Haruka Ayase Beauty & Wellness: Skincare, Diet, Exercise & Self-Care

When Haruka Ayase’s beauty is discussed, words such as “radiant,” “clear-skinned,” “fit” and “natural” often appear.

But when her own interviews are followed across her 20s, 30s and 40s, a much fuller picture emerges.

There were years when she trained her body intensely.

In her 30s, stretching and loosening the body became increasingly important.

When her skin feels dry, she gives more attention to moisturizing.

With food, she pays attention to what her body feels like eating rather than relying only on numbers or rigid rules.

And in her 40s, her philosophy has become even more flexible: make today just a little more thoughtful than yesterday.

Skincare, food, exercise, stretching, bathing, fragrance, sleep, cooking, reading, family and her hometown.

The thread connecting Haruka Ayase’s beauty and wellness habits is her ability to notice how she feels now and keep adjusting her routines to suit her current skin, body, mind and lifestyle.

Born on March 24, 1985, in Hiroshima Prefecture, Ayase is 166 cm tall.

She entered the entertainment industry in 2000 after receiving the Special Jury Prize at the 25th Horipro Talent Scout Caravan.

Her official profile also notes that she competed in a regional ekiden relay race in her third year of junior high school and enjoyed sports including basketball.

As an actor, she has appeared in many major television dramas, including Sekai no Chushin de, Ai wo Sakebu, Hotaru no Hikari, JIN, Yae no Sakura, Gibo to Musume no Blues and Tengoku to Jigoku: Psychona Futari.

Her films include Our Little Sister, Tonight, at the Movies, The Legend & Butterfly, Revolver Lily and Route 29, spanning comedy, historical drama, action and human drama.

In 2025, she starred in the NHK drama Hitori de Shinitai and served as the voice of Kurosuke Inari in the taiga drama Berabou.

Her 2026 schedule has been especially busy, with three starring films.

Hito wa Naze Love Letter wo Kaku no ka opened on April 17, followed by Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Hako no Naka no Hitsuji on May 29. First Voice is scheduled for release on October 2.

In Hako no Naka no Hitsuji, Ayase plays Nene Komoto, a woman who welcomes into her family a humanoid resembling the son she lost. The film was selected for the Competition section of the 79th Cannes Film Festival.

In First Voice, she plays Michiko Asahi, a lawyer raising three children while working and taking on a landmark harassment case.

She also appeared at the film’s completion event in September 2026 ahead of its theatrical release.

Searches about Haruka Ayase also frequently include questions about marriage, a husband and children.

As of September 2026, neither Ayase nor her agency had announced a marriage, and she had not publicly announced having children.

What she has spoken about repeatedly, however, is the importance of her family in Hiroshima.

As a child, her older brother would often go back to his room to play games, while Ayase preferred staying in the living room where the family gathered.

She has long had an open relationship with her mother, even discussing romance with her.

As an adult, Ayase says she now expresses feelings such as “thank you” and “I love you” more directly than before.

She has also shared the sweet detail that encouragement from her mother can quickly lift her mood when she feels down.

In a 2026 interview, Ayase spoke about her father, who had passed away several years earlier, and described sometimes feeling as if people who have died are still somehow close by.

Her grandmother in Hiroshima is another major influence.

Family, home-cooked meals, nature and time spent returning to her hometown all help explain what “natural” means in Ayase’s life.

This article explores Haruka Ayase’s beauty and wellness habits through skincare, dryness, moisturizing, cleansing, body care, diet, rice, fish, vegetables, protein, stretching, strength training, core work, foam rolling, bathing, fragrance, sleep, sauna, cooking, reading, family, Hiroshima and the way her philosophy has evolved in her 40s.

1. From Ekiden Runner and Basketball Player to Her 40s: Haruka Ayase’s Natural Approach to Life

Haruka Ayase’s physical confidence has roots in a childhood filled with movement.

In her third year of junior high school, she competed in a regional ekiden relay race.

She also played basketball, and her official profile describes her as being good at sports in general.

She remains close with a friend who played the same basketball position as she did in junior high school.

