Woke up early to keep our appointment in the private onsen, Kawato, that we had booked for before breakfast. It was all the way back down the slope car to the ground floor again and this time back towards the main building. I wasn’t expecting steps, but up we went.
Only to find that we were then going back down again… I have a feeling we should have been told about this. :/ My knee is pretty good but certainly it’s a little stiff in the mornings still.
We eventually found the right place – found a comfortable and well equipped change room and shower like all the other onsens.
And then stepped outside to see this! WOW!!! What a simply glorious and decadent space. I was blown away.
Surrounded by the forest, and the sounds of running water and bird song, it was just magic. I must have been standing there (nekkid!) admiring the space for about two or three minutes before I realised there were steps going down into the water and it was 1.1m deep!
This was just beautiful.. the water was soft and silky, the steam rising off the water looks inviting, the green forest beside the infinity pool was just so relaxing. I’m totally seeing how this would be just the most sublime break from the big city if you lived in Tokyo’s bright neon sing-songy streets.
I didn’t want to leave!
After our amazing onsen bath, we went back to the room for a while and cooled down before heading up to breakfast in the restaurant… another private dining room with a beautifully presented breakfast.
In the box: vegetable castealla; Boiled duck; Auricularia; Bayberry, pickles; Marinated egg with soy sauce; Hadano vegetable with home made dressing.
Breakfast sashimi is definitely something I could get used to: mackerel and Hokkaido scallops.
Dried horse mackerel.
Steamed vegetables and grated radish ponzu sauce.
Hot pot dish: Chicken ball and grilled green onions with fried tofu.
Yoghurt with fruit and agave syrup.
Breakfast everywhere we have gone has been amazing, I haven’t managed to finish a single one of them, but it’s always beautifully presented and often filling enough that we skip lunch.
Some more photos around the reception while we get ready to head to town for the day.
When we returned to the ryokan, we had been moved to a different room – the Internet in our room kept dropping out. It was attached to the back of the television and was overheating and turning itself off and back on again once it had cool… not a problem when you’re on holiday, quite a big problem when you’re on a work trip mixed with a bit of holidaying. We didn’t really want to move rooms – we were super happy with our enormous day bed and lovely balcony onsen, but they upgraded us and moved us from the first floor to the fifth floor… to an even bigger room!
Same tasteful decor.
I swear the first time we stayed in Japan we stayed in an Airbnb with four of us in a room a fraction this size… and the second time we came to Japan we stayed in an APA hotel with a double bed in it and not enough space on the floor to open a single suitcase! 🤣 Things have changed.
This room had an enormous walk in close that could be used as a dressing room, with paper screen doors that closed together for privacy.
It also had a traditional Japanese living/sleeping room with a handful of futons in the closet in here.
Talk about lux… they could have just popped to a BIC Camera and picked up a ¥7000 modem and we would have been quite happy where we were.
The staff even moved all my saké stash to the fridge in the new room too. Score!
Good to know we weren’t suffering with a ‘lesser’ hairdryer down in the other room. 🙂
Okay, then for the star of the show for this room: a fabulous outdoor lounge and a much larger onsen bath… sweet.
It was lovely… and so was the saké.
We had spent the day showing the Messrs Stokes around Hakone and they had come back to our ryokan to have dinner with us tonight. With a bit of pre-planning, the staff at Hatsuhanna were only too happy to help us have a fancy kaiseki dinner party. So we had booked a private onsen for the guys to go have a bath and relax, while Mr K and I had a soak on the deck. Then it was time to go to dinner all relaxed and chill.
We had an excellent photographer capture us a happy group pic.
It’s difficult to see in this image, but this peanut sized dish it double stacked high, and has a lid on it. The top level comes off, and gets laid across the bottom level leaving a “+” shaped dish.
Such a creative serving concept. In the centre above: Ayu sweet fish and rose with herbal medicine stew; and char-grilled Pacific saury with tomato. Below: Pinchos sushi with Kinatarou trout, avocado, and chopped wasabi.
Sweet shrimp with maple leaf; Boiled crab and chrysanthemum daisy leaf salad; Glutinous barley tofu.
This may have been before the attempted mass monetisation of an effort to save Australia’s honey bees..? Hard to say.
Chrysanthemum soup with shrimp Shinjo (or cake), leafs and bud.
Sashimi course was awesome: tuna, yellowtail, mackerel, konjac under there and sweet boiled shrimp.
Grilled marbled rock fish with rock salt, Kabous (citrus) fruit), Japanese ginger, ginko nuts, Ginko biloba rice crackers.
Above: Japanese pickles. Eggplant pickled in sweet vinegar and watercress from Hakone, and red miso soup.
Charcoal Joshu beef loin with porcini sauce served with small turnip, King trumpet mushrooms, shimeji mushrooms, Maitake mushrooms.
