Home / Destinations / Kanto / Kusatsu
DESTINATION / GUNMA
Kusatsu Onsen
Steaming streets, short walks and time for the bath.
Yubatake, day and night · Swipe or scroll for the second view.
A pale-green spring steams in the middle of town, crossed by rows of wooden channels. Around it, visitors drift between bathhouses, sweet shops and ryokan doors. Kusatsu brings the hot spring outside the hotel: come for a soak, but leave time for the spectacle of Yubatake, the rhythm of yumomi and another look at the lights after dinner.
Find your way around Kusatsu
See how Yubatake, Netsunoyu, Sainokawara Park and the bus terminal fit together.
The street map loads when it comes into view.
Open the larger map or use the location links below.
- Yubatake · Google Maps
- Netsunoyu · Google Maps
- Sainokawara Park · Google Maps
- Kusatsu Onsen Bus Terminal · Google Maps
Pins mark sights and the bus terminal, not a walking route. Yubatake is a spring source to view, not a bathing pool. Larger map · Map privacy · Map terms
01 / EXPLORE
Three ways to enjoy Kusatsu
Follow the steam around Yubatake. The appeal is in the details: water passing through long wooden troughs, mineral-coloured pools and wisps of steam moving across the view. Walk around the edge rather than taking one photograph and leaving. After dark, lights pick out the water and vapour against the surrounding buildings—a different scene worth returning for. Yubatake is a spring source to look at, not a pool to climb into.
NEARBY WALK
Yubatake & Netsunoyu
Hear the songs and watch broad wooden paddles work through the water at Netsunoyu. Yumomi turns a traditional cooling method into a performance with movement, rhythm and rising steam. Our walking guide separates the show from hands-on sessions and explains how to plan a visit.
Make the walk to Sainokawara part of the outing. The route leads away from the central spring through a shopping street towards the park. Onsen manju—small steamed buns with sweet bean filling—give the walk its own little food stop. Choose a shop, pause for a snack, then continue to the park’s steaming landscape. The open-air bath offers a different setting from the streets around Yubatake; walking through the park and paying to bathe are separate choices.
A SIMPLE FIRST AFTERNOON
Leave bags at a confirmed storage point, explore Yubatake, then choose a yumomi performance or the walk towards Sainokawara. Return for your bath and booked dinner; make an evening loop around the illuminated spring if you still feel like wandering.
02 / GETTING THERE
Arrive without a car
A practical rail route is Ueno to Naganohara-Kusatsuguchi, followed by a local bus to Kusatsu Onsen Bus Terminal. Direct highway coaches from Tokyo and Shinjuku avoid that change. Neither option ends at your hotel door.
From Kusatsu Bus Terminal, allow about six minutes on foot to Yubatake. This estimate is for the central hot-water field, not every hotel: add time for luggage and the final walk to your accommodation, especially in poor weather.
03 / STAY PLANNING
Choose the base, then the room
For a short stay, compare the walk between your accommodation, Yubatake and the bus terminal. A central inn makes evening wandering straightforward; a quieter location may need a different walking route or a confirmed shuttle.
Next, separate three different arrangements: a shared onsen, a reservable private bath and a hot-spring bath inside your own room. Check the exact room name and meal plan together, particularly when dinner determines your arrival time.
STAY PLANNING
Naraya: a town-centre ryokan
Near Yubatake, with shared onsen and paid reservable private baths. A private-bath slot is not the same as an in-room onsen; use our room guide before choosing a plan.
Read the Naraya room & bath guide
Ad · Affiliate link. We may earn a commission if you book through Expedia. Prices and availability are not live on this page.
Places, experiences and practical ways to get there.