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I love this town for its distinctly authentic Japanese feel. It is nestled in the mountains, a gorgeous drive from Tokyo (If you have the time, drive!) Many places to drop in for a foot soak, lots of little shops and restaurants. Prepare to wait in the busy season (which I believe is the fall and winter). This time we stayed in a traditional Japanese hotel with tatami and only futons for sleeping- being from the US, this made the trip especially fun but make sure you are ok with getting up and down from the floor. There are less people who speak English than in the major cities. But if you are comfortable pointing and smiling and trying google translate, it is a beautiful place to visit. Note that people with limited mobility may find the town difficult to navigate (steps and steep hills). Better for adults, but there is a little tropical zoo nearby and the onsen demonstration is fun.

Lovely Onsen town. Simply magical during winter. We went in February and it was snowing. Family love it so much that we’re planning to visit for next winter. A lot of private hot spring and delicious food. We had kaiseki for breakfast and dinner at our ryokan. Definitely worth the trip and ain’t too far from Tokyo. Stay a night if possible.

If you want to experience the quintessential Japanese, hot-spring town in the mountains then, Kusatsu is the place for you. It takes a while to get there with the train and bus but if you have the time then I would recommend it. The culture surrounding hot-springs is unique to the Japanese and there is no better place to experience it. Get early there for a day trip because most buses coming down to the train station stop running around 7 PM.

Kusatsu is a great place for natural hotsprings. Great Onsen. Its best to go for relaxation purpose and take a dip in the hotsprings. The places to look out for are 1) Yubatake (center of the town) - Please do visit in the evenings as well when the lights turn ON and make it a beautiful view. 2) Sainokawara Park and Open air Onsen. This is a must visit place to spend good walk in the park and then visit Open air Onsen JR Bus station is very close to center - Yubatake. So it's just a 5mins walk and also there are round trip bus by JR to all sightseeing spots. Most of the resorts offer shuttle bus service also; so I recommend to check with your resort before booking. This really helped us. The food is next best thing in Kusatsu. However if you are Vegetarian like us you might find difficulty to find good restaurants. However, there are a couple of Italian restaurants that offer good pasta and pizza which is loaded with vegetables. One major thing to note is the Bus service from Kusatsu Bus station to Nagonahara Kusatsuguchi. The bus service is not regular; so please check it and plan your outbound trip.

The Yubatake area is picturesque and has many nearby shops with Japanese treats you can take out and eat/drink while sitting and enjoying the ambiance of Yubatake. Lots of traditional Japanese buildings, walkable streets with shops selling souvenirs and Japanese treats. Be sure to take the 10min walk from Yubatake thru Sainokawahara Koen (Park) to the large outdoor hot spring bath Sainokawhara Rotenburo.

The iconic attraction of kusatsu are the hot springs. I have tried various ones, Kusatsu hot springs are relaxing and the the feeling is wonderful. The food in the town is delicious, I tried Udon with Tempura in some places, it was just delicious. Don’t forget to try the onsen tamago as a speciality of the town.