Kusatsu Onsen

Before you go

• The water is strongly acidic (pH 2.1 at Yubatake) and hot, so babies are advised to bathe only from about 6 months at Sainokawara Open-Air Bath and Otakinoyu, at the parents' judgment, while Gozanoyu sets no age limit but warns that children with sensitive skin need care; remove jewelry before bathing (silver tarnishes quickly), and skin may feel dry afterwards (one visitor's shins were rough the next morning). A family skipped the town's free communal bathhouses with their child because they were hot and dim, while a mother who once came with a 6-month-old feels an inn with a private bath is safer for babies. Otakinoyu's private bath, Shakunage, lets families bathe together (¥2,000 an hour plus admission, by booking, reception 9:00–19:00, last booking 18:00). At the three public baths, children up to preschool age may enter the opposite-sex bath with a parent, and guests with tattoos are not turned away.
• Strollers are hard going: the town has many steep slopes and the area around Yubatake many steps, and the walk down from the bus terminal to Yubatake means an uphill climb back. A family strolled Yubatake while their 2-year-old slept in the stroller, but another used a carrier and held hands. Kosenji temple beside Yubatake is up stairs, so a family with a sleeping child in the stroller skipped it; bring a carrier and walking shoes. Cars use Sainokawara Street, so hold hands there. The ¥100 town loop bus takes only luggage that fits on your lap, and strollers are not mentioned.
• The Kusatsu Onsen Bus Terminal has a nursing room on the first floor: ask at the information desk to unlock it. Inside are hot water for formula, a changing sheet and a diaper bin; it fits a stroller but takes one family at a time, its air conditioning was weak in summer, and the adult restrooms there also have changing tables. Beside Yubatake, the Yuro Hiroba restroom is open 24 hours and, as checked in September 2026, has a baby bed and a baby chair. Gozanoyu has a simple baby bed in the family restroom beside its front desk, not in the changing rooms. Sainokawara Open-Air Bath has no baby bed, washing area, rest area or place to eat, food and drink cannot be brought in, and there are no rental towels (bring one or buy one for ¥380), and once you leave, you cannot re-enter. Restrooms in inns and shops around Yubatake are not always free to use.
• The Netsunoyu show runs daily at 9:30, 10:00 and 10:30 and at 15:30, 16:00 and 16:30, with occasional cancellations for maintenance or events; from December 1, 2025, to February 28, 2026, the morning shows were at 10:00, 10:30 and 11:00 (times for the coming winter are not yet posted, so check before you go), and some days add a 9:00 or 15:00 show or a 20:00 night show. It cannot be booked: tickets go on sale at the counter 30 minutes before each show, cash or PayPay only, at ¥700 for adults and ¥350 for elementary-school children (no price is given for younger children). A family lingering at an inn far from Yubatake missed every morning show, so plan around the times. The yumomi hands-on session (elementary-school age and up, ¥300) runs only on Sundays and Mondays, 11:30–13:00 with last entry at 12:50, with no booking; the line was long before 11:00 but short by about 12:30, near the end, and you get a little wet even with socks off and trousers rolled up.
• Looking at Yubatake is free, 24 hours a day, with no closing day. The three-bath pass for Otakinoyu, Gozanoyu and Sainokawara costs ¥2,100 for adults and ¥1,050 for children aged 3 through elementary school, never expires and is sold at each bath. Sainokawara Open-Air Bath costs ¥800 for adults and ¥400 for children aged 3 through elementary school and opens 7:00–20:00 from April 1 to November 30 and 9:00–20:00 from December 1 to March 31 (last entry 19:30), but a notice of changed hours was posted on May 5, 2026, so check before you go. Otakinoyu opens 9:00–21:00 (last entry 20:00), and Gozanoyu 7:00–21:00 from April 1 to November 30 and 8:00–21:00 from December 1 to March 31 (last entry 20:30). The three baths take cards, e-money, transit IC cards and PayPay (except Otakinoyu's restaurant), but in 2021 a visitor found few places in town that took credit cards, so carry cash.
• Search for Kusatsu in Gunma: Kusatsu City in Shiga Prefecture has no hot springs. By public transport, everyone arrives at the Kusatsu Onsen Bus Terminal: from Ueno, the JR limited express Kusatsu Shima takes about 2 hours 33 minutes to Naganohara-Kusatsuguchi Station, then a JR bus 25 minutes; or take the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Karuizawa (about 1 hour 10 minutes) and a bus on, or the Joshu Yumeguri highway bus from Shinjuku (about 4 hours 15 minutes). Yubatake is a 5-minute walk from the terminal. Drivers need snow tires or chains in winter, and as of September 30, 2026, Route 145 is closed between the Gobara and Iwashima-ekimae intersections after a landslide, so a detour is needed. The area within 500 meters of the Kusatsu-Shirane volcano crater is closed, so its crater lake, Yugama, cannot be visited.
• At 1,200 meters, evenings are cold without a jacket even in early September, so pack layers. Yubatake is often busy ("somewhat crowded" is the most common answer in Jalan's reviews), but mornings are quieter and the foot baths around it easier to get into.