A soap bubble guru is born at the SoraHouse.

Ever since our boss Yoshio purchased a property in the mountains of Saitama for just one million yen (US$9,100), he and some of our workmates have been exploring the 353-square-metre (3,800-square-foot) patch of land and mulling over plans to renovate the two-storey house, which covers 131 square metres (1,410 square feet) of floor space.

That’s a lot of space for our stressed-out Tokyo workers to have fun in, and one of our reporters, Masanuki Sunakoma, decided the ultimate way to destress in such tranquil surroundings would be by throwing a soap bubble party. 

So he packed a suitcase full of bubble machines, procured from 100-yen chainstore Daiso, and somehow managed to convince Yoshio and trusty colleague Go Hatori that this would be one of his best ideas yet.

▼ Masanuki came prepared with 44 soap bubble machines, priced at 330 yen (US$2.89) a pop from Daiso.

Just looking at his 44 soap bubble machines, all lined up in beautiful, neat rows like this, was a sight to soothe Masanuki’s soul.

▼ There were 23 red machines, and 21 green machines shaped like adorable little frogs.

The machines may have looked beautiful to Masanuki, but to Go they looked like a whole lot of work. Each little box needed three AA batteries to run, so Go tugged Masanuki out of his reverie and the two of them began inserting a total of 132 batteries into the machines.

After inserting the batteries, they then had to pour liquid soap into each machine. It was tedious work, and Masanuki began to wonder if the stress involved might be counterproductive to the de-stressing effects of the bubble party at the end of it all.

Still, Masanuki figured a little distress to de-stress was definitely worth it. Once the hard work was done, he arranged the machines in a circle, creating a magic-circle-like barrier between him and the stress of the world.

With preparations now complete, Masanuki sat himself in the middle of the circle, where he looked like some sort of strange guru, surrounded by a cluster of faithful red and green cult followers who were ready to bestow their graces upon him.

Masanuki felt as if some strange festival was about to begin, and he wasn’t sure if this was a form of stress relief or escapism, but as he waited for the festivities to start, he already felt the stress being lifted from his shoulders.

Yoshio began hopping around the outside of the circle like a frog, turning each machine on with the skill and efficiency of a seasoned pro.

Being the giving boss he is, Yoshio was happy to make Masanuki the King of the Bubble Party, but neither he nor Go could’ve predicted the true power of the bubbles they were about to unleash into the room.

▼ The festival began with a gentle scattering of soap bubbles…

▼ …which steadily grew in number as each machine whirred into action.

▼ “Masanuki! *gasp* You’ve never looked so beautiful!“

▼ Behold the birth of the Soap Bubble Guru!

The machines bowed down in worship of Masanuki’s genius, which had brought them together here to create this soapy miracle.

It was a bubble party for one, and all Yoshio and Go could do was gaze upon the miracle, yelling “sugoi!” (“amazing!”) over and over, in complete awe of the situation.

▼ Go remarked that Masanuki looked like he was sitting in a jacuzzi or bubble bath.

Peering out through the sparkling, crystal-like soap bubbles, Masanuki felt as if he’d levelled up as a human being. This was more than stress relief — this was a rebirth, with our reporter attaining all the zen-like serenity of a knowledgeable guru.

▼ “These bubbles, floating softly in the air and bursting in an instant…beautiful and ephemeral, like cherry blossoms.”

Like all good things, Masanuki’s journey to enlightenment took a lot of hard work and effort, but the rewards were definitely worth it.

▼ Take a gander at the work that went on behind the scenes in this video below:

If you too would like to become a soap bubble guru, all you need is 44 soap bubble machines…and a space to enjoy it all in. It just goes to show that once you — or your boss — owns a cheap place in the Japanese countryside, there’s no end to the hijinks and adventures that await you!

Photos ©SoraNews24
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