When Ayase returns to Hiroshima, that friend sometimes picks her up at Hiroshima Station and joins her family for a meal at home.

Ayase entered the entertainment industry at 15.

As she worked through her teens, 20s and 30s, the way she approached beauty and fitness gradually changed.

There were periods when she trained quite intensely, particularly for physically demanding roles.

For the film version of Okusama wa, Toriatsukai Chui, she added extra physical training for action scenes.

A role that required her to walk elegantly in heels also made her more conscious of her core and posture.

In her 40s, however, strength is only one part of the picture.

One idea she discussed in a 2025 Biteki GRAND interview was what she called a “20 percent more” approach.

Make today’s meals just a little more thoughtful than yesterday’s.

Give self-care a little more attention.

Rather than rebuilding everything overnight, move gently in a better direction.

For Ayase, that feels easier to continue.

Her feelings about age have also evolved.

In her late 30s, 40 once felt like a distant stage of life.

After reaching it herself, she discovered that she did not suddenly feel like a completely different person.

She also began to understand something an older actor had once told her: after 40, people can begin to feel almost like classmates regardless of their exact age.

Although she initially had mixed feelings about the milestone, those feelings softened over time.

She began to feel that growing older could continue to be enjoyable.

Her 2025 drama Hitori de Shinitai reinforced another idea that stayed with her: do not compare yourself with other people.

Ayase has admitted that she has compared herself with peers and wondered why they had achieved things she had not.

Over time, she came to recognize the people and work already present in her own life as sources of happiness.

A short phrase from a letter her older brother gave her at his wedding also remained with her: “just right.”

She began to think that the people and opportunities around her at any particular moment might be “just right” for that stage of her life.

That perspective helped her receive life more positively.

When asked what she wanted to preserve in herself, Ayase also chose the word “innocence” or childlike openness.

She wants to remain able to notice what genuinely feels enjoyable rather than simply following someone else’s idea of the right answer.

Her beauty philosophy reflects the same idea.

Choose what feels right for who she is now, then allow those choices to evolve with age.

2. Simpler Skincare, Generous Moisture: How Her Routine Has Evolved With Her Skin

Skincare has been one of the most closely watched parts of Haruka Ayase’s beauty routine for many years.

She has served for years as the face of a major skincare brand and has frequently discussed her skin in beauty publications.

Today, experience has led her toward a simpler routine built around basic care she trusts.

In 2025, Ayase said her daily skincare had become simpler year by year.

In her 20s, she enjoyed trying more elaborate forms of care.

Now she prefers using reliable basics carefully and according to how her skin feels.

It is a simpler routine shaped by experience.

In 2026, she still uses lotion very generously

A June 2026 美ST interview revealed a very specific detail about her current moisturizing routine.

The number of skincare steps may be simple, but she uses a generous amount of lotion.

Her own reference point is the feeling that her skin looks and feels well moisturized after application.

She touches her skin and continues until it feels sufficiently replenished to her.

That connects with a routine she had already described in 2023.

At that time, she explained that after applying lotion, she would touch her skin and add more if it still felt dry.

Her standard is therefore less about a fixed number of layers or milliliters and more about checking the condition of her skin with her own hands.

She also became more conscious of gentle cleansing in her late 30s

In 2023, Ayase described herself as someone who can unconsciously touch or scratch her skin.

That made her more conscious of handling her skin gently.

During cleansing, she pays attention to using a light touch rather than excessive pressure.

She then checks how her skin feels and moisturizes until it feels comfortable to her.

She has also become more accepting of the changes that naturally appear in skin over time.

Instead of approaching each change with alarm, she observes her current skin and chooses care that suits it now.

By 2025, she said she had become more relaxed about these changes.

Her current approach is to let skincare evolve along with her skin.

Body moisturizing has also been part of her routine for years

Ayase has also spoken about dryness on the body.

Around 2020, she described applying body cream all over after bathing.

Her preference was practical: choose a large container that she could use generously.

It reflects her broader preference for routines that feel easy enough to repeat every day.

Her hairstyles change with her roles too

Hair is another area where Ayase embraces change.

For the 2023 film Revolver Lily, she cut her hair quite short for the role.

