"A hidden jewel of an Onsen" Kusatsu by Maxiediva

Travel time of approx. 4hrs from Ueno Station on the Shinkansen to Takasaki, then change to another train to Naganohara-Kusatsuguchi. From there, take a JR bus to Kusatsu bus terminal, the last stop. You need to walk for about 8mins to get to the centre of this beautiful Sulphur smelling onsen town. Famous for its Yubatake, which is the main attraction and it's Onsen manju. Next to it, is a large building Netsu No Yu, that offers a Yumomi Show, how the hot sulphurous spring water is cooled by beating the water will long paddles. Tourists can participate in the event and you'll get a certificate for it. Everything else branches out from this Yubatake area. Souvenir shops, hotel, restaurants etc encircle the area. There is also another attraction to Kusatsu. The Sai no Kawara Park is located in the west of Kusatsu onsen street. Here, you will find a park filled with pools of hot spring water. At the end of the park is the very large rotenburo, or outdoor baths. For 500Yen, you can soak in the big baths (separate for men & ladies) and enjoy the minerals rich essence of the hot water. (photos not allowed, unfortunately). Along the street are more souvenir shops and those selling manju and pickles. One shop in particular gives away free manju and tea.

Public Footbath

Coming from a city like Singapore or for those living in Tokyo , where the stress of work is at its highest, Kusatsu is a heaven for the weary. Nothing feels rushed here, not even the flowing water, as it gushes around everywhere. Here is where you rest and relieve your tensions away. The sound of the gushing water is soothing to the mind, the warmth of the hot springs removes all aches from the body and realising you are so far away from home and sinfully pampering yourself is oh, so nice to the soul! Heck, even the Shogun Minamoto thought so too when he came for a dip. There are at least 100 most notable persons in Japan's history who visited Kusatsu for it's healing onsens.

Mountain view

This is the view from my window. The snow-clad mountains, the bright blue sky, the crisp clean air and no sound of traffic anywhere. Even if the temperature dips, a hot bath in the ryokan is at your disposal. Kusatsu is definitely a place I will visit each time I'm in Japan.

• Pros:hot spring onsen, great views, tasty manju, not crowded
• Cons:4hrs by train from Tokyo
• In a nutshell:Two steps away from Heaven