The beautiful resort town of Kusatsu is located about two hours from Takasaki. My JET friend, Angela and I drove from Takasaki to Kusatsu, using the scenic slower roads. The drive was beautiful: the trees were covered in freshly fallen snow and the mountains were gorgeous snow covered peaks on the horizon. After reaching Kusatsu around lunch time, we walked around the main plaza of town. In the middle of Kusatsu is a giant natural hot spring (and you can definitely smell it!) The water is said to have healing powers for your body, washing away the toxins and helping the skin. Even though it was smelly, the water was a beautiful aqua color.
In Kusatsu, there are several onsen baths, foot baths, and restaurants. It is certainly a great weekend get-a-way place! After walking around the main plaza, we stopped at a local side street restaurant, which served delicious miso noodle soup. It was warm and hearty--perfect for a -2C day! After lunch, we drove to the indoor-outdoor onsen called Ohtaki No Yu, which is famous for its beautiful rock covered pools, waterfalls, and numerous pools to choose from. The onsen was beautiful and we stayed in the water until our hands looked like prunes! The outdoor pool was especially relaxing because it was lightly snowing the entire time that we sat in the water.
If you want to be truly relaxed, you must visit Kusatsu and sit in the onsen bath. Just a side note to foreigners: In the onsen baths, you must go naked...sorry no bathing suits! The Japanese are very proud of their onsen baths and do not believe being naked is indecent in the onsen. The Japanese seem pretty relaxed and unembarrassed by this tradition of de-robing and sitting in a pool naked in front of other people. Most of the onsens are separated by gender, so women have their own pools and men have their own side too.
When you first enter the bath, you remove your clothing and leave them in a basket. Then you walk into the shower/bath room and wash your body with soap and shampoo provided by the onsen. After washing, you can enter the hot pool and stay for as long as you like. I started with the indoor pool and moved to the outside later. The outside pool was more relaxing and pleasant because I could have a nice cold/hot balance with the temperature of the pool and the outside air temperature. There was a constant sound of running water off of the rock wall, which was pleasant too.
After experiencing the onsen, many people stay for tea or have a snack in the cafeteria if there is time. The Japanese onsen experience is A-MUST for any tourist visiting Japan!!
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