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"Five Hours? There's No Way That's Enough": What Japanese Regulars Say About Day-Tripping to Kusatsu Onsen From Tokyo

「5時間？絶対足りないでしょ」— 東京から草津温泉は日帰りで足りるのか、日本人のコメント欄の総意

KusatsuTokyoKusatsu Onsen
"Five Hours? There's No Way That's Enough": What Japanese Regulars Say About Day-Tripping to Kusatsu Onsen From Tokyo

Ask a Japanese comment section whether Kusatsu Onsen works as a day trip from Tokyo and the answer comes back a polite no. Under a video of a ¥4,000 day-trip bus from Ueno, eight of the 200 most-liked comments tell the traveler he needed to stay the night — the most-supported of them (48 likes) from someone who has gone once a year for over a decade: "a day trip to Kusatsu is rough… honestly, even one night and two days isn't enough." The channel's own reply concedes the day trip was a mistake. The only real disagreement is how many nights, and the practical detail underneath is thick: how long the bus actually takes, how long the town takes on foot, the cheap old cure-inns near the Yubatake — and the two quieter onsen up the road the regulars would send you to instead.

“Five hours?! There's no way that's enough! — and then, sure enough, it was a mad dash from start to finish. Classic Yukutora 😂😂😂”

5時間⁉︎絶対足りないでしょ！って思ったら案の定ドタバタドタバタしててさすが我らのゆくトラさんだと思いました😂😂😂

— @yoshiyoshi3438
City guideWhat locals say about Kusatsu OnsenAll 1 local roundups for Kusatsu Onsen
（YouTube · ゆっくりトラベル‼︎）

What locals said (excerpted from 563)

  • I've been going to Kusatsu once a year for over ten years now (I was just there last month) — from Hokkaido 😂 I always take the "Joshu Yumeguri-go" bus from Busta Shinjuku. And yes, a day trip to Kusatsu is rough… honestly, even one night and two days isn't enough lol. There are reasonably priced inns around the Yubatake if you look, so next time please stay over. The Yubatake and Sainokawara at night are genuinely magical. For food, Hirano-ya's 100-day maitake tendon and (as other commenters have said) the ginger pork set at Dan are things you have to eat at least once. Superb.

    もう10年以上に渡って年一で草津に行ってます(つい先月も伺いました)…北海道から😂 草津にいってらしたんですねー😁 自分はいつもバスタ新宿からの「上州ゆめぐり号」で行きます。 たしかに日帰りで草津はキツいですね… 一泊二日でも足りないです(笑) 湯畑周辺でも探せばわりと良心的な価格のお宿はあるので、次回はぜひ泊まりをオススメします。 夜の湯畑や西の河原は本当に幻想的で素晴らしいです。 食事なら、「平の家」の100日舞茸の天丼や(他の方のコメントにもありますが)「暖」の生姜焼き定食はぜひ一度は食していただきたい！絶品ですよ。 動画内の動物園は、熱帯「園」でなく熱帯「圏」ですね(めちゃくちゃ間違われること多いんですよ、コレ(笑))。 熱帯圏は、あっという間に時間が過ぎますよね〜。いつも熱帯ドームを何周もしちゃいます😂…行ったらめっちゃ課金しまくってます。キツネザルも近くに来てくれたらモフモフできますよ。 コロナ禍や売上金の盗難に遭ったりで一時は廃園の危機に陥ったのですが…全国からの寄付などもあり何とか存続できたようです。 すみません、長々と… 草津に行かれたというのが嬉しくて😆 今回の動画も楽しかったです〜🤩

    — @アキヒロ-f6h48 likes

  • So many comments, thank you 🥰 Kusatsu turned out to be far bigger with far more to see than I expected, and I really do think doing it as a day trip was a mistake 😭 Next time I want to stay a night 🎉

    沢山のコメント嬉しいです🥰 草津思った以上に広く沢山の観光スポットがあって、本当に日帰りは失敗したなと思いました😭 次は一泊したいです🎉 ずっと勘違いしていたのですが、熱帯園じゃなくて熱帯圏だったの驚きです😳 いつも本当にありがとうございます🥰

    — @ゆっくりトラベル9 likes

  • For Kusatsu I go for the Sainokawara bath — park at the Tenguyama ski area, walk from Sainokawara Park toward the Yubatake, wander, eat and drink, and have a proper soak before heading home — that alone needs five hours, which is why the day trip getting all the way to the tropical zoo made me laugh. The onsen manju are pricey but it's Chichiya or nothing.

