We had work all morning at the Nakanojo Town Office, and afterwards stopped at a local tourist hub for some drinks and snacks before heading onto Kusatsu. I was looking forward to a scenic drive, and some quality leaf peeping with a bit of luck!
I couldn’t find any information on Nakanojo’s mascots. These large stone statues were really well done -I think we could all use more mascots back home. 🙂
Our server brought us some drinks – coffee for Mr K and a Ume soda for me, and some cake, because there were limited options at their coffee shop. It doesn’t matter what the Japanese are doing, it is always done with precision. The staff member put down the cups and turned them until they rested in this position, then did the same with the plates to make sure they were lined up and the forks were aligned… I actually really enjoy the Japanese peoples’ propensity for meticulousness in all things.
After work, we drove to Kusatsu. The delayed autumn foliage this year is a bit sad for us – predicting when the cherry blossoms are going to start appearing, or when the leaves are going to turn in autumn is going to be an ongoing crap shoot each year given that climate change is responsible for the unpredictable weather patterns.
This time last year we were treated to vibrant red landscapes even much further south and at lower altitudes than where we are here, heading towards Kusatsu. The downside with the delayed cold conditions is that apparently the tress with get hit with the cold too fast, and that causes the leaves to just die and fall off, rather than turn red for a few weeks and then fall from the trees… it doesn’t sound like a big deal, but for a country that increasingly relies on tourism, predicting the blossoms and the autumn leaves has wide economic effects as they are widely published to attract visitors.
Still gorgeous countryside and a lovely day for a drive through the mountains.
Of course the first truly red Japanese maples we see all day are the ones carefully planted and cultivated at our accomodation in an ornamental garden.
The next morning we had a bit of time so decided to go on a pickle hunt! Last night we had some truly delicious mushroom pickles with dinner and the staff told us where we could find them – at a local farmers market that is held at a Tea Cup (Roadside services centre) not far from Kusatsu, so we decided to go for a drive. Had some better luck with the autumn colours on this route!
Would you believe that this one very specific farmers market at this one very specific roadside service centre has its own mascot? Nyagahara is his name… so Japanese, so cute! I particularly like his little onsen modesty lap-lap. I think if I ran a business here, I’d create one too.
What a marvellous view… at a roadside toilet stop!
The farmers market was quiet – but had lots of lovely local produce available. Well, it was quiet when we got there, but a bus load of domestic Japanese tourists turned up TO THE ROADSIDE SERVICE CENTRE, and then it was bedlam.
Local named, Gunma rice.
A wide variety of locally made noodles.
Nyagahara has his own range of dam cookies and sweets! This is mad. 🙂
So the Yamba Dam is nearby – hence the ‘dam cookies’ that were printed with images of Nyagahara and the dam. We found a bakery selling this interesting Dam Curry Bread, so of course Mr K had to buy one to try it out. I had a small bite (of the curry end – potato salad in a fried breaded roll sounded a bit much for me!), it was very tasty for all that it was as touristy as it gets.
Sweet buns designed to look like a local rock mountain called Maruiwa. We did not buy one of these, as it sounded way too sweet stuffed with Hokkaido melon cream.
Weirdly, this stop at the Tea Cup services was a lot of fun. 🙂 They also had a heavily patronised foot bath there to enjoy the views – I did not take a photo, as there were lots of people using the bath.
More beautiful red foliage, and of course no where to stop.
Over the couple of days we were in Kusatsu, we did find the time to go spend a couple of hours in town. Kusatsu is probably the most famous onsen town in Gunma. It attracts loads of tourists every year due to its famous medicinal waters, and the ‘yubatake’ in the centre of town where they have a famous system of elevated water pipes and channels to cool the geothermal waters to a more palatable and useful temperature.
Kusatsu is the first town we have come to on this trip with that typical sulphurous smell that you often get in volcanic and hot spring regions… it’s kinda strong here. There are 13 public onsen baths here, and most of them are free to enter for tourists and residents alike. They’re managed by the town and locals townsfolk, and several of the public onsens (ie: ones not in private ryokans) are tattoo friendly, including the three main ones: called, Sainokawara, Ohtaki-no-yu and Goza-no-yu.
One of the things the town is famous for is their, Yumoni shows; the water comes out of the ground here extremely hot 90°C plus and often close to boiling. So they use a couple of techniques to cool the water – they have a large open channel structure in the Yubatake that transports the water from the source along to the various onsens, and they use manual yumoni stirring techniques to cool the water… in which women (of course it’s the women) use the long wooden planks to lift and stir the water to cool it.
There are locals who demonstrates how it was performed in the traditional manner – and the ladies with their planks are the mascots and symbols of the town, so you see this imagery absolutely everywhere. On manhole covers, on bathing towels, on socks, on souvenirs, on cookies!
Ooh! The Great Pickle Hunt of 2024 continues… picked up some amazing leek in miso here. 🙂
Street directions into town show you exactly where the Yumoni show, and the Yubatake is…
Lots of tourists that need keeping an eye on… gotta let them know what’s hot and what’s not! 🙂
While not as steep as Ikaho with its 365 heavenly steps, Kusatsu is up hill and down dale, some of the streets are stupidly steep for pedestrians and I imagine they become quite hazardous when winter arrives and it is all covered in snow and ice.
The steps to the Kōsenji temple which overlooks the Yubatake and blesses the waters.
