Bathing in Beaujolais

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TOKYO -

Taking a dip in a hot spring may be a staple of Japanese culture, but this is a bath with a difference.

On Thursday, Nov15, bathers got into a tub infused with wine to celebrate the launch of the 2012 Beaujolais Nouveau season.

The French wine traditionally hits the shelves at midnight ahead of the third Thursday in November, accompanied by a massive marketing fanfare to celebrate the new vintage.

While some may be more interested in sampling its nose, here this was all about the body.

"Wine's good for your health, so we made this bath to let it soak into your skin. We reckon it's brilliant for creating beautiful smooth skin," said Shunji Kanaya, a sommelier at a hot spring resort in the foothills of Mt Fuji, about 60 miles south of Tokyo.

Bathers also got to drink their health, surrounded by water infused with wine.

"Yeah, drinking Beaujolais Nouveau outside in this red water, with this atmosphere, it's a really different way to do it," 31-year-old Sachiko Suyama said.

"I bought three bottles of Boeaujolais Nouveau on by way back from a trip to France, so for me this wine is full of memories of my time there," a more elderly aficionado of the young wine added.

In 2010, 35 million bottles of the wine were sent to market, of which 15.5 million were exported. But this year production has slumped after bad weather swept wine producing regions across France.