Seasonal Odawara Harumi rice.
Deep-fried sesame tofu with grated names mushroom, green beans, cart shape like momiji.
If someone had told me twelve months ago, that these three people would be dining together in Japan in 2024, I would have been damn near been ready to bet our house against it… it’s so weird how things work out. We had a lovely evening, I hope it was a memorable experience for the Messrs Stokes also.
Woke up to a simply gorgeous morning! Wish it had been this clear yesterday while we were out hunting for views of the mountain… but from the warm and comfort of our large onsen bath – I won’t complain
At breakfast this morning we were lead to a dining room with a view!
Boiiled seasonal vegetables; Ganmodoki (deep-fried tofu mixed with thinly sliced vegetables); Grated yam with Yukari, Minced raw tuna; Kamaboko mad in Odawara; Pickled Japanese horseradish; Simmered prawn in seasoned broth; Boiled whitebait; Grilled spicy fish eggs; rolled tamago; Pickles; Salad made in Hadano and fruit… holy shit that is a lot.
Homemade tofu with soy and ponzu sauce. Plus there was broiled miso soup and miso-marinated black cod.
Thus endeth our stay at Hakone’s Hatsuhana. Loved every minute of it… gorgeous place, amazing staff and excellent food and accommodations. I have to say though… I kinda prefer the more traditional ryokans, this one is definitely designed to impress people who are kinda over the traditional Japanese way of doing things. We are checking out this morning and starting the transit home. Again.
Every trip we try to find one place to stay that is a little cut above and special. This trip, I chose Odakyu Hatsuhana in Hakone. From everything I had read, this place is one of the most sought after ryokans in Hakone with incredible facilities, five star service, fabulous onsen baths and an amazing restaurant.
Being a larger (though not large by Western standards – with only 47 rooms) it had some impressively spacious reception areas with gorgeous modern Japanese interior design. We were greeted and led to the lounge area for check-in, which was all warm tones, a fireplace and flower arrangements.
Mr K opted for a welcome beer and I chose a yuzu tea.
Our room was a Deluxe Room type A with a private bath on the balcony. The genkan was large – to the right was a closet and the toilet, and before us was a sliding pocket door the living area.
The living area had a typical western couch and an enormous day bed, huge television and sliding screens that led out to the balcony.
A dresser in the corner came well equipped with coffee machine, kettle, a teapot and cups for making Japanese tea, a marquetry box with snacks, drawers with wine glasses, drinking glass, coffee cups, and a fridge full of beer, soft drink and juices that were all included.
To the left of the genkan was the sleeping area with two double sized beds – it was a very LARGE room.
Beside the day bed was some sliding screens that rolled back to reveal the bathroom.
The private views to the gardens from the balcony were lovely – even though this was the 3rd floor, it felt like we were in a ground floor garden.
The bathroom was lovely and modern with gorgeous lighting, all modern tile, timber heated floors and sooo many amenities available.
Big waffle weave bathrobes and a sleek black hair dryer that I’m sure some Japanese blogger would approve of mightily.
Through the bathroom was the shower room – which I gotta say had *the* best shower head I have never encountered. I meant to find out what brand it is, and find out if I could get one installed in my bathroom back home!
Step through the shower and onto the balcony – this is the private bath we are going to have to suffer with for the next three days! OMG… just gorgeous!
The water in Hakone is known as simple alkaline springs, so it is soft and feels silky. Not as hot as some onsen baths, but they have provided a button to press for cold water if you find it overheating. So lush!
The water looks so inviting.
Unpack a little, shower for a bit, and then soak with a saké for a lot! I love it!
Infinity pool onsens… this is gorgeous. Though most of the garden should be orange and red by now, I didn’t mind one bit.
The marquetry box contained some mocchi and weird little local buns. Hakone mountain local treats.
The genkan closet with the toilet to the right. The layout of this room was really well thought out.
These must be very high end toilets – it would spritz, and self open as you walked into the toilet, sound running water when you sat down, and sing a little song as it was flushing. 🙂
The closet contained, soft hanten coats, yukata in numerous sizes, samue for wearing around the room, and a small sign saying there was a dress code and that samue were not welcome in the dining room. Hoity-toity!
Before dinner we went down to the lounge for pre-dinner cocktails. The lounge is available for guest pretty much all day. There is tea and coffee, a fairly solid bar of alcoholic beverages, saké, red and white wine, champage, juices, iced tea options as well as a small buffet of savoury and sweet snacks.
The restaurant was on the fifth floor and was decorated in lush but subdued purple and gold tones.
Another full bar here servicing the restaurant, though there seemed to be price list for drinks in the restaurant… and when we opened the wine list we found out why. There is a hugely impressive cellar of foreign wines and local sakés.
The private dining room were created with timber or glass walls with beautiful designs on them.
