Kusatsu

Kusatsu (草津) is a famous hot-spring resort town in Gunma, Japan. It is one of the Three Famous Springs (三名泉) in the 17th-century ranking of Hayashi Razan, and remains highly rated and popular.

Understand
Kusatsu is an onsen town, about 1,200 metres above sea level, beside several volcanoes including the active Mt. Kusatsu-Shirane (Shirane), and known for its healing waters. Water for the town originates from Mt. Shirane with a flow of more than 32,000 litres per minute. This is one of the largest natural outputs of hot spring water in Japan. The water is very acidic, having a sterilizing effect. A 6-inch nail is said to dissolve to only a small metal shard after 10 days.

During the Edo period, Kusatsu became famous for its therapeutic waters. One of the shoguns at the time was said to have shipped its waters to his castle to bathe. Then, in the Meiji period, a German court physician to the emperor, Dr. Erwin Bälz, popularized the healing effects of the water even more by researching and championing its healing properties. Today, Kusatsu continues to be a popular hot spring destination, with upwards to 3 million visitors a year.

Tourist information site
The local tourist association has a Japanese-only portal site.

By rail
Unusually enough for Japan, Kusatsu does not have a train station of its own. The nearest station is (長野原草津口駅) on the JR Agatsuma Line. The limited express Kusatsu runs twice in the morning (10:00 and 12:12) from Ueno Station in Tokyo, taking 2 hr 20 min and costing ¥5,070, from which you can take a connecting bus (25 min, ¥710) to Kusatsu. At any other time, you'll have to take the Shinkansen to Takasaki and transfer to local services (3 hours, ¥5,810), or the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Karuizawa (about 70–80 minutes, ¥5,710) and arrange further transport, or take local trains with 2 or 3 transfers (3½ hours, ¥3,020).

By bus
JR operates the Jōshu Yūmeguri (上州ゆめぐり) direct bus to Kusatsu bus terminal several times a day (hourly) from Shinjuku (Tokyo) Expressway Bus Terminal, which takes around 4 hours and charges between ¥3,000 (in advance) and ¥3,600 (on board). Buses also connect from Kusatsu to Naganohara-Kusatsuguchi (¥710) and Karuizawa (¥2240) to link with the rail lines.

Get around
Kusatsu is not very big and major transportation is going to be bus or car. There is a Kusatsu town loop bus (¥100), which connects most of the major sights and big hotels within the town. Although hilly, most sights within the town centre can be explored by foot.

There are also free hotel shuttles that ferry people from either the bus station or the yubatake area to surrounding hotels. A bus line is available from the bus terminal to connect with the ski area.

Do


The water in the Kusatsu hot springs is strongly sulphuric, and is famous for making the skin beautiful. (The flip side is that it smells like rotten eggs.) In addition, it is said that Kusatsu hot spring has beneficial effects on poor blood circulation, muscular pain, and so on.

Hot springs
There are a variety of hot springs within Kusatsu for tourists to visit. Many accommodations will have onsen facilities present within their building. There are 19 public baths within the town, but not all of them are open to visitors.

In addition to hot spring facilities, there are free open air foot baths scattered throughout the town. One is right outside the bus terminal while another is beside the Yubatake fields. Dip your toes in the waters for a refreshing break after walking.

Events
There are several events in Kusatsu throughout the year.
 * Flower festival (花祭り) is in May.
 * Shirane shrine festival (白根神社祭り) is in July.
 * Kusatsu hot spring thanksgiving festival (草津温泉感謝祭) is in August.
 * Summer Insect-collecting (夏休み昆虫採集大会)  is in August for families.
 * Yubatake special light up (湯畑特別ライトアップ) is in March.
 * Yubatake special light up (湯畑特別ライトアップ) is in March.

Sleep
Hotels with outdoor bath



Go next

 * Nakanojō
 * Yamanouchi
 * Obuse
 * Karuizawa
 * Tsumagoi
 * Naganohara
 * Kuni
 * Higashiagatsuma
 * Minakami