My friend and I will be taking an onsen trip during early Jan (terrible decision I know). I am currently swaying between the two areas.
Background: I have been to Kinugawa before on a whim and loved it. I like that the water is pumped directly from the source unlike in Hakone where it felt like regular hot water. Have managed to secure the last reservation at a ryokan there. However, I’m not that interested in the surrounding Nikko area, just the hot springs.
My friend has not been to any authentic onsen before. She loves nature and hiking mountains, myself not as much but I’d like to support her. She is concerned that Kinugawa/Nikko won’t have the autumn sights she wants to see as we are going in winter.
We know very little about Kusatsu onsen other than the raving reviews of it on this sub. We’re interested in hearing the thoughts of those who have been to both. Which do you think would be more suitable for us?
7 comments
Kusatsu for sure. Great variety of baths, heat levels, and styles of water, both public and outside and riverside as well as within hotels. And the town is compact and nice for exploring and strolling.
You can check out my trip report on Kusatsu. We loved our 2 nights there.
– [Trip Report: Weekend at Kusatsu Onsen](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/meafbh/trip_report_kusatsu_onsen_in_gunma/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
Kusatsu Onsen makes more sense, because it is one of the best onsen towns within the wider Kanto region. It has great variety of onsen, is familiar with foreign visitors and in winter – it can be very pretty.
I would probably not consider Kinugawa Onsen at all (not in winter anyway) and if your friend is into mountains than Shibu Onsen in Nagano, or one of the resorts in Nasushiobara area would also make sense.
>She is concerned that Kinugawa/Nikko won’t have the autumn sights she wants to see as we are going in winter.
Considering how close Kusatsu is to Kinugawa, I’m 100% sure that in January it won’t have any autumn sights either.
I also don’t know why you think January is a terrible time to go to Onsens? Unless it’s the 1st 2nd or 3rd of January you shouldn’t have too much problems. But the 2nd week would be better, to miss the school holidays.
Kusatsu!
I’m currently living in Gunma and this place is way underrated for travelers. Come to Gunma!
If she wants to see autumn sights you guys should be going in Oct-Nov, you’re not going to see autumn leaves in Jan anywhere in Japan. And why would Jan be a terrible time for an onsen trip? If anything the onsens should be a perfect accompaniment to the cool weather
Kusatsu for sure. Kinugawa is like a ghost town. It was big in the 70s and 80s but now there are literally empty hotels scattered around town