During filming, her black hair was styled in tight waves to evoke the Taisho era.

Ayase said the shorter style also made clothes she had not previously considered feel newly appealing.

Rather than holding tightly to one signature appearance, she enjoys allowing work and her current stage of life to change the way she looks.

3. Fifteen Years of Stretching: Weekly Gym Sessions, Core Work and Foam Rolling

Haruka Ayase’s relationship with exercise stretches back many years.

She was athletic from childhood and has described herself as someone who builds muscle relatively easily.

When she was younger, she did substantial strength training.

Action roles sometimes required even more intensive physical preparation.

From her 30s onward, however, stretching and loosening the body became increasingly central.

By 2025, she said stretching had been part of her life for around 15 years.

Before bed, she may rotate her shoulders and ankles.

She may massage or touch her calves while using a fragrance that suits her mood.

She pays attention to whichever areas feel tight that day.

In 2026, she goes to the gym about once a week for around two hours

A 2026 interview gave a clearer picture of her current exercise schedule.

She goes to the gym roughly once a week and spends around two hours moving her body.

Stretching is the main focus.

Acting sometimes requires long hours in kimono or other clothing that feels very different from what she normally wears.

She therefore also includes exercises that focus on areas such as the shoulders and lower back when those areas feel stiff to her.

Her current routine combines both strength and mobility according to what her body needs at the time.

In a 2020 stretching feature, Ayase also worked carefully through the neck, shoulders, shoulder blades, chest, back, hips and glutes.

Move the shoulder blades and open the chest.

Stretch the neck slowly.

Bring awareness to the back.

Use a wide-leg position to stretch areas that feel tight.

Her focus includes posture, mobility and the feeling of being comfortable in her own body.

Her grandmother was still doing the splits while putting on makeup at 98

Ayase’s admiration for regular movement also has a family connection.

In 2025, she spoke warmly about her grandmother, who was 98 at the time and whom Ayase described as being almost more energetic than herself.

Her grandmother puts on makeup every morning, even on days when she has nowhere to go.

And the posture she uses is unforgettable.

She does her makeup while sitting in a wide split.

Ayase has also described her grandmother’s long-standing habits of cleaning, wiping floors, sweeping the garden and doing radio exercises.

What Ayase admires most is that steady ability to continue small routines day after day.

It offers a glimpse of the family influence behind her own long-term approach to movement and self-care.

There was a time when Pilates felt too gentle for her

One story reveals just how athletic Ayase was when she was younger.

She once tried Pilates, but at the time she was doing much harder training and felt she wanted something more intense.

She has also told a lighthearted story about a yoga teacher essentially telling her she could already do enough on her own.

Ayase laughed about it and wondered what she should try next.

During periods when going to the gym was difficult, she also did core-focused exercises at home.

Another long-running tool has been a foam roller.

She preferred a firm, textured type and used it on areas such as her back and calves depending on how she felt that day.

Walking helps her change mental gears

Ayase has also long enjoyed walking.

Feel the wind.

Look at the stars.

Walk slowly instead of rushing.

For her, walking is as much about changing mental gears as physical activity.

Intense training when she was younger.

Around 15 years of stretching.

A weekly gym session today.

Foam rolling and walking.

The methods have changed, but the habit of listening to her own body has remained.

4. Firm Rice, Umeboshi, Miso Soup and Ice Cream: Haruka Ayase’s Flexible Approach to Food

Looking across Haruka Ayase’s food habits, one theme stands out: she genuinely enjoys eating.

In a 2026 interview, she said she has few foods she dislikes and simply loves food.

She enjoys sweets.

She enjoys yakiniku.

She likes bread.

And one of the meals she currently finds especially satisfying is remarkably simple:

slightly firm white rice, salt, umeboshi and miso soup.

She also has preferences about the seasonings she keeps at home and sometimes chooses traditionally simple products.

Familiar flavors from childhood still bring her a sense of comfort.

In 2020, Ayase discussed listening to her appetite rather than rigidly deciding how many meals a day were “correct.”

Eat when hungry.

Pay attention to appetite and the day’s schedule.

Enjoy both bread and rice.

