The simple act of taking a bath carries serious risks for older people, while assisting them is a demanding task for caregivers. Toyota has been working on a potential solution.
During the Nukumaru trials, measurements were taken with odor sensors and testers used for food hygiene. The results proved that wiping the body down after a stint in the sauna was enough to ensure cleanliness.
Kawaraguchi, Advanced Mobility System Development Division
Many people told us that the mist sauna was more comfortable than bathing, since they’re not subjected to the water’s pressure. Some said their body was lighter afterward and they felt like taking a stroll, showing that it not only warms, but could also spur people to get outside more.
The team initially envisioned a nursing care service. In the process, however, they also discovered a need for “preventive care,” which allows individuals to keep leading healthy lives so that they do not require assistance in the first place.
Toshiaki Miyazawa, Director, Citizens’ Affairs Department, Iiyama City
Our city is aging faster than the national average, and during the pandemic, people got used to shutting themselves away at home. We hoped that Nukumaru might also encourage people to enjoy getting out and about.
This was echoed by Yasushi Suzuki, who at the time oversaw the community’s comprehensive support center.
I saw many people who stayed cooped up at home and became increasingly dispirited. Getting out and talking to others brings joy. We hope that Nukumaru will give people a chance to leave the house and brighten their moods, so that they can continue leading happy, active lives in the neighborhoods they know so well.
As part of its preventive care and lifestyle support services, Iiyama City currently offers a discounted rate of 500 yen per session for those aged 65 and older (normally 3,000 yen).
Without a specific purpose, people are less likely to go out on cold days. Nukumaru’s warming effect helps to tackle this issue in Japan’s snowy regions.
An impossible schedule?
Nukumaru sees an even split between male and female users. This result came as a surprise to the head of the city’s nursing care support section.
Fumihide Yamazaki, Assistant Director, Planning and Finance Section, Iiyama City
The city also runs preventive care classes, but we get few male participants. Yet with Nukumaru, we found that many men came out to use the service.
In the Tomikura area where we started our trials, a community even formed around Nukumaru, with neighbors encouraging each other to go. Mr. Kawaraguchi of Toyota was a big hit there (laughs).
Creating opportunities for outings helps older people connect to society and prevents them from becoming withdrawn, improving their quality of life. However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing.
“There are all kinds of regulations on public bathhouses. Usually, we’re the ones imposing these regulations, so we never thought they would cause us trouble,” one Iiyama City official told us with a wry smile.
Nevertheless, they pushed forward, determined to prove this unprecedented mobility service through testing. At the outset, there was also some concern about Toyota’s approach.
Yasushi Suzuki, Director, General Administration Department, Iiyama City
We received the phone call in May 2020, and when I heard we were going to start trials that fall, I thought, “Is this schedule even possible?” That kind of speed is unimaginable in government, but Toyota was going right ahead.
I feel like we had to do our best just to keep up. And they really made it happen (laughs).
As a vehicle, Nukumaru can move around to support older residents without being bound to particular sites or facilities. The range of usage scenarios beyond preventive care is also growing.
Toyota’s mobile sauna spent six months, with a brief maintenance period, offering aid in areas devastated by the Noto Peninsula earthquake. Such assistance is greatly needed amid the heightened stress and anxiety of experiencing disaster in a cold region, and the service is also important for maintaining hygiene. Some users shed tears as they expressed their gratitude.
The team is also exploring all kinds of possibilities for commercializing the service, including recreational use as part of campground facilities, for skin treatments in the beauty care domain, and as a rental car offering. Being mobile means a single vehicle can rejuvenate people in many places.
We’ll let the two Toyota members have the final word:
“Nukumaru has changed people’s behavior and created new communities. If it encourages people to step out the front door for even just 30 seconds, I think it has great potential.”—Shoma Kawaraguchi
“I’m not exaggerating when I say that it spreads happiness right before your eyes. And for us, accumulating these small joys is what it’s all about.”—Risa Asami
On the day we visited, everyone stepping out of Nukumaru did so with smiles on their faces. Even now, this unique endeavor is delivering happiness to new places.