Yubatake

Central Honshū


Yubatake is the main attraction in the town centre and the source of hot-spring water in the area. Its milky-blue sulphuric water flows like a waterfall at 4000L per minute and is topped with wooden tanks from which Kusatsu's ryokan fill their baths. The area is atmospherically lit at night.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Central Honshū attractions

1. Jigokudani Monkey Park

10.54 MILES

Pleasant in winter when shrouded in snow but less appealing when seasonally bare, Jigokudani Monkey Park is wildly popular. Made famous by the 1992 film…

2. Asama-yama Magma Stone Park

12.74 MILES

Here's your chance to get up close and personal with Asama-yama – so close, you could almost touch it. Formed in 1783 by Asama's last violent eruption,…

3. Hokusai Museum

16.29 MILES

Japan's most famous ukiyo-e (woodblock print) artist, Hokusai, spent his final years in Obuse. There's an audiovisual presentation on his life in the…

4. Takai Kōzan Kinenkan

16.32 MILES

Takai Kōzan, woodblock artist Hokusai's friend and patron, was a businessman and an accomplished classical artist specialising in elegant Chinese-style…

5. Japanese Lamp & Lighting Museum

16.44 MILES

Showcasing lighting through Japanese history, including oil lamps and lanterns, this neat museum will flip the switches of design aficionados.

6. Former Mikasa Hotel

17.28 MILES

This property, one of the first Western hotels in Japan, welcomed guests from 1906 to 1970. An exceptional example of elaborate Meiji-era architecture, it…

7. Haruna Jinja

18.18 MILES

Among gorgeously forested mountains and believed to be the home of the God of Water, Fire and Agriculture, this site has housed a shrine of some form for…

8. 'Umi' Museum of Contemporary Art

19.18 MILES

This light-filled gallery showcases an impressive collection of contemporary work by Japanese artists who have found fame abroad in genres such as oil…