Hot spring paradise: Kusatsu

As you may well know by now, we really like the Japanese hot springs, or 'onsen' as they are called here. Japan is a very volcanic active country and geothermic hot water is pleasant byproduct of this volcanic activity. Because the water flows naturally from the earth, onsen are full of minerals, salts and acids that are  good for your skin and health in general. One of the most famous hot spring towns in Japan is Kusatsu, a rustic mountain village that is known for its 'yubatake' (literally a cultivated field of hot water) and public onsen houses.

Woh ist der Bahnhof? Do ist der Bahnhof!

After a three hour trip by bus we arrived at our holiday destination. Even though spring already started  in Tokyo, there was still a massive layer of snow in the mountains. A big surprise! At the bus station we were greeted by a huge sign saying 'BAHNHOF'. There are German influences all over Kusatsu: houses, street names, street lanterns, souvenirs, you name it. Even the Japanese equivalent of Schnitzel (tonkatsu) is (coincidentally?) a local specialty. The reason for this fascination with Germany can be traced back to Dr. E. Bälz (1849-1913) who declared that the sulfur rich water in Kusatsu had certain benefits to the health. This declaration by an esteemed foreign scientist gave an enormous boost to Kusatsu's popularity as a spa-resort and spurred the local devotion to the Doctor's 'Heimat'.

We stayed at a little hotel on the edge of town. Like most hotels, ours had its own private onsen for guests. It was very modest in size but it felt like great luxury to have an onsen bath before breakfast and after dinner. An onsen that was certainly not modest in size was the Sai no Kawara in the (suprise!) Sai no Kawara park. This enormous onsen is about 500 square meters and is surrounded by beautiful mountains. A real treat! In the center of town is the yubatake, the main spring well. To distribute and cool the water so it can be enjoyed in the hotels and public bath houses, the water is poured in wooden tubes. All these tubes together resemble a farm field, hence the name 'yubatake': hot water field. Around the yubatake you can find small public bath houses. These are free and open 24/7. Because they're so close to the yubatake the bath water can be extremely hot! One way to cool the water is to use the traditional peddle: by splashing it in the water it cools down. Of course there's also a special way to do the splashing. Four times per day local ladies give a demonstration of this cooling ceremony (yumomi) accompanied by taiko drums, songs and dances. Another special onsen is the 'Ootaki no yu', this onsen features a special 'health course' where you have to take five consecutive baths with increasing temperatures (from 39 to 46 degrees!). Very very hot, but we finished it and now we should be healthier.  

    

End of the yubatake by night

Sulfur and yubatake tubes

Taking a foot bath

Daphne cooling the water

Water splashing

Our hotel

Public bath

Outside of public bath

Outside of another public bath

Special eleven

The last picture is from a one-of-a-kind Seven Eleven. To maintain the traditional brown color of the town center, Seven Eleven was originally not allowed to open a shop in Kusatsu. Only after the convenience store company was willing to change the trademark colors (yellow, green and red), the community allowed a store next to the yubatake.

More photo's in the photo album !