I’ve been coming to Kabuki Springs and Spa in San Francisco’s Japantown for years to relax and recharge. I love Kabuki’s style and even more, I love that it has some substance to spare. Inspired by traditional Japanese baths, Kabuki offers a soothing oasis for tired city folks looking for a break from it all.
Besides the popular bathing room, Kabuki also offers a creative menu of spa treatments. Traditional asian bodywork styles like shiatsu and acupressure are available, but so are facials, body treatments like the Javanese Lulur and Ayurvedic inspired experiences like an Abhyanga massage. With such a great mix of options to choose from, I decided to keep it simple and selected a “Grounding Foot Treatment”, hoping it would bring me down to earth after spending a couple of hours steaming, soaking and bathing.
My gracious therapist led me to one of Kabuki’s beautifully decorated treatment rooms. With inspired touches like 1940’s style fabric and vintage Japanese art, Kabuki’s aesthetic is unique and blends just the right amount of modern into designs inspired from the past. I particularly love the many decorative light fixtures that adorn Kabuki’s walls and ceilings.
After a brief orientation to my treatment, I lay down and prepared to relax. It wasn’t hard, because what followed was one of the best multisensory spa experiences I’ve received in awhile. Lying on a warm gushy layer of heated mud might sound messy, as in fact, it was, but it was also a delightful and sensual way to ease tension in my back.
However, as I soon came to find out, the mud was just the beginning, because before my therapist focused on the business of grounding my feet, she made sure the rest of my body was along for the ride.
First was the application of a wonderful (and just tingly enough), peppermint smelling crème on my hands, heated stones to various parts of my body, and the crowning touch: a lavendar eye bag over my eyes. With every other inch of my body thoroughly taken care of, my feet were now ready for their moment.
And what a moment it was….first there was washing and exfoliation, followed by some nice foot massage and then there were probably some other enjoyable things that I can’t exactly remember, because by that point I had ventured into that wonderful “drifty place”, a place that every good massage experience should eventually lead.
Eventually, I was gently returned to earth, (remember, this was a grounding treatment), my back was washed of all that delicious mud and water and apple slices were offered. After making my way back to the baths for one final round of hydrotherapy I was ready to return to the world.
Kabuki Springs and Spa offers a variety of relaxing antidotes to the stresses of modern life, as well as regular specials and deals. Contact them at 415.922.6000 to book your reservation for a spa treatment, or drop in for a visit to their communal baths (check their online schedule for the bath days for men, women and mixed.)
