Stoning Out!

Japanese hot stone spa GANBANYOKU wants to heal your achy muscles simply by having you lie down on heated volcanic stones and doing nothing. Sounds shiok?

- Yip Jieying

True story: there is a nook right in the heart of Orchard Road where you can change into pyjamas and take an hour-long nap in dim, quiet surrounds. And it even relaxes your muscles while you’re at it. We’re talking about Ganbanyoku Hot Stone Therapy, a spa which opened at Far East Plaza last July offering ganbanyoku, a form of Japanese wellness therapy. How it works: you simply lie down on a specially heated volcanic stone bed, adjust yourself into a comfortable position, and chill your way to health benefits. It all sounds promising, which is why we find ourselves at the zen Muji-esque spa on a weekday afternoon being shown around by Greta Ng, the spa’s highly animated 70-year old owner. “I used to have such bad backache that I had to move around in a wheelchair, but ganbanyoku has helped me so much,” she raves as she swans in and out of the establishment’s four communal treatment rooms without so much as a creaky joint. “But don’t just listen to me, you have to try it yourself!” she urges, shoving a set of freshly laundered Japanesestyle pyjamas and two fluffy towels at us.