Our meal started with an aperitif of yuzu liqueur – oddly enough served in these very familiar Swedish Kors shot glasses.
Personally boxed cypress chopsticks… the card that came with them said they were a gift and could be reused along with instructions on how to care for them.
I ordered a sakê tasting flight of local Hakone sakés – they were all excellent. Though it wasn’t cheap… possibly the most expensive tipple we had ordered the entire trip; ¥5300.
Smoked salmon and marscapone mousse; Salmon roe and French parsley; Albaone and abalone mushroom parmesean sticks.
Sashimi course – yellow tail and mackerel.
Wild Japanese red snapper and grated turnip in a bowl of carrot, bok choy, chrysanthemum and yuzu.
Roasted Kiyokawamegumi pork; Burdock with balsamic vinegar; zucchini, King trumpet mushroom. Hakone water cress; red Beniimo potato chips.
Grilled rice ball with bonito in salt, served with Japanese parsley, cracked rice, toasted seaweed, selected pickles, and wasabi.
Local clams with white wine, leek, beans, onion and chili.
Hot pot dish: Sashu beef stew with red miso, potato, carrot, onion and broccoli.
Fugu karaage (deep fried puffer fish), served with lemon and light chili.
Dinner was finished off with mango, dragonfruit and matcha gelato… it was a really delicious meal, so beautifully presented. I noticed a lot of the crockery out meal was served on showcased the rabbit and the toad of Japanese mythology – no doubt it was very deliberate that the motifs were carrying through many of the courses.
After dinner, we spent a little more time in the lounge having an after dinner drink and letting our meal settle before coming back to the room for a bath. Hatsuhana has a number of private onsens available for guest use, but we had some language issues trying to book it, so have a booking to use one of the larger spaces in the morning before breakfast. 🙂
The weather had been overcast since we arrived, but the rain had stopped and it had turned into such a beautiful evening.
That didn’t mean however, that we didn’t have a wander around and find the beer and ice-cream stash for after onsen chilling out.
In the morning we went into the building next door which housed all the onsen baths. It is connected via the long stone pathed walkway pictured above and below.
There is actually a slope car or we would probably call it a funicular to take people down to the first floor where the main public onsens are and some of the other private onsens.
This morning we had booked the Shijima bath – which I believe means ‘silence’.
The rooms smelled like beautiful fresh cut cypress. There is exposed timber everywhere, and a lovely seating area to use after your bath. Bookings are for 45 mins so that staff can come tidy up, and replenish the towels and amenities after guests have vacated the bath. We never saw any staff in these spaces – the reception gave us a keycard programmed to open the door at our allotted time, and in we went!
WoW! This bath is amazing! It is about 60cm deep, and large enough to easily accomodate six to eight people… and we have it all to ourselves!
Above us was like a 30’ ceiling with open timber rafters.
The design of these spaces is truly impressive. It is so beautiful and serene. My only hopefully constructive comment here is that while, yes I understand they are largely catering for a sophisticated Tokyo crowd with the Western classical music, I would have preferred a more Japanese ambient soundtrack. It seems incongruous somehow to be listening to what largely sounds like Muzak while enjoying this beautiful Japanese bath.
We popped upstairs to the lounge before breakfast to find ourselves in the clouds… sadly this would likely mean no views of Mt Fuji today as we spent our Saturday pottering around Hakone.
Back down in the dining room for breakfast… all the private dining rooms coming left and right off the corridor.
Carrot juice, Tamago, shrimp, Yubara, pickled plum, minced tuna, grated yam, pickles to have with rice, steamed tofu with ponzu sauce, whitebait and grated daikon radish, salad and some fruit! Delicious and so beautifully presented.
Of course when the rice was delivered, it also came with a small piece of grilled fish, and so miso soup.
Some morning photos of the reception area as we waited for the shuttle to take us to town for the day.
Hatsuhana also had a small gift shop – a little more upmarket than we have seen elsewhere. Pricey glassware and expensive marquetry items, as well as some of the local Hakone snacks that we were served in the rooms on check in.
We have a three night stay here, so for our second night we chose to find some local restaurants in town to have some dinner rather than the fine dining experience here three nights running! There is apparently too much of a good thing, though I’m not sure it’s fine Japanese cuisine that slots into that idiom so readily for me!
When we came back from town, we had some work to do and a late 10pm booking in another of the hotel’s private onsens. This one accessible via the slope car I mentioned earlier.
Minamo was the name of this onsen – which means ‘water surface’ and we would see why very shortly.
Another perfectly appointed dressing and changing area for getting ready for your bath and relaxing afterwards. They’ve thought of everything you could possibly need.
OMG the bath..! It was dimly lit, about 3x3m and 60cm deep, and stretching out before it for about 5m is a long reflection pool only a few inches deep.