And at that time, she kept ice cream in the freezer.

Her approach allows room for favorite foods while looking at the overall balance of what she eats.

After a heavier meal, she may choose something lighter later.

If work meals have continued for several days, she may add more vegetables at home.

She has previously described looking at food over a span of roughly one to three days rather than judging every meal in isolation.

More fish, homemade nukazuke and colorful ingredients

As Ayase entered her 40s, some of her food habits shifted.

In 2025, she said she had begun eating fish more consciously and keeping a nukadoko rice-bran bed at home for seasonal vegetables.

She also pays attention to including foods of different colors on the table.

The idea again connects with her “20 percent more” philosophy.

If today includes a slightly wider variety of ingredients than yesterday, that already feels like progress.

And sometimes she forgets about the vegetables in the nukadoko long enough for them to become very sour.

That imperfect little story makes her food routine feel especially human.

There were also periods when she paid closer attention to protein

During periods of more intensive training, Ayase received dietary advice from a trainer and became more conscious of protein.

Sashimi.

Tofu.

Beef.

At that time, she also sometimes drank soy protein.

These were habits connected with that specific stage of her training and lifestyle.

The more enduring lesson is her willingness to adjust food as her activity and daily life change.

As a junior-high student, she baked sweets almost every weekend

A 2026 interview also revealed a charming detail about Ayase’s relationship with food.

When she was in junior high school, she often baked sweets at home on weekends.

She still enjoys both eating and making desserts.

In 2023, she also described working her way through dishes that caught her attention in cookbooks she owned.

Dashimaki tamago.

Chicken breast seasoned with spices and served with salad.

Sometimes she begins sorting through cookbooks, spots a recipe she has not tried, and ends up cooking instead.

Her food roots are also in the family garden in Hiroshima

Her hometown is another essential part of Ayase’s relationship with food.

Her mother grows seasonal vegetables.

When Ayase returns home, vegetables such as daikon can go directly from the garden into the kitchen.

She has described that freshness as a true luxury.

In earlier years, her family also sent her home-grown vegetables such as arugula, coriander and cabbage.

One New Year favorite is ozoni made with ingredients such as Chinese cabbage, garden-grown daikon and shungiku.

She loves it enough to wake up already thinking, “I want ozoni.”

Ayase enjoys discovering new foods, but she also keeps returning to the seasonal flavors and family meals she grew up with.

5. Hot Baths, a Low Pillow, Fragrance, Reading and Hiroshima: Her Everyday Self-Care

Haruka Ayase has said that she is fairly good at managing her own mood.

That does not mean she is cheerful every moment.

It means she has learned which small actions help her feel more like herself again.

Walk.

Tidy the room.

Cook.

Take a bath.

Enjoy a favorite fragrance.

Read.

Spend time in nature.

And sometimes simply tell herself, “You did well today.”

In 2023, she also said people around her often associated her with the phrase “Well, it’s okay.”

Something she sees as a flaw may look like a strength to someone else.

That way of thinking helps her view herself and situations more kindly.

Her current bath setting is surprisingly hot—and usually under 10 minutes

Although Ayase has long described herself as someone who enjoys baths, her 2026 routine is surprisingly brief.

She sets the water to 43°C.

Because she prefers the water quite hot, she often stays in for less than 10 minutes.

Ayase herself jokingly compared it with a very quick bath.

What matters most to her now is enjoying fragrance.

She keeps different oils and bath salts and chooses according to her mood.

She also sometimes uses Epsom salts as part of her personal bath routine.

Comfortable bath temperature and duration vary from person to person. In Ayase’s case, the important part is creating a warm, fragrant experience she enjoys.

For long shoots, she brings her own low pillow

In 2026, Ayase also revealed what she takes with her on long location shoots.

One item is a low pillow that suits her preference.

Another is a fragrance item for the bath.

Even when work takes her away from home, she tries to recreate a sleep and relaxation environment that feels familiar.

She has also previously used scents such as lavender around her pillow depending on her mood.

In 2025, she said she sometimes went to a sauna about once a week when her schedule allowed.

Bathing, fragrance, sauna and stretching all give her a chance to notice how she feels in the present moment.

