My Trip to Kusatsu, Gunma

It was December 2024, less than three months after I had arrived in Japan for my master’s studies. Up to that point, my lifestyle had mainly consisted of shuttling between my tiny, prison-like dorm room and the Ookayama campus for classes and library sessions, with weekends reserved for wandering around unexplored parts of Tokyo.

To break the routine and make the most of our holidays, some classmates and I decided to take a three-day trip to Kusatsu. Looking back one year later, it remains my favorite trip to date.

To the left, the iconic Yubatake, Kusatsu's main source of hot spring water. In the middle, the road from our ryokan to the center of the village after a night of heavy snow. To the right, Monet's bridge (モネの橋) in Otani pond.

Kusatsu far exceeded my expectations. It was much less crowded than Hakone, with tourists being mainly young couples escaping the big cities for a relaxing weekend in the village's many onsen. Perhaps the heavy snow helped reduce the number of visitors that weekend, while providing us with beautiful views. The most mesmerizing experience was bathing in the Sainokawara Rotenburo (outdoor bath) on the second day while it was snowing. I could enjoy the view of the mountains ahead from the comfort of the warm water. Understandably, I could not take pictures of the bath, so I have posted one I found on the internet.

The third day was dedicated to yumeguri (湯めぐり), or "hot spring hopping", where we visited several of the free public bathhouses scattered across the village. From Naginoyu, a bathouse with no working cold water that almost caused us to faint from the heat, to Kobushinoyu on the outskirts of the village, which led us to discover hidden temples and parks along the way, the day was a unique experience. It made me feel more connected to rural Japan, a complete contrast to the life I hadd experienced so far in Tokyo.

Pictures of Naginoyu bathhouse (left), and Kobushinoyu bathhouse from the outside (middle) and the inside (right).

As a final note to end my first blog, I want to share the memory that stuck with me the most from this trip, not because it was profound, but because it still lives rent-free in my head. I am talking about the Kusatsu song, which I had to hear nearly 20 times before the start of the Yumomi ceremony (a traditional method of cooling the hot spring water down). Based on a traditional folk song from the Meiji Period (late 19th century), the village released a renewed version in 2015. It is one of the catchiest songs I have stumbled across in this country, so much so that I learned the lyrics just to satisfy my urge to sing it out loud. Feel free to listen to it in the video below.