Just such simple and yet stunningly gorgeous design… I went looking for a photograph of what it looked like in the day (though we thought we would try and book it again for tomorrow) and this is what I found:
It’s beautiful by day but by night it just feels like a dreamscape…
It was getting quite late by the time we finished in the bath so I thought I would go down further on the slope car to have a look at the large public use onsen – those are not for those tattooed amongst us, so I was going for a look around, but would not bathe there. The onsens swap at 3pm each day here so the men’s becomes the women’s and vice versa. Most ryokans do this swap at some designated time each day so people can see the entire facilities.
The locker room, change room, dressing tables, and showering station spaces were enormous! I swear they’ve tried to see if they can cater for the entire guest roster at any point in time.
There was a Hutti-putti verandah (I don’t know what else you would call it, a space with armchairs facing a garden where you could relax before or after your bath, and have a drink, an ice block or wait for your hair to dry. Perhaps just sit and be social if you are here with friends wanting to cool off after your bath.
A large infinity pool onsen bath that could easily accomodate a dozen people.
A huge bath made of river rocks with soft lighting and the sounds of running water were just so relaxing.
There was also a large round cypress bath under a gazebo – I’ll have to try and come back down during the day, but of course it is impossible to take pictures in these spaces if there is anyone here and they tend to be in use during the day hours.
We popped up to the lounge for a late night snack seeing we had had a late lunch and skipped dinner. There was G&Ts and some Japanese snackage and the lounge area was actually quite busy given it was now rather late.
Hakone Terimisu puddings… the last of our pudding consumptions! Strawberry for me and brandy for Mr K. They were really really good and totally deserving of their Insta-worthy reputation. 🙂
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.
Screenshot
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.
Kusatsu is a very popular destination with both foreign and domestic terrorists, I mean, tourists (or do I?), and as such has soo many accomodation options; it was actually quite difficult trying to decide where to stay here.
I ended up booking us into a large hotel called,Tokinoniwa. It’s not directly in the centre of town and is located on a hill overlooking the whole area. The photos of the place made it look like a large traditional and atmospheric ryokan, while having all the modern conveniences and several options for well priced rooms with private baths which has been my main priority, given that my tattooed and criminal appearance has been keeping me out of the public onsens!
I’m really loving that we finally seem to have found some autumn colours. I’ve been to Japan once in summer, and it was not my cup of tea at all! Too much like sweltering it out at home in mid-summer. I much prefer the crisp autumn air, with the blue skies and the beautiful colours of the turning foliage. 🙂
Tokinoniwa is a large hotel with about 60 rooms, and the entire ryokan is tatami mat floored, which is catered to by a shoe check-in system at the large front genkan. I think it might be one guy’s entire job just to keep track of people’s shoes! They have a serious numbered tray system. It does slow you down a bit when it comes to leaving for the day, but if you just want to wander around the pretty grounds, there are geta sandals provided at all the exits to the gardens. 🙂
I saw this enormous green Daruma with his one eye painted and it made me wonder if it was the owner/manager of the hotel who had chosen it, and what was the goal for filling in his other eye? The setting of goals with Daruma seemed to be such a personal thing, that it seemed odd to me that a large establishment might have one like this… Maybe it’s to win hospitality awards? Maybe it’s to meet revenue targets? Who knows. I was kinda curious about it though.
The Lobby/Reception, check in area was really lovely – most chairs were facing large picture windows into a pretty walled garden, and a tea and coffee station was all set up waiting for you.
Unusually, we were handed a laminated card to ‘familiarise yourself with how to use the onsen’. I haven’t seen these before, there are often some signs up in public onsen areas but not so much in private ryokans, but this is a large establishment, so I guess? (Edit: this info card made much more sense when a large bus load of Chinese tourists turned up and each of them was given a card like this in Chinese!)
The ryokan is built around a large central Japanese garden which has a pretty little hot spring creek running through it. Every time you walked the corridors you were walking past large glass picture windows that showed views of this garden – I imagine it looks amazing in the snow too.
We were a little early, so we took some time to explore the ryokan and found ourselves some drinks in the Lounge, complete with a traditional (though perhaps decorative?) irori hearth with a view into the gardens also. The Japanese penchant for design incorporating elements of nature is evident everywhere here.
Unlike most of the other smaller ryokan we have stayed in, here they have a, (I want to call it a library?) closet of sorts where you can come and borrow yukata and samue for your stay. Instead of all uniform coloured yukata, there was a wide variety of colours and patterns available, though a bit limited in sizes for the big or tall people.
While we were waiting, I decided to go exploring the onsens. This ryokan has large public onsens for men and women as per usual, but it also has three private baths that guests can use to bathe in small family or friendship groups. So off a-wandering I did go!
