I Have Often Seen Theme Cakes,

but this one totally foxed me,

it featured capybaras, that I normally associate with South America, and hot springs which I associate with Japan, so why are capybaras frolicking in a hot spring? university student and baker rinsforest, whose Instagram post the photographs are from, said that the cheesecake was inspired by the real life capybara hot springs of Japan? you are correct, never heard of them, 

but their bathing history can actually be traced back to Izu Shabonten Zoo in Japan’s Shizuoka prefecture. According to the zoo, on a cold winter day in 1982 a zookeeper was using hot water to clean the capybara cages when they noticed something strange. The capybaras had gathered together in a small puddle of warm water, dipping their limbs and bottoms in it. So the zookeeper decided to experiment by filling a pool with hot spring water and sure enough the capybaras quickly climbed in. Thus began an annual winter practice, which eventually spread to other zoos around Japan and then on to social media,

image courtesy Izu Shabonten Zoo, the baker explains, “I love watching Japanese wagashi artists make their crafts, and after struggling immensely with this, I admire their skills even more. I hope this brings a smile to your face.” you can keep up with rinsforest’s work on Instagram or Twitter, capybara, hot springs in Japan, who would have thought it?