Kusatsu Onsen Tenojiya

Kusatsu Onsen has Japan’s largest natural spring water output and is known for acidic springs with strong bactericidal properties. Sulfur scents drift from Yubatake, the hot spring field at the heart of town, giving the area a lively feel. The water varies by spring in pH and composition, from tingling to surprisingly gentle on the skin. Visiting the many public baths around town is the Kusatsu way to enjoy the hot springs. Onsen Navi lists Yubatake-type springs as acidic, sulfur-containing aluminum-sulfate-chloride springs of the hydrogen sulfide type, and Bandai-ko as an acidic chloride-sulfate spring. Spring temperatures range from 45 to 96°C. There are about 100 inns, three public baths available for day trips, with most others basically for locals, plus three town-run hot spring facilities and open-air baths.

The kaiseki dinner was excellent in both quality and quantity, and breakfast was probably the best Japanese food I had in Kusatsu. I’m a small eater and was full halfway through. My one wish is that the dishes had come out a little more slowly. The inn has two baths that alternate between men and women at regular intervals. Tamayura is naturally fed by the hot spring and cooler and more comfortable than the rock bath. That rock bath is the inn’s main draw, with hot spring water pouring down over the rocks. The water at the bottom of Kusatsu’s Yubatake bath is apparently about 48°C, then drops by nearly 5°C by the time it reaches this bath, where it’s around 42-43°C. I don’t like heat, so I warm up and prepare, get in up to my waist, get out, then later go back in up to my shoulders. I only last about a minute each time, so I keep getting in and out. Even after deciding I’ve had enough and starting to dry off, I somehow want to go back in. It has a mysterious pull, and I can see why it’s designated a Japan Hot Spring Heritage Site. Apart from wishing the food came more slowly, I was very satisfied.

The hot springs and food both made a strong impression on me. After bathing in the famous Tamasudare no Yu, where water drips from the bedrock and leaves things steamy, we had a delicious kaiseki dinner, served on exquisite tableware. The inn itself is an elegant three-story wooden building from the early Meiji period, though guidebooks rarely mention it. One description calls it a Japanese-style inn on Takishita Street, between Yubatake in the center of town and the public bath Otaki-no-Yu. It praises the Natural Rock Bath, where abundant water has reportedly flowed like a waterfall for 1,200 years, and the third-floor cypress bath, with a great view and enveloping wood scent. It also describes the elegant Kyoto-style kaiseki meal as a pleasure to enjoy. (Famous Bath Inns, Noguchi Fuyuto, Hoikusha, 1987.)

The rock bath is fantastic. Feeling the spring water come straight out of the rocks makes its freshness really clear. I’d recommend it to people who have some experience with hot springs.