Article

10426 ／くさつまち

Gunma Prefecture 吾妻郡

Kusatsu Town

Flumes of red pine over 150 years old

Hot-water flumes, Yubatake

Photo by Suicasmo (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Stone Fence of the Yubatake

The names of eminent visitors to Kusatsuare carved into the Yubatake stone fence.

The fence around the Yubatake was wooden until the Showa era. A stone fence was built in 1934, and the present one dates from 1975, designed by an institute headed by Taro Okamoto. The town records that monuments to eminent visitors are inscribed on it. A 1910 map writes the name Yubatake as it is now; an 1884 guide map used a variant character.

Stone fence, 1934
Present stone fence, 1975
Name: 1884 map and 1910 map

02 ／ Sainokawara Park

Because demons appear, one must not shout.So goes the tradition of Sainokawara.

West of the Kusatsu hot-spring district, hot water wells up all around, sending up great clouds of steam and flowing away as a hot stream. From this scenery the place is said to have been called the demons' spring and feared. Names such as the Demon's Tea Kettle and the Demon's Sumo Ring remain today.

Also called the demons' spring
Demon's Tea Kettle and Demon's Sumo Ring remain as names

03 ／ Rhododendron

The town flower is the rhododendron;its colony is a national Natural Monument.

Gunma Prefecture's list of national designations includes the Azuma-shakunage and Hakusan-shakunage rhododendron colony of Kusatsu-Shirane as a Natural Monument (plant community). The town made the rhododendron its flower in September 1961, noting that it grows in clusters around Mount Sekison and shows a scenic beauty peculiar to deep mountains.

National Natural Monument, July 6, 1961
Town flower, September 1961

Kusatsu Town from the sky

Now and 1974–78. Tap a photo to zoom in.

Now1974–78

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

Now (shot June–October 2016)Shot 1974–78

Source: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) GSI Tiles（全国最新写真（シームレス）／国土画像情報（第一期：1974〜1978年撮影））

Open in GSI Maps (now)Open in GSI Maps (1974–78)

Living here

A town with no station: 233 minutes from Shinjuku by highway bus.

about 6,000 people
Rural district town

The town has no railway station, and its gateway is Kusatsu Onsen Bus Terminal. From Shinjuku, the JR Bus Kanto highway bus takes 233 minutes on the fastest daily service, and from Tokyo Station Yaesu South Exit 242 minutes. From Naganohara-Kusatsuguchi Station, a route bus takes 22 minutes. The area is 49.7 km².

People living here: 6,049people
Area: 49.75km²
Households: 3,229households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 2 hospitals ／ 4 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —1 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Kusatsu Town in Japan36.621°N 138.596°E

to ShinjukuHighway bus233min
to TokyoHighway bus242min
to Naganohara-KusatsuguchiLocal bus22min

Travel times follow ジェイアールバス関東『デジタル時刻表東京・新宿～伊香保・草津温泉上州ゆめぐり号／東京ゆめぐり号』（2025年12月15日改正。time.jrbuskanto.co.jp/bk03010.html）の下り、同社『長野原草津口～上州大津～草津温泉』の一般路線バスの時刻表（2025年12月22日乗車分から。jrbuskanto.co.jp/bus_etc/cntimep01.cfm?pc=j0450121）、同社の運賃カレンダー（2026年10月・11月。毎日運転の確認） (checked 2026-10-21). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 3 municipalities.

Territory of Kusatsu Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (Administrative Area Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari.Lakes: National Land Numerical Information (Lake Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari. Prepared with the approval of the Director-General of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, using its Digital Map 25000 (Spatial Data Framework) and Digital Map 25000 (Place Names and Public Facilities). (承認番号平27情使、第585号)

North to south

9.9km

Nakanojo Town, Tsumagoi Village, Naganohara Town

Kusatsu Town isthis kind of town.

01According to the national description of the Place of Scenic Beauty Yubatake, the yudoi flumes are about 40 m long, seven in number, made of red pine over 150 years old, and are replaced from time to time
02The town records that monuments to eminent visitors are inscribed on the Yubatake stone fence, and Sainokawara Park carries a tradition that one must not shout because demons appear
03The Azuma-shakunage and Hakusan-shakunage rhododendron colony is a national Natural Monument, and the rhododendron is the town flower; the town has no railway station, and its gateway is Kusatsu Onsen Bus Terminal

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Kusatsu Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes