Let the cherries cheer you up

THE OKURA Spa at the Okura Prestige Bangkok celebrates Japan’s sakura season with its new Sakura Blossom Treatment. 

For centuries, cherry blossoms have been richly and deeply symbolic in Japanese culture. Symbolising mortality and alluding to the ephemeral nature of life, this delicate, milky-pink flower is utilised in poetry, film, art and folk music as an ambient effect – and even in modern-day manga. 

During World War II the cherry blossom was used to stoke nationalism and militarism among the populace. Even prior to the war it was used to inspire “the Japanese spirit”. Along with other classic Japanese symbols – like the koi fish, dragon and tiger – it is also one of the most prevalent motifs found in irezumi, the traditional art of tattooing.

To celebrate the importance of sakura in the Japanese culture, the Okura Spa has developed the relaxing Sakura Blossom Treatment. 

It starts with a total body scrub lasting half an hour. The Japanese Sakura Glowing Scrub uses a combination of coconut-shell powder, shea butter, algae and sakura extract. The coconut granules exfoliate dull, dead cells to reveal glowing, suppler skin, while the butter moisturises the skin and restores its elasticity. 

The scrub also entails aromatherapy with the use of lavender, rose, geranium, champee and frangipani essential oils, which not only soothe the mind but also detoxify and nurture the skin. 

The scrub can feel a little rough because the coconut granules are quite harsh, but your skin will immediately feel hydrated, cleansed and supple.

After a quick rinse, you’re next treated to a 60-minute Japanese Sakura Oil Massage. Using long strokes, kneading and slight acupressure technique, the masseuse soothes weary, ached muscles, leaving your mind floating in heavenly bliss. 

Close your eyes and smell the sakura! You can vividly imagine yourself sitting under rows of cherry trees, inhaling the soft, sweet fragrance of the blossoms, thanks to the aromatic massage oil that exudes a marvellous scent with a faint hint of citrus. The oils of sweet almond, safflower seeds and jojoba seeds mingle with geranium, champee and frangipani in a fragrance that totally calms your nerves.

Your skin is now finely polished and ready for nutrients. Jojoba, whose oil closely resembles human sebum, deeply moisturises the skin and at the same time disinfects, while safflower oil tackles deteriorating skin cells and restores their youthfulness and natural glow. Another star ingredient is the sweet almond oil, which is rich in Vitamin E with its anti-ageing and sun-protection properties. 

Afterwards you’ll be served a Sakura Macaroon with yuzu and warm sakurayu – that’s sakura tea. Traditionally proffered at weddings because it denotes a fresh beginning, the purely herbal sakuraya tea is brewed from dried, salt-pickled blossoms.

The Sakura Blossom Treatment costs Bt3,800 – or Bt5,200 if you want a half-hour in a sakura milk bath. The scrub and massage oil are custom-made by I Plus Q. 

 

 

FOLLOW THE FRAGRANCE

>>The Okura Spa at the Okura Prestige Bangkok is near the Ploenchit Skytrain station and open daily from 10 to 10. 

>>The Sakura Blossom Treatment is offered right through May. Reservations are recommended at (02) 687 9000 or [email protected].