The Yoritomo Palace…
In the centre of town is the Shirahata Yubatake and Oasamiya Shrine, both cultural properties designated by the town. This is a particularly odorous pool of bubbling hot spring water!
It seems to have a small wishing well, though I dare say no one is collecting these coins, the water is so hot and acidic here.
Sign with a bit of history… if the translation is poor, blame Google Lens!
“In the fourth year of the Kenkyu era (1193), in Kamakura, Shogun Yoritomo entered the Rokurigahara area of Mount Asama. It is said that during the hunting season, he rode horseback to Kusatsu, renovated the lost hot spring source, and bathed in it himself. Since then, this hot spring has been called Goza-no-yu, and at some point, a shrine was built to enshrine Yoritomo. The current Yoritomo Palace was rebuilt in Yao in 1782, and according to the Kusatsu Onsen Tradition (Kosho-kai Shu Onsen Ondoki, It continues to convey this tradition to the present day and has attracted the deep faith of bathers at Kusatsu Onsen. In 1887, it was renamed Shirohata no Yu, but the old source is thought to be inside a small pool of water submerged in the Yubatake. It is a historic site linked to the Sekiyu legends and hot spring faith of Kusatsu Onsen. Also, up the stairs is the Yugurei camp.”
The Yubatake with its exposed channels of water trying to cool the waters before they get directed to the onsens.
‘From the Place of Mt Shirane – the flow of Kusatsu water’… which is supposed to be good for whatever ails you. No shit, the locals believe the waters of Kusatsu can cure everything ‘except love sickness’.
Lots of lovely little footpath cafes are dotted around the town. Have a matcha latte and a foot bath!
We went hunting for some lunch, preferably sushi or steak… I’m not fond of the soggy noodles, and this town seems full of ramen! We ended up at a place called Zen Steak, and I’m happy to report it was delicious! I chose a beef rib set that came with the most outrageously weird yellow salad I’ve ever seen (but totally offset with delicious pickles and a tasty red miso soup).
Mr K chose some Joshu beef that came with some lovely light and crispy tempura veggies – I love that he doesn’t like mushrooms that much! Totally works for me, every time.
Back outside things are very smelly!
The water bubbles up at one end of the main town square and is directed along these timber channels to cool.
Kusatsu is quite a bustling busy place, full of foreign tourists as well as domestic tourists… we believe this is possibly because of its accessibility. Yes, the Yubatake is interesting and iconic in its purpose and design, and people come to see the ladies and their water stirring planks, but Kusatsu is also far better serviced by trains and buses making it the easier onsen town in Gunma to visit if you don’t have access to a vehicle or don’t have much time for transferring from trains to buses to shuttles.
At the end of the channel system, the water cascades down in a steaming hot waterfall. The source is from nearby Mount Kusatsu-Shirane and the water can be clear or cloudy, but definitely the most sulphurous water we have encountered in Japan so far. We found it to be way too acidic for our liking : the pH levels range from as low as 1.7 to 2.1 (usual ‘simple alkaline hot springs’, which are super soft on the skin are somewhere up around a pH of 7 or 8), and the temperature the water comes out of the ground at is between 51°C and 94°C… hence the need for all the cooling channels and the beating of the water with planks!
It is a gorgeous startling deep turquoise though, which is really pretty, photographically speaking.
I may have done that thing where I take too many photos and can’t pick the ones I like the most.
I’m looking at these photos and all I can think about is the patience required to stay the course until an utterly self absorbed family of Chinese tourists took their fifty fucking selfies and got out of the way so I could take a picture of the thing I came to see. *rolling my eyes constantly* Selfie sticks are so anti-social, I think they should be banned.
Like most small Japanese tourist centres, Kusatsu also has its ‘Instagrammable’ viral food trends… here, it is the onsen buns and the Tamago puddings! Gotta try the local shrimp ice cream or onsen buns or damn, twist my rubber arm, eggy pudding.
It’s called Kusatsu Tamago Pudding, but I prefer to think of it as Kusatsu Startled Cock Pudding… I loved the design so much I brought the jars home. 🙂
Fortuitously, (because my stocks were getting low!), I found a very cool saké store right near the Yubatake.
They had an excellent range with good descriptions – I was even complimented on my choices by the lady at the point of sale!
Oooh… do not need more saké cups, oh goddammit, a couple of them slipped and fell into my shopping anyway.
Around the corner I found this cafe with a wall of Daruma dolls creating a vibrant and interesting wall of colour… what a great design idea! If only they weren’t papier mache and hard to transport. Mr K was probably immediately glad that that is the case; no one really needs a wall of beady eyed Daruma dolls staring at you in the office. 🙂
Kusatsu is a lovely town, though I think because it’s so popular, I probably prefer Ikaho.
Children crossing warning signs here are slightly more fun than at home: “Be careful; jumping out!!” 
I thought this would be the highlight of the autumn colours today.
One of the things I have noticed here on Japan’s roadways is the total lack of ‘lookout’ points. In Australia there are spaces on highways and roads to pull over and see nice scenery all over the place – they are quite often marked on maps as scenic or photo-worthy stops. Here, there is rarely anything like that, even though the scenery is quite often spectacular.
The autumn colours were simply stunning against the deep blue/green of this lake/river.
*if we ignore the fact that I’m standing on the side of a highway and cars are flying past us at breakneck speed. 