I checked out the public onsen first, seeing it was not yet 3pm there would be no guests in the onsens so it’s a good time to go poking around for some photos. Obviously cameras and photography are not allowed when people are using the baths. There are similar sections to every large onsen – locker room for storing your things and changing, beauty stations for tidying yourself up when you go to leave, and showering stations for washing yourself before getting into the onsen… and usually a dry relaxation space for having a drink or an ice cream after you bathe.
So many lockers! I can’t imagine bathing all nuded up with so many random strangers – but then again, maybe I can, because in Iceland I did plenty of getting nekkid with strangers before using the hot springs… *shrug*
Also – so many hairdryers! It’s become quite the thing, but Japanese tourism videos always, and I mean, ALWAYS make a big point of showing you that there is 1) a hairdryer available, and 2) the exact brand and model of said hairdryer, and 3) whether this is a good brand that you will be happy with. I have NFI why hairdryers are such a big deal here??? But they are! Each of these dressing table stations has their own hairdryer under the bench. Oh, and they were fairly chunky heavy duty Panasonic units, (like the one in our room), for anyone who gives a shit. LOL.
There was another three of these showering stations directly opposite these also – this places is designed so no one is waiting for a space.
This is the first time I had seen a dedicated ‘baby bath’ in the onsen. I have seen women bring their small children into the onsen – boys and girls, but haven’t seen anyone bringing a baby in. I imagine the peeing in the onsen would be an issue much like public swimming pools seeing you can’t really tell a non-verbal toddler to not pee in the water.
This might be the largest indoor onsen I have seen yet… There were two stone pools (above) on the left side of the room, two large pools in the centre of the room (below), and one large infinity style pool in front of a huge picture window (below that), all in the one space.
Then, you stepped outside through an air trap and could use the large outdoor onsen – which was just gorgeous! The poor staff must have been fighting a never ending battle with the wind and the leaves today. You could tell they were constantly cleaning them out, as none of these leaves were soggy or problematic to the water – they were light and crunchy and floating on top of the water. So someone must have been at it all day.
Back out from the public onsen, I walked further aroudn the corridors and the central garden to find the exit to the area where the private onsens were…
There are three private onsens, that probably fit about four people quite comfortably, maybe more if you’re super friendly, and they’re not bookable – you just turn up here and wait to see which are not in use. When you enter one and lock the door, it lights up out here as unavailable. They request that you keep your time short so that you’re not hogging the baths from other guests.
Into some geta and out the door into a large garden with beautiful winding little paths that lead to the private cottages that house the private onsen baths. This is so cute!
Ni No Yu – Chikura. Each of the baths have a change space and a shower and a different private bathing space. They are all really lovely in design… but I gotta say, this one was quite exposed and with this wind, it didn’t feel super inviting right now! Maybe tomorrow.
Ichi No Yu – Iwamuro. The next little cottage held a larger bath with large rock surrounds and very well designed lighting. It would be really relaxing and almost fantastically Disneyeque here, in the evenings.
Just magic! These places feel like something out of movies, not just baths in random hotels.
San No Yu – Korin. Despite its steps, this next bath was the most appealing at the moment – mostly because it was more built in and less open to the wind! 🙂
Having spent all these days chasing the autumn leaves, I am certainly not going to complain about them. They look gorgeous everywhere, even floating in the water.
Then it was back to the Lobby to get out key to check out our room. We had booked a Deluxe Twin Room with an open-air bath. The first problems we encountered was finding the right place! Usually, staff in the smaller ryokans will guide you to your room, spend a few minutes showing you all the available amenities, letting you know what in the fridge is included (often everything), and even making you a cup of tea and telling you about the facilities the ryokan has to offer. In this larger establishment, they had taken our luggage up for us, but with my meandering through the onsens, I think I missed any welcome wagon.
So, we knew we were on the third floor, but the map of the floor didn’t help us much, and the signage with directions to the different room numbers didn’t help us much… we ended up navigating by hieroglyphics. Yet again, I am cursing that I know hardly any Japanese and can’t read a lick of kanji. I really want to work on this, but it’s so difficult when you have a head full of Romance languages already.
Eventually we found the right spot. The genkan was long and narrow and more of a hallway than a traditional foyer.
The bedroom was light and comfortable (turned out to be a little too light – that window on the left didn’t have a darker cover and there was a street light out there somewhere that never turned off).
Also in the bedroom was this little dressing table space, which opens up for a mirror.
The main room in our small suite was just gorgeous… comfy little table, another pair of slightly taller chairs towards the balcony, and another pair of chairs on the actual balcony (which might be nice once the wind dies down!)
We had some snack and tea making goodies provided.
And I loved how the TV (which we never use anyway) was hidden behind these lovely decorative paper screens.
Japanese ryokans seem to love these old school phones – I’ve seen some made of timber, or full on Bakerlite, they’re so kitchy it’s not funny, but they are quite the feature of Japanese hotels. Also in the handy little hutch was tea cups, beer glasses, and other useful things.