Funny animal videos are part of her downtime too

Her 2026 interviews also revealed a very modern form of relaxation.

Ayase sometimes finds herself endlessly watching animal videos that appear on her phone.

She once watched a strange video in which giraffes, elephants and more animals kept climbing into a vehicle—and apparently did not realize it was AI-generated until the story reached something like “100 wolves.”

The anecdote captures another side of her personality: she enjoys things simply because they make her laugh.

She actually enjoys housework—and a cookbook can derail decluttering

Ayase is often described as easygoing or naturally funny, but she has also said she enjoys household tasks.

Once she decides to clean, she may tidy the whole house.

Sort belongings.

Do laundry.

Cook.

Books are where things become complicated.

If she opens a cookbook while sorting, she may notice a dish she has not made yet, start reading—and end up cooking instead.

It is a very Ayase-like way for cleaning to turn into dinner preparation.

One favorite pair of pajamas lasted around 15 years

She also tends to keep things she genuinely likes.

At one point, Ayase revealed that she had been wearing a favorite pair of pajamas for around 15 years.

She joked that even the way the fabric had gradually become thinner felt comfortable to her.

Reading helps her encounter feelings outside her own experience

In recent years, Ayase has also been reading more.

Picture books in particular sometimes remind her of small things adults can overlook.

Reading gives her access to different emotions and perspectives.

It has become another way of keeping her thinking flexible.

Her biggest reset is still Hiroshima

Ayase has described Hiroshima as a place that returns her to her roots.

She currently returns about twice a year.

Go to the garden with her grandmother.

Walk the dog.

Eat with family.

Meet junior-high friends.

In Tokyo, her mind can move from one task to the next.

In Hiroshima, she wakes with the morning light and begins to feel sleepy as the day grows dark.

That slower rhythm gives her a sense of returning to herself.

Her childhood memories include wearing a happi coat at local festivals, trying on kagura costumes and eating mochi or roasted sweet potatoes after community bonfires.

She feels that the human connections she formed there remain part of her foundation.

In 2026, she even spoke about the possibility of someday dividing her life between Tokyo and Hiroshima.

For Ayase, self-care has gradually expanded beyond skincare and exercise to include where she lives, who she spends time with and what kind of daily rhythm makes her feel at home.

6. Three Starring Films in 2026: Learning to Relax, Focus and Keep Moving Forward

Haruka Ayase’s 2026 acting schedule reflects a particularly active stage of her career.

In April’s Hito wa Naze Love Letter wo Kaku no ka, she played Nazuna Terada, a woman connecting memories from her student years with her present family life.

The story was inspired by a real subway accident and a letter that arrived 20 years later.

Ayase said that losing her own father several years earlier gave her a personal point of connection with the film’s themes of remembering people who have died.

An emotionally important sequence near the end was filmed in long takes and repeated many times.

In May’s Hako no Naka no Hitsuji, she played a woman who welcomes into her family a humanoid resembling her deceased son.

Ayase also shared a funny impression of co-star Daigo from Chidori: she initially thought of him as much older, only to realize they were both in their 40s.

With Hiroshima and neighboring Okayama as their home regions, she said his dialect and atmosphere made him feel almost like someone from the neighborhood.

In October’s First Voice, she plays Michiko Asahi, a lawyer and mother of three who takes on a precedent-setting harassment case.

Although Ayase has not publicly announced a marriage or children in her own life, her acting roles now span wives, mothers, single women and working women with very different life paths.

As her characters grow older, Ayase’s own view of work has evolved with them.

She has previously said that long-running roles, including her character in Gibo to Musume no Blues, sometimes made her feel as if she was growing alongside them.

She used to stay “on” all the time; now she creates off-time before demanding scenes

One particularly interesting part of Ayase’s 2026 work philosophy is the way she thinks about switching between focus and relaxation.

When she was younger, she thought that once she entered a role, she should remain fully “on.”

A director later taught her that demanding scenes can sometimes benefit from deliberately creating an “off” period beforehand.

When she is relaxed, she notices the people around her more clearly.

She becomes more receptive to what another actor gives her.

