Location: Yoko Kitahara’s spa
Photos: by Liya Geldman
Clothes: Dries Van Noten at Helga Design
Watches by: Obaku at Impress
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The new year has just begun and I am already chasing my own tail, running from meeting to meeting, dealing with dead lines while shooting and planning up coming adventures, the holidays are no where near and taking time off to relax is beyond undoable at this point. I found the perfect solution to this stressful situation and popped in to Yoko Kitahara’s spa located in a hidden ally in Jaffa. What do you know, a couple of hours is all it takes to refresh, restart and rejuvenate!
This little piece of pure Japanese heaven was founded by Yoko a year ago in the aim of creating a peaceful place to where we can escape from our busy schedules, and since the Japanese are known for their impeccable hospitality I thought I would give some of that Omotenashi a chance. The treatments are a mix of Japanese and other eastern techniques, with western methods, the main purpose here is to deep cleanse the body so the mind and soul can follow…
Omotenashi is a Japanese hosting ritual that is deeply rooted in the cultural history of japan, a huge part of it is the humble service, politeness, and the natural respect for a guest or a client (something that is often forgotten here in Israel). This special one-to-one relationship that is created between the host and a guest (that would be me), caring about the smallest detail, or in other words it’s the Japanese way of loving the quality and order of things. The purity, freshness and lightness of this truly relaxing experience made me want to be more Japanese more often.
When ever I do find the time to relax/ treat myself, the relaxation process doesn’t last too long, and thats all because I suffer from a thing called Mind Monkey – A Buddhist term meaning “unsettled; restless; capricious; whimsical and fanciful, (yes guys it is a thing and it is as legit as it can be) and Yoko’s treatments are the perfect cure for it.
Everything here feels so sacred, from the fresh crisp linen, the organic essential oils, the warm soba tea, to the minimalistic flower arrangements & tranquil voices of everyone working here, this place is a temple of serenity & inner peace you have no choice but respect it and give in to it once you enter that mysterious rusty wooden gates.
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