The room is designed to accommodate families if needed, and the large closet held enough bedding for four more futon beds if required.
We also had a small kitchenette – which had a separate sink, a fridge, and coffee making equipment.
Also in this little alcove was another closet filled with yukata, samue, hanten coats (nice ombré ones!), baskets for taking ourselves down to the onsens… and in that yellow bag is: emergency slippers! Because everyone’s shoes are at the front genkan, they’ve very thoughtfully provided slippers in case we need to evacuate. 🙂
I’ve noticed a lot of hotel room design here very pleasingly has the toilet separate from the shower and bathing areas, and where possible, it’s usually not near the bedroom either! Western hotel designers should take some hints from these guys – no one wants to hear their partner or family member on the loo while they’re in bed! Ensuites are great, but not always well located!
The bathroom was lovely and felt really kinda personalised; ie: not huge hotel chain cookie-cutter style. The sink with its white and blue porcelain desing felt like it could be at your grandma’s place.
*drumroll please*
The Hairdryer! And some small amount of amenities… the hotel has an eco policy that says to please go down to the yukata ‘library’ to collect any amenities you night need, rather than loading up each room with them. Which I think is a good plan. So many places we have been to are loaded to the gills with soaps, shampoos, conditioners, face wash, toner, moisturisers, cotton swabs, ear buds, dental kits, toothpicks, shower caps, razors, luffas, sponges – you fucking name it, they’re trying to provide all of it. Makes me think Japanese people never travel with a toiletry kit (wait, maybe they don’t?!).
The showering room … complete with non-image forming spectral highlights from the afternoon sun.
And of course the private open-air bath on the balcony… happy place!
First order of business is always to unpack a little, scrub yourself clean, and then soak in the onsen bath for a while! With some local saké of course – it’s becoming our little tradition. It’s awesome when the hardest decision before dinner is figuring out where to pop your saké bottle to stop it from getting too warm! 😉
Tokinoniwa has a large restaurant filled with small private dining rooms, and we had arranged for half board for one night of our stay, but not for the second night – we want to go to town tomorrow and see what we can find in the local dining scene. The decor leading into he dining rooms was interesting…
A huge antique stove greets you as you walk in…
More local saké with dinner.
”New Year’s Eve Evening Meal”… no idea what New Year that is referring to, seeing it’s November! Appetisers of : Shrimp, Enoki and cucumber with sesame vinegar and miso; Simmered autumn salmon with gravy; Grilled mushrooms and lotus root in and saury; Chinese yam tonkatsu with saké kasu.
Sashimi course: Mahachi tuna, squid, sea bream, small rolled yuba served with soy and fresh wasabi.
Off menu surprise dish: tempura mushrooms served with a light ponzu sauce.
Left: Yamato pork wrapped in Chese cabbage and stuffed with ginger paste and red maple leaf shitake mushrooms. Right: Eggplant gratin, shrim, sweet potato, and baburika.
Teppanyaki Black waguy beef loin, thigh and Yamato pork, with Maitke mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, pumpkin, king oyster mushrooms.
18grain rice, Nametake mushrooms, grated yam, pickles and red miso soup.
Fresh melon, tiramisu (for Mr K) and a blancmange type jelly dish.
What a delicious dinner – courtesy of the “Head Chef of Heavenly Garden, Yukitaka Tsutsumi.” Great job title!
After waiting a respectable period of time to let dinner settle, it was back to the room for the usual after dinner bath.
Saké fuelled, kawaii onsen selfie!
I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of the sounds of the onsen water.
Thanks to comfy beds, or maybe it’s the saké, I slept really well. Then it was back to wandering the halls and past all the beautiful gardens, to find our way back to the restaurant for breakfast. Breakfast here was ¥2,200 per person (which sounds kind of pricey, but if you think about what you pay for brunch out at home, add a couple of coffees, it’s actually really reasonable), so we had arranged breakfast for both mornings of our stay.
The small private dining rooms are the best – if you aren’t used to Japanese cuisine, you can muddle through the menu and what to eat first, and what to eat mixed with what in privacy! If you are not morning person, Japanese breakfast is amazing… they bring all the things to you when you arrive and then bugger off and leave you in peace to enjoy your breakfast at your leisure. If you want a tea or coffee refill, you’ll have to flag someone down, as they won’t be bothering you after dropping off the food.
Mr K looking relaxed… as if work hasn’t been blowing up and occupying way too much brain space!
Japanese breakfast is always full of all good things! Fruit/vegetable juice, green tea, coffee, black tea… Tamago, salmon, mackerel, tofu dumpling, salad, miso soup, rice, pickles, yoghurt and fruit.
