I previously shared about celebrating my birthday in one of the most famous onsen destinations in Japan which you can find here. And so, this is the continuation.
Kusatsu Onsen, one of the top 3 best hot springs in Japan is found in Gunma Prefecture, a few miles away from Tokyo. In this small town, you can find the famous Yubatake (湯畑, in english: hot spring field) in its center. This place was where I celebrated my birthday and it was very therapeutic! 😊
In my previous post, I shared that it is part of Nagano Prefecture, but when I checked the map, the address says it is in Gunma Prefecture. Sorry for the mistake. I also updated my previous post about it but the cover photo, I couldn't update it. So to clear the misunderstanding, this place is found in Gunma Prefecture.
That weekend, we stayed at Hotel Takamatsu and it's just a 5-minute walk away from Yubatake. Yubatake is best enjoyed in the nighttime because of the illumination and the steam coming from the water making it like a magical scenery.
Kusatsu's hot spring comes from the nearby active volcano named Mount Shirane. Mount Shirane last erupted in 2018. There are hiking trails and you can see a majestic lake but I didn't go. Next time!
The spring water is extremely hot, more than 70 degrees Celsius, and although it looks so appealing, you can't bathe in that temperature! And so, Yubatake was created. They created it to cool the hot water which will then be supplied to the numerous onsen resorts in Kusatsu.
I already mentioned illumination, right? Even in the rain, the water field still looked so amazing! Though my phone couldn't do justice to the beauty of this place at night.
The sulfur looked weird at nighttime. It looked kinda sticky and something slimy. Eww. 😅
Many people were in their yukata, including me, strolling in Yubatake. Some hotels provide yukata to their guests that you can wear around the town. I liked it, comfortable but it was a little bit cold. 😅
Some people also took advantage of the free foot bath (足の湯 in japanese, read as Ashi no Yu) near Yubatake. However, I didn't soaked my foot because my boyfriend was wearing boots and it would be too annoying to remove it, and if I did it alone, it would be too cruel of me. 😇 (If I do it alone and he would wait for me, where's the fun?)
If you won't use the stairs, you can use the road. Not a lot of cars are passing by so it's okay to to walk in the road.
There are a few restaurants opened til late in the area but I think most of them close early. It was past 9PM when we went there. Too early? Well, it's not the city so can't really expect restaurants to be opened til late. But there's a convenience store nearby for your hungry tummy. 😅
Before we headed back to the hotel, we stopped by the convenience store to get alcohol. What's a birthday without alcohol?! To tell you, I didn't have cake on my birthday so the alcoholic drinks would suffice.
There was a long line for take out in a yakiniku (焼肉 or pork barbeque in english) shop and I noticed my boyfriend also wanted to buy. We just had that sumptuous dinner at the hotel and he wanted round 2!?! But oh well, it's fine. 😅 We found a yakitori (焼鳥 or chicken barbeque) shop nearby and less people so we bought food there - around 15 sticks. I know, that's a lot. 😂 Actually he asked me how many sticks I wanted, I told him 3, but when he ordered, I was just there dumbfoundedly staring at him while he told the staff 15 sticks.
After we bought yakitori, we hurriedly headed back to the hotel because it's almost our time to use the private onsen of the hotel.
Even when it's best enjoyed at nighttime, one can also enjoy the view at daytime. Saturday was a rainy day but Sunday was so sunny! We can now clearly see what this hot water field is in the morning.
It wasn't clear during the night but during the morning, you can see the wooden fields are not in their best shape. Yubatake has a long history, so I could imagine this to be too old.
Because it's daytime, you can see that the sulfur has transformed the ground and the rocks. It has a very foul smell, no thanks to the sulfur.
And because the ground is extremely hot, vegetation will die. So the town is importing their vegetation.
Near Yubatake, there's a large staircase leading to a temple but we were too tired that day so we didn't go. But we found something that piqued our curiosity.
It's actually a sacred hot spring water, and although there's a note saying do not throw coins in the water, there were already a lot.
We were too tired to stroll around, so we just stayed near Yubatake. There were benches you can sit and enjoy the view.
That Sunday, there was a cycling event and the stopover's in the town.
A lot of people were also enjoying the foot bath. It's really popular because it's free of charge. Bring your own towel!
You can feel the hotness of the water in this flowing stuff. It has already cooled down but still hot. They say multiply it by 3 and that's the temperature of the water in Yubatake.
It's almost 2PM so it's time to head back to the hotel to take their free shuttle services going to the bus terminal. It would be a long bus and train ride to Tokyo but we were refreshed by the hot spring waters of Kusatsu. The person who invented Yubatake must be so smart he thought of this way to cool the water.