    草津は西の河原温泉目的で、天狗山スキー場駐車場からスタートで西の河原公園から湯畑目指し、散策して飲み食いして帰る前に温泉堪能でも5時間は必要だから、日帰り草津で熱帯園まで行ったトラちゃんに笑った 温泉まんじゅうは高いけど「ちちや」一択 お休みだったお店のまんじゅうは試食で食べる分には美味しく感じるけど、箱買いすると次はいらないかなレベル(爆°∀°笑) ごま福堂は絶対寄るけどトラちゃんはスルーだったのかな？ ここのかりんとう饅頭が今のところ歴代で1位

    — @tub-q5m2 likes

  • If you're going to Kusatsu from central Tokyo, two or three nights is essential. Ship your books and discs ahead to the inn by courier, soak in the water, laze around — that's the whole point. Around the Yubatake they sell very pure yunohana bath flakes, so don't miss those. A few earpick-scoops in your bath at home and you've recreated Kusatsu.

    都内から草津温泉に行くなら、２～３泊は必須。　薄い本やラノベにビデオディスクを宅配便で宿に送る。　温泉に浸かり、ゴロゴロが醍醐味です。 湯畑の周辺では、超高純度の湯の花を売っていますので、買い逃しの無い様に。　自宅の風呂に、耳掻きで数杯入れるだけで、草津温泉を再現する。

    — @ズンベさん6 likes

  • The angle on this was so off-piste it made me laugh 🤣 I love that these videos exist. I'd been thinking of doing Kusatsu as a day trip myself because staying is expensive… but one night and two days looks like the way 💦

    切り口が斜め上を行ってて笑ってしまった🤣こういう動画も楽しくて最高です♪草津、自分も宿泊だと高いから日帰りで行こうかと思ってましたが…一泊二日がよさそうですね💦

    — @Masa秀2 likes

  • New here — I've been wanting to go to Kusatsu Onsen and ended up on this while looking things up. Really useful, and I like that this is a way to do it too, thank you! (I'll be staying a night rather than day-tripping, mind lol)

    草津温泉行きたいなーと思って、色々見ていたら辿り着いた新参者です。こういう楽しみ方もありかもと、とっても勉強になりました！ありがとうございます！（日帰りじゃなくて、一泊しようと思いました 笑）

    — @しまがらねこ13 likes

  • The bus stops at Tokyo Station Yaesu and Busta Shinjuku are easy enough, but yes, nobody can picture where the highway bus stop at Ueno is lol. And I completely agree that if there's a direct bus from Ueno to Kusatsu you should just take it — Kusatsu is basically somewhere you can't reach without your own wheels, and in winter, driving there yourself when you aren't used to snow roads carries real risk.

    東京駅八重洲口バス乗り場やバスタ新宿なんかは分かりやすいですけど、確かに上野の高速バス乗り場は想像つかないｗ そして上野から草津まで直通バスがあるのならそれ使ったほうが良いと考えるのには全面同意 草津温泉は車かバイクみたいな足がないと基本的には行けないところですし、 冬場は雪道に慣れてない人が自家用車で行くのはリスクもありますしねえｗ

    — @yukakichi02032 likes

  • Thank you for riding with us ❤ I can't say which depot I'm out of 😅 but I drive the Kusatsu Yumeguri-go bus, a few times a month 😊 Boat trips are lovely, but bus trips are pretty good too ❤

    はい、ご乗車ありがとうございます❤ どこ発とは言えませんが😅草津湯めぐり号のバス運転士です月に数回ですが😊　船の旅も良いですが🎵バスの旅もよきかなぁ❤

    — @YK-fu3cx214 likes

  • Depends how far from the Yubatake you're willing to walk, but there are cheap old inns for cure-bathers, from around ¥3,500.

    湯畑からどこまで歩けるかにもよるけど湯治客用の安い宿あるよ3500円ぐらいから

    — @hirotakekun14 likes

  • The yumomi women singing the Kusatsu-bushi completely got me. What a thing. If there were a reasonably priced place that takes solo guests, I'd love to go.

    湯もみ姐さん達が唄う草津節に心つかまれました あれ、いいなぁ お一人様向けのお手軽価格な宿があったら、ぜひ行ってみたいー

    — @ぽけうさ7 likes

  • I went in November. Stayed at an inn with cats. 🐈

    11月に行って来ました。 猫のいる旅館に泊まりました。🐈

    — @高橋昌巳-d6b50 likes

  • I go to Kusatsu fairly often, but it's honestly just get in the water and done — I've barely looked around. Now I want a snow-view open-air bath.

    草津はちょくちょく行くけどガチで温泉入って終了だからあまり回ったことない。雪見露天風呂入りたくなってきた。

    — @NY-pd8cq3 likes

  • Went last month! Lots of young visitors, really lively, it was great. And being able to see the place on foot is a plus 😊

    先月行きました！若い観光客が多くて活気あって良かったです。 あと歩きで観光できるのも良きです😊

    — @なadg11 likes

  • The tropical zoo is a genuine recommendation.

