Nuru for two, and a therapist each.

Origin

Nuru comes from the soaplands of Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, and takes its name from the Japanese word for slippery. The gel is made from nori seaweed, used there for its texture rather than for any claimed property. The format travelled out of Japan more or less intact, largely because there is so little of it that can be varied.

How it goes

Nothing can be kneaded through the gel — there is nothing to grip — so the whole technique is coverage and glide. The therapist works with surfaces rather than hands: forearm, back, the length of a leg, laid on and drawn across instead of pushed. Gel is reapplied and re-warmed every few minutes, because it cools faster than skin and a cold reapplication is the one thing that breaks a session. For two, it is warmed in two batches and each of the pair keeps their own within reach.

What to expect

Everything is laid out before anything starts — waterproof sheet over the bed, gel warmed, towels within reach and a second set held back. The massage itself is quiet and continuous, full contact with almost nothing to grip against, and the near-weightlessness is the part people remember rather than the heat. For two, the practical question is the bathroom, and the pair answer it by staggering the ends of the two sessions by a few minutes so nobody queues. Nothing of any of it stays in the room afterwards.

Who it suits

Two people who want one thing out of the evening that cannot be arranged at home, and anyone whose shoulders have stopped responding to being pressed on.

Afterwards

A full-body release that hand technique cannot reproduce, and an unusually clean break from whatever the day put on you. Two people who take it together spend the rest of the evening noticeably slower.