40,000 People Applied to Try Japan’s Human Washing Machine
make a splash: to attract a lot of attention or become very popular quickly
A machine that washes people sounds absurd, but in Japan it’s a real product. A company called Science is now selling a “human washing machine.” It made a splash at the 2025 Osaka Expo, where more than 27 million people visited. Over 40,000 people applied just to try the bathing experience.
The idea goes back more than fifty years. A similar device appeared at the 1970 Osaka Expo. The president of Science saw it there as a young boy. The memory stayed with him, and decades later his company built a modern version.
The machine is a capsule about 2.3 meters long. You lie down inside, and microbubbles and a fine mist clean your whole body. Sensors check your heart rate and vital signs while soft music and calming images fill the capsule. After about 15 minutes, you step out clean and dry. No towels needed.
The first unit was bought by a hotel in Osaka. A large electronics store called Yamada Denki also bought one and plans to display it in December. Only about 50 machines will be produced, and each one costs around 60 million yen, or roughly $385,000. At that price, the machine is clearly not intended for the average household. But according to Sachiko Maekura from the company, the machine does more than clean the body. It also “washes the soul.”
Sample sentences
The new restaurant downtown made a splash on its first weekend. People waited in line for over an hour just to get a table.
My neighbor started selling homemade hot sauce at the farmers’ market last summer. It made a splash almost overnight. Now three local stores carry it.
The foldable touchscreen phone made a splash when it first came out, but it’s too expensive for most people.
Origin
The expression comes from the image of jumping into water. A big jump creates a big splash that everyone notices. Over time, people began using it to describe anything that gets a lot of attention in a short time.
Read More:
Japan Unveils Human Washing Machine, Now You Can Get Washed Like Laundry
Yamada to sell ‘human washing machine’ after expo popularity