    熱帯園はガチでおすすめ

    — @はぬん-v6w28 likes

  • Careful with the yunohana souvenirs — most of them aren't from the Yubatake.

    お土産の湯の花はほとんど偽物で湯畑産ではないので注意。

    — @あまこちゃん-o2u2 likes

  • Landlocked Gunma — I never thought anyone would come here, I'm so happy. The ginger pork at a place called Dan on the Yubatake is my recommendation, please try it next time ☺️

    海なしの群馬に来てくれることなんて無いと思ってたから嬉しいいいい 湯畑にある「暖」ってお店の生姜焼きおすすめなので、次回ぜひ行ってみてください☺️

    — @ぴりんちょ22 likes

Where locals go instead

  • Your bus trip was so refreshing and fun ✨ One day please go back and take revenge on the big Sainokawara open-air bath and the kamameshi place ☺️ And a little further up from Kusatsu, Manza Onsen, and Shima Onsen — said to cure forty thousand ailments — aren't bustling tourist towns like Kusatsu, but the water is exceptional. Highly recommended 💕

    ゆくトラさんのバス旅、とっても新鮮で楽しかったです✨ いつかぜひ西の河原大露天と釜飯屋さんのリベンジしてくださいね☺️ 草津から少し上の万座温泉や、４万の病に効くという四万温泉も、草津のような賑わう観光地ではありませんが、お湯はとびきりでオススメです💕

    — @あお-q2q2h3 likes

  • Kusatsu and Ikaho are both good, but Shima Onsen is the one I'd really recommend.

    草津も伊香保もいいですけど四万温泉はマジでオススメです

    — @猫が合計12匹2 likes

Places named in this article

  • Yubatake湯畑Kusatsu Onsen

    The hot-water field at the centre of the town, and the landmark the comments orient everything around — one regular calls it and Sainokawara "genuinely magical" at night (48 likes).

  • Sainokawara Rotenburo西の河原露天風呂Kusatsu Onsen

    The big open-air bath at the far end of Sainokawara Park. One commenter goes to Kusatsu for this bath specifically; another asks the channel to come back and "take revenge" on it after skipping it.

  • Oshokujidokoro Danお食事処 暖Kusatsu Onsen (facing the Yubatake)

    Named twice in the comments for its ginger pork set (22 likes: "the ginger pork at a place called Dan on the Yubatake is my recommendation").

  • Honke Chichiya本家ちちやKusatsu Onsen

    The onsen-manju shop a regular picks over all the others: "pricey, but it's Chichiya or nothing."

  • Kusatsu Nettaiken草津熱帯圏Kusatsu Onsen

    The tropical zoo the day trip ends at — heated by the hot spring, and "a genuine recommendation" (28 likes). Commenters note the name is Nettaiken, not Nettaien, and that donations kept it open after a hard stretch.

  • Manza Onsen万座温泉Gunma, up the road from Kusatsu

    Instead pick from the comments (3 likes): not a bustling tourist town like Kusatsu, but "the water is exceptional."

  • Shima Onsen四万温泉Gunma

    The other instead pick, named by two commenters — the name means "forty thousand," as in the ailments the water is said to cure.

Named in the source comments — hours, prices, and openings change, so check each map listing before you go.

FAQ

Can you day-trip to Kusatsu Onsen from Tokyo?
You physically can — the video is a ¥4,000 return bus from Ueno — but the comment section says don't. Eight of the 200 most-liked comments tell the traveler to stay the night, including one who has gone annually for over a decade (48 likes): "a day trip to Kusatsu is rough… even one night and two days isn't enough." The channel itself agreed the day trip was a mistake.
How long do you need in Kusatsu Onsen?
A regular who drives up for the Sainokawara bath budgets five hours just for the core loop — the bath, the walk to the Yubatake, eating and drinking, and a soak before leaving. The comments then split on nights rather than hours: one night as the minimum, and two or three nights from central Tokyo if you want the soak-and-laze version (6 likes).
How do you get to Kusatsu Onsen without a car?
By highway bus. JR's Tokyo Yumeguri-go runs from Ueno and Tokyo Station and the Joshu Yumeguri-go from Shinjuku, taking roughly four to four and three-quarter hours each way as of 2026. By rail you take a limited express to Naganohara-Kusatsuguchi and a JR bus of about 25 minutes; there is no station in the town itself. One commenter's warning: driving yourself in winter, unused to snow roads, carries real risk.
What is there to do in Kusatsu besides the baths?
The Yubatake hot-water field is the centre and the town is walkable (11 likes). The comments add the yumomi water-stirring performance with the Kusatsu-bushi song, Kusatsu Nettaiken — the tropical zoo the video visits, and "a genuine recommendation" at 28 likes — and the manju shops, with one regular insisting it's Chichiya or nothing. One caution: most yunohana bath-flake souvenirs are not from the Yubatake, as of the comments.
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