Having just recently experienced the best traditional Thai massage and best oil massage of my life in Japan, I was even further blown away by my experience at the Nishi Umeda branch of Olive Spa. I’d been there a few times already and had a different therapist each time. They were all quite good, and I’d put them all in my “top tier” for quality, but this last experience at Olive Spa was the absolute best.
I’d actually had this therapist at my previous visit but it was a short 60 minute session I’d popped in for at like 1:30 AM while waiting for my laundry to dry at a 24 hour automated laundry. You gotta love Japan. Anyway, the 60 minute session was great so I booked a 120 massage and did a therapist “nomination” as they call it so I could ensure I got this particular therapist. In Japanese it is called “shimei” (指名) which basically means you choose your therapist rather than getting one at random based on whoever is available. There is an added cost for shimei but this was to be my last massage in Japan so I wanted to know I’d get someone really good.
The therapist did not disappoint. The massage was amazing. Similar to other high-end spas in Japan, it started with her washing my feet in a big foam bucket of water. Normally this is just a quick wash and, while I guess technically they’re also massaging your feet, there usually isn’t anything particularly special about it. Not with this therapist. She had an attention to detail that made even this part of the massage memorable. It was a small thing but rather than just poking her finger between all toes to give them a quick cleaning, she started further up near my ankle and slid her finger down the top of my foot and into the space between my pinky toe and the next one over. My eyes rolled back in my head as she repeated the maneuver for the spaces between all my toes and then painstakingly cleaned each toe individually. I was thinking (1) “I didn’t know my toes could feel this good,” and (2) “That therapist nomination was a very wise decision.”
Sometimes when I get a therapist of small stature, and that is common in Japan, I worry whether or not they’ll be able to apply sufficient pressure for the whole massage. Well, this therapist was small but mighty. In particular, large muscles like those on my back and legs got worked really well. She just kept pushing through them with the perfect combination of pressure and finesse. Somehow this strong pressure still felt soft. I’m not sure how she did it but I was really impressed with her technique. I felt as if I’d been tenderized like meat being prepared for cooking. In the perfect ending to the leg portion of the massage, she grabbed both feet by sticking four fingers from each of her hands in between the toes on each foot, lifted them up, and gave my whole lower body a shake! I’m over 200 pounds so I was quite surprised she was able to do that. Small but mighty, indeed. The entire experience was absolutely top notch.
At Olive Spa, sometimes they say the massage is over but then when you sit up they give you a little extra shoulder massage and do that thing where they rapidly pound on your back with their hands. Some people find it weird, some people find it a bit jarring, but I like it. If the therapist has done their job you’re probably half out of it at this point and the slight jarring is a good way to wake you back up a bit and get the blood flowing in your muscles again.
I remember thinking after the massage had just ended that she’d possibly ask me how the massage was. I’m always working on my Japanese so any time I can pre-plan a response to an expected question, I get right on it. The question doesn’t always come but it is good practice anyway. In this case the question did come and I was ready! In the best Japanese I could come up with I said, “In my entire life, I’ve never experienced such a wonderful massage.” She seemed to chuckle a bit and then asked “Don’t you have spas in America?” as if what she just did was ordinary and you could experience it at any spa. So humble. So Japanese.
As is their usual way, at least if it isn’t too busy, both my massage therapist and the front desk staff walked me out. The front desk person came as far as the elevator. While we were waiting for the elevator to come, the front desk person seemed to notice from my face and general demeaner that I could barely walk. “She’s good.” she said. “Yeah, I know.” I responded wryly, admitting my obvious incapacity.
The therapist came in the elevator with me. I think I mentioned I was leaving the next morning and she invited me to come again if I return to Japan. She came all the way out of the elevator, around to the front of the building, and saw me off at the sidewalk. I thanked her again and started walking.
I looked back after about 20 feet and she was still there so I waived and did my best “I don’t really know how to bow” forward head lean to try to visually say thanks again. I got the most enthusiastic wave back with an outstretched arm and a playful sideways tilt of the head. It reminded me of characters at theme parks that have to express emotion through movement since they can’t make facial expressions. She was actually wearing a face mask that day, so I could only see her eyes, but they sparkled in a way that would have made Minnie Mouse proud!
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