Pension Gorouji

After coming down from the mountain, we spent the night in Oze. Yubatake hot spring was close enough for an easy walk, and we went there for a relaxed stroll in the evening and again in the morning. Dinner had seafood and meat teppanyaki, assorted appetizers and small dishes, then yakisoba to finish. We were completely stuffed. Breakfast offered several kinds of homemade bread, bread stew with bread balls, three cheeses, prosciutto, luxurious sandwiches, and delicious homemade apple jam. We checked out early, but the restaurant was already busy with people who weren't staying at the hotel.

I stayed in the main building. It feels old-fashioned, but the inside was simply clean, and there were pretty fresh flowers on the staircase. The inn has two buildings, a main one and an annex. Towels, yukata, and toothbrushes are available to rent, and you can borrow a bath basket for a walk in your yukata. The room may have a few things to be patient about, and you have to lay out your own futon, but the sheets and pillows were clean. The mother and son who run it are friendly. Homemade bread for breakfast costs 1,080 yen and is delicious, especially the loaf hollowed out and filled with corn soup. The homemade apple jam is good too. Japanese food is also offered. The place is handy for the Yubatake and the nearby baths, Chiyo-no-yu, Ninokawa-no-yu, and Otaki-no-yu. Those nearby baths are open 24 hours. Parking is free. The private baths at the inn are lovely, and it's nice to use one whenever you want. The indoor bath is open around the clock; the outdoor one is open from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM. The water really has that Kusatsu hot spring quality.

The inn is close to Yubatake, and its private baths, including an open-air bath, are free and use water from the Yubatake hot spring. Dinner comes with Akagi beef teppanyaki, so you won't have to worry about missing dinner. Enjoy the soak and the teppanyaki, and look out for Loki, the mascot cat who'll be waiting for you.

I picked this hotel because it was near Yubatake and reasonably priced, but I don't think I'll come again. I booked what I thought was the new building, an annex opposite the main building where breakfast is served. I expected a Western-style room with a bed, but it was carpeted and we had to make our own futon. There were three other rooms on the second floor. The walls were so thin that voices from other rooms, TVs, and even people passing outside were easy to hear. I wasn't comfortable and hardly slept. The hot spring bath was bigger than my home and had one shower and a hair dryer. There were no yukata, towels, or toothbrushes, so it felt like camping and having to bring everything yourself. I read that a yukata rental costs 1,200 yen. It’s quite expensive. Hot water and a shared refrigerator are downstairs on the first floor, and the place feels like a shared house. The location is good if you want to visit outdoor baths or go to an izakaya, and Yubatake is close by.