Goto Japanese page

	Kusatsu Onsen is one of unique resorts of Japan's own that combines ski and hot spa. The history of the hot spa goes back a long way, which originated from the period of Takeru Yamato, or the period of Gyouki, or the period of Yoritomo Minamoto. You may not know, but Kusatsu International Snow Spa Resort is the first ski resort in Japan that applied chair lift, ski school, and ski competition. On the other hand, unlike Nozawa Onsen, the piste of Kusatsu is so far away from its hot spa town that it is a pain in the neck for skiers. In addition, the piste is rather suit only for beginners and intermediates skiers. There are two theories about the origin of the name Kusatsu. The one is the theory that Kusatsu comes from "Daihannyakyou" (one of Buddhist Sutra) that says "There is a famous hot spa in Southern land, that is Kusatsu." And the other theory is that Kusatsu comes from "Kusaudu" that represents bad smell of hydrogen sulfide of hot spa. Speaking of Kusatsu Onsen, Yubatake is very famous. But do you know what ever Yubatake is for? Yubatake controls the temperature of hot spa when it is too hot and recovers Yunohana (In English, "sinter", sediment minerals of hot spa). That figures. Yubatake is not for showing off its lavish amount of hot water. Another famous specialty of Kusatsu Onsen is Onsen Manjuu (In English, "steamed bean-jam filling"). But this time, I felt offended about how they sell the fillings. When I walked around the hot spa town, I found that some staffs of filling shops were distributing complete hot fillings to passers-by for tasting in front of such shops. I thought that was fortunate, and I received one of fillings from a staff. Then, another staff came just in front of me, and stood in my way serving a cup o f hot green tea, as though he was saying frowningly, "Drink this tea and buy the fillings". Maybe the shops seemed to think that they could let passers-by stop in front of the shops if they tried to serve tea. I am sure that such pushy selling by the shops is killing the good atmosphere of hot spa town. There are many hotels with hot spas, many of which accept day trippers. But today, I am introducing not a hotel but an outdoor hot spa named "Saino Kawara Roten Buro" (In English, "Outdoor hot spa of western river side"). It is in the back of the Saino Kawara Park that is located at the western side of the hot spa town. On the way to the Saino Kawara Roten Buro, you can enjoy distinctive atmosphere where steam is generated from many hot spas at the river side. Be careful because surface of the ground is very slippery. As is the name, all Saino Kawara Roten Buro has is an outdoor hot spa. But it is a huge stone-made bath tub, which size is almost 500m2. The capacity of it may be not less than 300 people. I am not sure whether or not there are enough lockers for such many customers. Of course it is a gender segregated facility. The temperature of the hot spa is very hot, which fact looks much like Kusatsu Onsen. There are several Utaseyu (Hot water fall) in the hot spa, but the temperature is so hot that some customers scream about it. I saw one foreigner was just trying Utaseyu, but he had no other choice but to leave it with a wry smile, because it was too hot for him. There are several big stones in the hot spa, which are like islands. Many customers are cooling down their bodies on the islands, like frogs scrambling from a pond. The hot spa is comfort enough because there is almost no sand or gravel in it. Of course there is no wash place, because this is an outdoor hot spa. Using soap is big no-no in this hot spa. All you can find here is an outdoor hot spa bath tub, Agariyu (A very small bath tub from which you can pump up hot water for the purpose of finishing when you go out) by the locker room, some Utaseyus, and a roof truss at the corner. If you would like to have a rest, you can go to the Visitor Center for free that is right in front of the hot spa. There is no place for rest in Saino Kawara Roten Buro. For your reference, Kusatsu Onsen is acidic sulfur containing alminum hydrosulfate chloride spa (hydrogen sulfide type acidic hypotonic hot spa) and is good for nerve pain, muscle pain, arthritic pain, frozen shoulder, motor paralysis, stiff joints, bruise, sprain, chronic digestive disease, hemorrhoid, excessive sensitivity to cold, convalescent, tiredness healing, health enhancement, chronic skin disease, arterial sclerosis, incisure, burn, physically weak children, and chronic women's disease. There are only a forest and a river around Saino Kawara Roten Buro, which is silent enough. If you don't like crowded hot spa, you had better visit Saino Kawara Roten Buro in early morning of weekdays.

*Fare in the above table includes sauna fare in case it has sauna.
*"TV" in the above table means whether there is a TV in the sauna or not.
*Information collected by Tokyo Brabch of Yonden Bathouse Fan Club.
*Information collected in July 2007

　Back to Top