Mt. Shirane-san Area白根山エリア
Gumma群馬県
Highland routes open for hiking throughout the year. The hot spring, discovered by a German doctor, is to recover for hikers.
The town of Kusatsu is located at the southeastern foot of Mt. Kusatsu-Shirane-san in the northwestern part of Gunma. The town became well known about 120 years ago after Dr. Baelz, a medical doctor from Germany, found its hot springs to be very effective. Kusatsu-onsen has several hot springs, each with a different effect and separate fountainhead. Most of the hot springs operate twenty-four hours a day.
In the center of the town, two spots are particularly popular all year round: 'Yubatake,' one of the fountainheads, and Netsu-no-yu, where 'yumomi' (stirring hot water with paddle-like wooden boards to cool it down) demonstrations are shown. Tourists have a choice of many places where they can learn about nature and the history of hot springs. The Shirane Park Service Center and the Kusatsu Hot-Spring Museum are also two of the most popular attractions.
Mt. Kusatsu-Shirane-san is the generic name for active volcanoes such as Mt. Shirane-san, Mt. Moto-Shirane-san, and Mt. Ai-no-mine, all of which belong to the Nasu Volcanic Zone. The crater on the mountaintop consists of Yugama, Karagama, and Mizugama, and from their slopes columns of smoke rise. Near the mountaintop, tourists can hike along the Shiga-Kusatsu-kogen Route, which is also a popular ski resort. Manza-onsen Hot Spring, at the western foot of the mountain, is well known as a hot spring of high-quality milky-white water.
Directions
From Tokyo :
[Rail] 2h 30 min from Ueno to Naganohara-Kusatsu-guchi Station by JR new limited express Kusatsu, and 30 min from the station to Kusatsu-onsen by bus. From Kusatsu-onsen Bus Terminal, 35 min to Shirane-kazan by bus.
From Osaka :
[Rail] 2h 30 min from Shin-Osaka to Tokyo Station by JR Tokaido Shinkansen Line, and 7 min from Tokyo to Ueno Station by JR Yamanote Line.