Relaxing is therefore not the opposite of concentration.

It can be part of preparing to concentrate when the moment arrives.

That idea mirrors her current approach to beauty and wellness.

Keep skincare simple.

Moisturize carefully.

Adjust exercise to the body that day.

Enjoy food.

Rest when it is time to rest.

Then focus fully when needed.

Her friends describe her as “the universe”

A 2026 story about Ayase’s personality captures her contradictions beautifully.

She can worry intensely about small details and still be very much on her own wavelength.

She can be cautious and then suddenly become the first person to jump in.

A friend once summed up that mixture by telling her, “You’re the universe.”

A director had apparently made a similar comment about the large “universe” inside her.

Ayase herself has wondered whether she simply functions best when she does not force herself into too many fixed rules.

She has also said she tends to worry before entering a difficult production.

A challenging scene can sit in her mind for a month beforehand.

Yet once the goal becomes clear, she can move decisively toward it.

And in the end, she often returns to a simple conclusion: it is better to enjoy the experience.

Her next-life dream? A soul singer

In a 2026 美ST interview, Ayase also spoke playfully about what she might like to be in another life.

She imagined becoming a soul singer who could stand before a large audience and move people through music.

She also sometimes dreams of flying, so she laughed that becoming a bird might be nice too.

Rather than seeing her 40s as a period for becoming smaller or more cautious, she seems to view them as another stage for curiosity.

Looking across Haruka Ayase’s beauty and wellness habits, several themes repeatedly emerge:

• Keep skincare simple and use basic care that suits her current skin
• Touch the skin and use her own sense of dryness and moisture as a guide
• Handle the skin gently during cleansing and skincare
• Include body moisturizing as part of everyday care
• Update exercise routines as her age, work and body change
• Continue a stretching habit that has lasted around 15 years
• Currently spend about two hours at the gym roughly once a week
• Pay attention to the shoulders, back, hips and other areas that feel tight
• Look at food balance over several days rather than judging every meal in isolation
• Enjoy fish, vegetables, tofu, meat and simple meals such as rice, umeboshi and miso soup
• Keep room for ice cream, yakiniku and sweets
• Treat cooking and baking as pleasures in their own right
• Use bathing, fragrance and familiar sleep items to create a comfortable rhythm
• Use reading, walking, cleaning, cooking and even funny animal videos to reset her mood
• Keep family, Hiroshima, seasonal food and nature close to her sense of identity
• Think in terms of what is “just right” for her rather than comparing herself with others
• Use the “20 percent more” idea to make beauty and food habits easier to continue
• Switch between focused work and genuine rest
• Treat growing older as a period in which new freedoms and interests can still appear

What readers can take from Ayase’s routine is not simply a list of cosmetics, foods or exercises to copy.

Touch the skin and notice how it feels.

Give moisturizing a little more attention when the skin feels dry.

Rotate the shoulders or ankles when the body feels tight.

If yesterday’s meals felt unbalanced, add a little more fish or vegetables today.

Enjoy something sweet.

Cook when it sounds fun.

Choose a favorite fragrance.

Create a sleep environment that feels comfortable.

Walk when the mind feels crowded.

Read.

Watch something that makes you laugh.

Tell the people you love “thank you.”

And instead of trying to reach perfection all at once, make today just a little more thoughtful than yesterday.

Following Haruka Ayase’s beauty and wellness habits over time reveals not one perfect routine, but the flexibility to keep changing her methods according to who she is now.

The girl who ran ekiden and played basketball.

The teenager who entered show business at 15.

The young actor who trained intensely for demanding roles.

The woman who gradually discovered the value of stretching and loosening the body.

The person whose skincare became simpler while her moisturizing became more attentive.

The woman who enjoys firm rice, umeboshi and miso soup—and still loves sweets.

The actor who carries a low pillow to location shoots and returns to Hiroshima when she wants to reconnect with her roots.

And in 2026, the star of three very different films who is still thinking about how to work, rest and live with greater ease.

Knowing when to work hard and when to return to her natural rhythm—and allowing herself to keep changing along the way—is the idea that connects Haruka Ayase’s beauty, wellness, family life and work.