Thanks for reading!
See you around! じゃあ、またね！
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.
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This is mouthful. I crave travelling so bad. The experiences is refreshing. I enjoyed this.
You should travel soon! Or maybe this weekend? 😅
Then you can also tell us about your weekend.
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Wow, they really did an awesome job creating this place. They cool down the water and attract the tourists. It's a win win.
Would love to visit there and try the baths. Sulfuric water is very therapeutic.
Maybe some day. 🙂
Happy that you enjoyed your birthday weekend. 🎉
!LUV
I think when they created this they weren't considering about the tourists, but now it has become a symbol of the place attracting tourists, even people living in Japan.
Yes, very therapeutic indeed. There are a lot of baths surrounding the place, some can heal illnesses I heard except for a broken heart. 😅 Those baths are different from the ones in the hotels.
Even me, I will go back to this place again some day because there's a lot to explore!
Thanks! I did really enjoy it!
!LUV
hahahaha... they are therapeutic not miraculous. A broken heart can be healed with alcohol, though. 😜
Alcohol can cure if not everything, then most serious matters! 😂
I didn't even know when I finished this write-up, wow...
The pictures glued me till the end
You really have gone to beautiful places
It was indeed a beautiful place! Hope you could also go there someday!
Thanks for dropping by!
Interesting place!!! I want to go there!!
You should! Hopefully you could visit the place. It's really great for a vacation!
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Lovely destination, the weather (or isit the phones filter) looks different too.
The path to that temple looks divine, I have a Liking for acient architecture.
Weldone on another successful trip, thank you for sharing.
The weather was rainy at night and so sunny in the morning hahaha
It’s a really nice destination away from the busy city life.
That's Lovely💛
I guess the rain added to the effects? 😅
LoL
I think so, it gave a nice filter though.
The city is dark with lots of neolights.
Whereas here in the open, natural lighting and cool weather, I would say Yes😆
You should suggest adding more colorful lights to the places there so it would be a tourist destination.
Then they will give you an award for such a great idea hahaha 😅
Right...
Lol
Thanks for the interesting information. I'm thinking of going to Gunma soon, so I'll definitely check out that area. Your photos look fantastic!
It's a very popular destination in Gunma. There are other onsen towns in Gunma too!
Wow! Cool!
This stream gives a very beautiful atmosphere. The water is so clean!
And so hot!
The sulfur smells bad though, good thing it's only at the upper part.
But the water is really so refreshing!
First of all, happy birthday! 🎂
Second, thank you for this tour! I didn't even know there was such an interesting place in Japan! Although I've heard that the Japanese are very smart and inventive people. I think there are a lot of inventions like that there. That's very cool! Keep telling me about it! I laughed a lot when your boyfriend took 15 sticks. 🤣 That's very cute!
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Thank you for the greetings!
It's a place away from the busy life. Japan has all kinds of places, just need to explore to know about it. 😅
I won't argue with the Japanese people being smart and good at inventions. After all, it's true!
We finished the 15 sticks though. 😂 Must be the alcohol!
😜 Must be) 🙌💜💛
This place is so beautiful! I'd prefer the view at night though. It looks so mystical -- pretty much the same as how you see it in movies or in anime 😍
I see, the night is indeed so mystical! It was raining though, maybe it added to the effects in the photos. 😅
Japan definitely has a lot of interesting places for the tourists to see! Especially when it comes to Europeans who are completely used with seeing other kind of architecture applied for the buildings 🤔
I guess that's the reason why Japan has never ran out of tourists, well except during covid times. There are architectures here too, but I guess Europe has more beautiful and unique architectures.
Happy birthday🎊 .. wht is your Camara?. The lens is so good 😁
Thank you @chootyd96! My camera is just the iphone camera 😂
Libreng pa hot spring madam 😅..
Panu kung may mahulog jan .. Goodluck
Hahaha! Burn 🔥
May mga fence naman para d ka mahulog 😂
The wonders one can find on mother earth are sometimes really breathtaking. Amazing pictures from the hot springs 😀
Thank you!
There are more to see in the town but we settled only here.
I've always loved Jaoan since my childhood and I hope to go there some day to see its beauties with my own eyes.
I hope you can come! That's going to be like a dream come true for you!
I thought I had a lot of pictures In my blogs hahahhah great it looks like the gysers I saw in Iceland, love the blog
Thanks! I don’t know about the gysers in Iceland. I’ll go check it out.