Except for this abomination… the dreaded natto again! Bleurk! I think it might be the only Japanese food that I simply can’t stomach at all. Fermented soy beans – I’ve tried it a couple of times, and it smells awful, and tastes even worse:
Just say ”No to Natto!” #FreeAdvice
I could really get used to Japanese breakfasts… it doesn’t matter what they bring (except the dreaded natto, which I didn’t know was a breakfast food until this very day!), it’s always delicious and nutritious, and someone else has prepared it! Yay.
Also, the view out the window in our little breakfast dining room was promising a gorgeous day!
I got a better look at this enormous antique stove this morning – it must weigh a tonne! We are on the second floor… how did they get it up here?
The amenities station in the yukata ‘library’… still with all the packaged disposable things you could possibly need.
We spent the morning doing work and the afternoon pottering around in Kusatsu Onsen proper. Lovely late afternoon colours from the balcony.
We had a late lunch in town so were skipping dinner tonight, but that doesn’t mean I’m skipping the pre-dinner soak and saké!
I think I was in and out of the onsen about four times tonight. Having a piping hot little plunge bath available to hop in and out of as often as you want is the ducks nuts. I love it… we had a late snack of Kusatsu Tamago pudding, an an early night.
The sunrise over Kusatsu made the deep red hues of the leaves even more vibrant. It’s a visually arresting way to start your day; wake up early, and quietly slip into the bath to soak until your body feels like jelly.
I watched these tendrils of steam caused by the fresh hot water rising through the cold air for far too long… just fascinated by the uniquely beautiful curling and writhing patterns created by the sunlight coming through the timber slats surrounding the onsen.
Second day’s breakfast was equally impressive… tempura tofu, grilled river fish, salad, miso soup, rice, pickles, mackerel, squid and all good thing. Also, bonus: #NoNatto ..!
Sadly it was time to check out of Tokinoniwa. I really enjoyed our stay here. The ryokan was lovely, the food was delicious, the staff were friendly (far more foreign staff than we have encountered everywhere else – some Filipino and Argentinian staff working in the restaurant), though my skin was feeling rather odd. I later discovered that Kusatsu has some of the most acidic hot spring waters in Japan and that means lengthy soaking isn’t really recommended.
Oh no! I guess I’ll have to quickly find myself an alkaline bath pronto!
What a glorious day! It’s about 13C with gorgeous blue skies, we are headed from Minakami to Lake Okushima. Lake Okushima is a reservoir lake that was created when the Shimagawa Dam was built between 1980 and finished in 1999.
I’m not sure what is causing these cloud formations, but they’re quite striking.
Even this little public restroom is designed to suit the area; this gorgeous little ginko tree that I imagine will be a striking huge tree in due course and some Japanese maples planted around it turn a boring toilet block into a cute looking cottage.
If you can encircle your car park with glorious autumn foliage, why wouldn’t you?
There were some stunning views and lots of lookout points to take advantage of them, on the short drive around the lake. We seem to have finally found some autumn colours.
Akazawa Bridge:
Mr K is enamoured with the local mascots – he loves this little Gunmachan guy, and pointed him out in his little escavator numerous times. ‘Construction work is underway, to widen the existing road!’, and yet, so much more informative for having a cute mascot impart the information.
The Shimagawa Dam is 330m long and 90m high… it’s quite impressive. I wasn’t super impressed with the large bullhorns visible at the top of the dam. Are those for sirens to let people below know if there’s a problem? At the moment the water level is so low as to be irrelevant, but if the water in the dam was high, I can’t imagine a sudden release would be good for Shima Onsen downstream from here.
Shima Hinatami Park below the dam, we went down there after leaving the drive around the dam and Lake Okushima.
Gunmachan directing traffic, I think. ‘Construction work is underway, cleaning the lake surface. We apologise for any inconvenience and appreciate your cooperation.’
The Ochiai Street Bridge over the Shima River… right beside the bridge was an unagi restaurant! Ooh, a small unagidon would be nice for lunch. We will have to check that out.
Self portrait with running water over rocks…
This is the most famous ryokan in Shima Onsen – Sekizenkan Kashoutei and it is considered the “Spirited Away” ryokan. I considered booking us to stay here, it has great reviews and is very well known. However, it is mostly known for its large Roman style onsen baths – and for whatever reason, I didn’t really feel the need to seek out Roman style baths in Japan? You can see the high rounded arched windows from the onsens underneath the ryokan. No, I’m here for the Japanese ambiance… I want the places with the more traditional Japanese riverside baths; they’re extremely picturesque. So I found us somewhere a little quieter down the gorge in the Lower Shima area where many of the older, more traditional ryokans line the riverside. Sorry Spirited Away ryokan, maybe some other time.
Photo of the Roman style baths snavelled from the internet: It’s lovely, I’m just not sure why…?
Show me a red bridge in Japan and I’ll show you a line of tourists (Japanese and Western) lined up to take selfies on it! I just want a tiny short break in the traffic to take a quick photo with no people in it!! It’s so hard sometimes.
