen, a rating of the nation's 100 best hot springs compiled by Tourism Economy News Inc.

Meanwhile, Izumiso's annual sales are relatively modest at about 800 million yen....more...

Goldman Sachs may buy more resorts. Japan's regional banks, which own about 90 percent of the country's spas, are trying to shed 10.4 trillion yen ($95.6 billion) of nonperforming loans. The banks approached Goldman Sachs to invest in hot-springs resorts, the company said in April, without giving details or naming the lenders. At the start of last year, Japan had about 59,750 "onsen ryokan," or resorts and inns with spas, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in Tokyo. In 1980, nine years before property prices collapsed, there were 83,226. Goldman Sachs may buy more resorts. Japan's regional banks, which own about 90 percent of the country's spas, are trying to shed 10.4 trillion yen ($95.6 billion) of nonperforming loans. The banks approached Goldman Sachs to invest in hot-springs resorts, the company said in April, without giving details or naming the lenders..."Japanese hot springs are something peculiar to our culture," says Seiji Horiuchi. "Goldman Sachs? We don't want a U.S. atmosphere, but we would like them to help maintain Japan's heart and soul."

"Goldman Sachs? We don't want a U.S. atmosphere, but we would like them to help maintain Japan's heart and soul."

homesweethome wrote:

"Goldman Sachs? We don't want a U.S. atmosphere, but we would like them to help maintain Japan's heart and soul."

In other words, give us your money and we will gladly suck you members, up to a point. The point being: We have enough of your money, now get the HELL OUT
Look what happened to Huis Ten Bosche

I know it went bankrupt a few years ago, but can you tell me what exactly happened?

homesweethome wrote:Then the overseas bailout artists were called in. They lost, and now who knows who maintains the tulips at HTB today.

the project was in financial distress even before it opened. It always needed a rise in land prices or a massive boost in domestic tourism to succeed.

After months of frigid weather, your skin's dry and flaky, your joints throb, and you're convinced the sensible way to get warm and cozy is to do things the Japanese way; which means heading for a major spa resort, like Beppu Onsen (in Oita) or Kusatsu Onsen (in Gunma), getting naked, and soaking away all your aches and pains, right?

Maybe. Or maybe not, reports Shukan Post (2/23). The way things are shaping up, it might make more sense to just plan a vacation in the southern hemisphere.

It seems that on February 6, Japan's Environment Agency sent to the Diet proposed revisions in the law that would make it obligatory for hot springs operators to periodically submit samples of their water for analysis once every 10 years. And establishments found unable to meet these standards would lose their right to bill themselves as true "onsen."...more...

EZPZ wrote:The unmonitored addition of radon into bath water is imo, pretty stupid