Food-Related Fads from Japan, from Spa Theme Parks to Gelatinous Fanta
Clockwise from top left: wine, coffee, ramen, and green tea spas at spa theme park Hakone Kowakien Yunessun in Japan.
If you've ever fantasized of loafing in a pool of wine, visit Hakone, Japan and your dream can become reality. Food-themed spas are just one of the trends listed in Adage.com's feature on Japan's latest could-be trends, from ramen-noodle baths to self-cleaning toilets (Madonna is a fan).
Hakone Kowakien Yunessun, a spa theme park in Hakone with a menu of "amusement baths," is your spot for that wine bath. Not feeling wine? Perhaps you would prefer a soak in green-tea, coffee, or sake.
I'd go for a ramen-noodle bath, myself, which is shaped and outfitted like a ramen bowl. Chopsticks and noodle decorations hang over the hot tub; the pepper-flavored water is flecked with skin-healthy collagen and garlic extracts; and, best of all, "a man dressed as a chef dispenses noodle-shaped bath additives" and soy sauce into the water.
Slate's Jacob Weisberg breaks down 