We haven’t seen anywhere near as many tanuki statues in Gunma as we saw in Gifu last year… I wonder if there’s something local cultural thing going on there.
There’s not a lot going on in this sleepy little town – I think all the visitors are comfortably tucked in at their ryokans enjoying the onsens. We spied a pottery studio where you could go to do classes, and like one gift shop, and a single konbini – but it’s definitely a quiet sort of place.
Shio no yu – there are several hot spring drinking fountains scattered throughout Shima, the Shionoyu (literal translation: salty hot water) fountains are thought to help alleviate a variety of health conditions.
Keiunbashi Pocket Park? I was a bit confused as to what exactly is a pocket park? But when I saw this quiet little green space smooshed in amongst restaurants, cafes, ryokans and 1950s game arcades, I was enamored of the concept. More pocket parks for the people!
Kawara no yu is a public onsen precariously situated on some rocks in a fork of the Shimagawa River right in the middle of town, directly below a bus stop. It is a well known iconic building due to its distinctive round shape. It has very old school, cozy, gender separated baths. It’s free to use this facility, it is kept by the town, and I believe there is a donation box. It’s tiny – only accommodates four or so people in either side, and possibly tattoo friendly if your company doesn’t mind.
We are totally on the hunt for lunch now.
This statue was rotating left and right – I took a short video and will have to upload it at some point when I have decent internet… I don’t know why, but it looked just, weird: little statue of a lady in a kimono with a tray of onsen buns to let you know this is a public onsen, presumably one selling steamed buns!
We had passed by a number of very touristic looking restaurants as we wandered through town – one unagi place that had me drooling, but also doing a solid bit of side eye at the ¥4100 price for a meal there – and that’s before you hit the saké list! We kept walking, looking for a more local izakaya – you know the type of place, mismatched furniture, no English menus, cheap but hearty meals and even cheaper saké; somewhere the locals might eat. We found this place tucked in around a corner from the onsen (above), and decided to check it out. Meals ranged from about ¥1200-1700, which is far less tourist priced imo, so we decided to stop in and check it out… I’ve walked in and said to Mr K, I have a feeling about this, I’m going to need some photos so I can tell people where it is! Asunaro – a small syoduko and teishoku restaurant (syoduko: casual restaurant with inexpensive Japanese dishes; teishoku: has set menus which contain meat/seafood plus rice, miso soup and pickles).
The place definitely had a vibe – the owners two goldfish fish tanks in the foyer complete with pond scum certainly set the tone. The TV set noisily to a local sporting game likewise let you know you’re walking into someone’s primary place of residence – or at the very least a place where they spent the bulk of their day, such that ambient dining music was the last thing on the minds of the staff. 🙂
The menu was actually quite extensive, but first things first, saké because it was cold out and a bit of alcohol on an empty stomach usually helps with such things.
It was when ordering that we discovered the extensive menu was a bit of a lie. The sour plum pork cutlet was not available, then a second choice dish was also not available, so Mr K ended up ordering the ‘House Specialty Rice’ dish, which came with rice, chicken, egg, nori, spring onions, pickled mushrooms, and dashi broth… with the instructions to mix it all together and wait for the rice to absorb the broth, then ‘nom, nom, nom’. No shit, the landlady said: “Nom, nom, nom!” 🤣
I ordered the miso pork cutlet set – I’m a sucker for anything cooked drowning in miso, so was sure I was on a winner. Thankfully, it was available today… way too much food for lunch though: rice, pork, three small bowls of pickles and miso soup.
Hmmm… Miso pork cutlet? Where’s the miso? Ooooh… there’s the miso. Layered inside the cutlet! OMG – so much umami goodness! More saké for the people; this is definitely where we parked our car!
Banger of a lunch stop! Highly recommend that one – and would totally go there again even if half the menu was unavailable. Mr K said the Specialty Rice dish was also delicious.
After lunch we had a bit more of a walk around town to see the river and the lay out of the town.
Bus stop… Deer? Sheep? Not 100% sure…
Across the river from our ryokan is a strange hexagonal building which turned out to be a public footpath. No, FOOT BATH… not footpath stupid autocorrect.
Shima Onsen is a quaint and rather quiet sleepy little onsen town once you get removed from the one touristy street.
A bit later, Mr K went out hunting for snacks, and came back with a haul purchased like a kid buying shit for a road trip! If it had Pokémon on it, or a Great Wave motif – he bought it… no need to translate, he’ll deal with the weirdness later! The Cheeza crackers were actually kinda tasty – the rest of it… oy!
I’m not sure how, but Japan manages to be the land of the highest quality food with the strictest food quality regulations and laws around food additives… and yet it is also the land of the weird arse, more styrofoam than food, barely edible, snack products! On the other hand, they do have cups of tea and corn soup in a can – purchasable hot from vending machines, so mabye that makes up for the weird snacks.
