Osaka Temple Massage, Facial and Tea Ceremony

This wellness experience takes place in a historic Osaka temple, and the treatments are combined with short rituals that give the temple a role in the visit. The product title gives the total time as 180 minutes, counted from arrival to departure.

The session starts with a welcome drink and a change into a yukata. You then visit the temple, make an incense offering and hear an introduction to the temple's history and to Japanese worship culture, followed by a meditation with a bell and kneaded incense. The treatments come next: a foot bath with a scrub massage, a warm bamboo and hand oil massage meant to relieve muscle tension and improve circulation, fascia release with a bamboo stick, then a matcha facial and a head spa with a scalp massage. You finish with a tea ceremony accompanied by the original Japanese sweets of the house, and the staff take photos of your experience in the temple with your smartphone.

The treatments are individual, but the listing warns that the tea ceremony may be shared with other guests. The experience is not suitable for pregnant women.

The meeting point needs care. The listing asks you to search Google Maps for "Japanese Massage -the one&only-" rather than the temple's name, because the temple name can take you to a back entrance and leave you lost. If you cannot find the place, look for the restaurant "Tossa de coracao", next to which the venue sits.

The operator is the Japanese Massage "the one&only" team, and the experience is booked through GetYourGuide with free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start. It suits travellers who want a restful block of time in the middle of a busy itinerary and are curious about a Japanese temple setting, without a long journey out of the city.