Yamada to sell 'human washing machine'

A demo unit of the 'Mirai (future) Human Washing Machine' will be displayed at the store starting December 25, with an experience corner, Yamada Holdings said Wednesday.

The company has not decided when it will start selling the product.

The price is expected to be 60 million yen, it said.

The human washing machine was developed by Osaka-based Science Co., which produces products using technology that generates fine bubbles.

By simply lying down in a 2.3-meter-long capsule, the machine washes a bather with microbubbles and a fine mist shower, completing the whole process, including drying, in about 15 minutes.

Sensors monitor a bather's health during use, while the machine provides relaxing visuals and music.

More than 40,000 applications were submitted for the bathing experience at the Expo, which ended in October.

"We want people who could not visit the Expo to experience this technology," Science Chairman Yasuaki Aoyama said at a press conference Wednesday.