Kusatsu Onsen: baths, fees, tattoo wording and winter hours

Kusatsu Onsen has three paid public baths at $5 to $8 (¥800 to ¥1,200) each for an adult, about $19 (¥2,900) for all three, and Sai-no-kawara Rotenburo has no closing days. On tattoos, the Gozanoyu FAQ says there is no specific refusal of people with tattoos in the town’s three main baths.

Dollar figures use about ¥155 to US$1 and are rounded; you pay in yen, so check the rate.

Who is Kusatsu for?

Kusatsu suits bathers who prefer several different baths to one long soak. A day visit has three paid baths, and one secondary guide lists three free baths open to visitors. A night in town adds the evening: Gozanoyu admits visitors until 20:30 and Ohtakinoyu until 20:00, while Sai-no-kawara’s last entry is 19:30.

The water is strongly acidic, according to the town’s Sai-no-kawara page, which warns that it tarnishes silver. A secondary guide adds that it is sulphurous. The official spring classification is not found.

Ohtakinoyu’s Awaseyu tubs run 38 to 46 °C, per the same secondary guide. The Japan Spa Association tells people with high blood pressure or heart disease to avoid water above 42 °C, so the hot end of that range matters for them. The limits are in Onsen etiquette.

How do you get to Kusatsu?

The route, travel time and fare from Tokyo are not found in our sources, and no official fare was found. Kusatsu is in Gunma, in the Kanto region. No earlier figure was found either, so there is no last-known fare to quote. Check the town’s official access page and the operator’s fare page before you book.

What does a day in Kusatsu cost?

An adult pays $5 to $8 (¥800 to ¥1,200) per bath, and about $19 (¥2,900) for all three. That total adds the three official adult fees.

Sai-no-kawara and Gozanoyu hours are the December to March hours. The Ohtakinoyu hours are the only set found, with no season stated. One secondary guide lists Ohtakinoyu at $7 (¥1,100) and Gozanoyu at $5 (¥800), lower than the official pages.

A secondary guide lists three free baths open to visitors: Shirohata-no-yu, Jizo-no-yu and Chiyo-no-yu. Most small community baths are for locals, and sources disagree on how many free baths admit visitors.

Gozanoyu has no private bath. Its official guide lists a rentable medium hall for resting, called Za-no-ma, at $13 (¥2,000) an hour for any number of people. Ohtakinoyu lists private baths, but the price is not found. How private baths work is in Private onsen (kashikiri).

Ryokan day-use baths typically cost $3 to $10 (¥500 to ¥1,500), according to a secondary guide.

How do the winter hours fit together?

All three baths can fit into one winter day. Gozanoyu opens first, at 8:00, and Sai-no-kawara and Ohtakinoyu follow at 9:00. In the evening the last entries run 19:30 at Sai-no-kawara, 20:00 at Ohtakinoyu and 20:30 at Gozanoyu, so a day that ends at Gozanoyu keeps the latest option.

Friday evening is the exception worth planning around. Sai-no-kawara runs mixed bathing then, with swimwear or a towel allowed, per the town’s page. The start time of that session is not confirmed in our sources, so ask locally.

What does a night in Kusatsu cost?

Kusatsu inn rates are not in our sources. Two secondary guides give national ryokan ranges: $97 to $160 (¥15,000 to ¥25,000) per person on average in one, and $97 to $260 (¥15,000 to ¥40,000) or more with two meals in the other. Treat both as ballparks, because the booking page sets the real rate. What a stay includes is in Ryokan.

What are the bath rules?

Follow the standard sequence in Onsen etiquette: wash first, keep the towel out of the water and go in without a swimsuit unless a sign says otherwise. Kusatsu adds one rule: jewellery comes off.

Before you go Take jewellery off before any bath. The water is strongly acidic and tarnishes silver, per the town’s Sai-no-kawara page.

What does the town say about tattoos?

The Gozanoyu FAQ says there is no specific refusal of people with tattoos in the three baths, Ohtakinoyu, Gozanoyu and Sai-no-kawara Rotenburo, including foreign visitors. It asks visitors to follow bath manners. The town’s Sai-no-kawara page says most Kusatsu inns and bath facilities welcome tattoos that are not gang-related.

Both statements are the town’s own wording. They name the three main baths and inns in general. No official rule is published for the free community baths or for an individual inn, so ask at booking.

If a bath or inn refuses, a private bath is the usual fallback. Policy can still differ by facility. Cover patches and the other options are in Tattoos and onsen.

Is Kusatsu open in winter?

Yes. Sai-no-kawara has no closing days, and its hours shorten from December to March: 9:00 to 20:00, against 7:00 to 20:00 from April to November. Gozanoyu opens at 8:00 in winter, an hour later than its 7:00 opening from April to November, and closes at 21:00 in both seasons.

Snow depth, road conditions and ski area details are not found. In Snow onsen towns, Kusatsu ranks fourth of four because its route is unsourced, not because of its baths, which are the best documented of the four.

Where next?

• Best onsen in Japan, compared: Kusatsu against other towns on water, access, price and tattoo wording.
• The Onsen hub: every onsen guide in one place.
• Onsen etiquette: the rules from door to exit.
• Tattoos and onsen: policies bath by bath, and the options if a bath refuses.
• Snow onsen towns: Kusatsu next to Nozawa, Zao and Ginzan.