01 ／ Honjin
At the Kusatsu-juku Honjin, a national historic site, 181 daifukucho ledgers kept by successive heads of the house survive, covering 1692 to 1874. They record guests' names, as well as gifts of money and servants' wages. Of the sekifuda, the tags that announced who was staying, about 460 wooden and 2,900 paper ones remain.
02 ／ Raised river
The old Kusatsu River was a tenjogawa, a river whose bed ran 5 to 6 m above the flat ground of the town. In 1886 an arched tunnel of brick and stone, popularly called manpo, was built beneath it, and the route of the Tōkaidō was renewed too. The river was abolished in 2002, and its old bed has been a park since 2017.
03 ／ Aobana
Aobana is a variety of dayflower that grows to about 1 m, with cobalt-blue flowers from late June to late August. Juice squeezed from the petals is brushed onto washi paper and dried, over and over, to make aobanagami. The colour dissolves easily in water, and it has been used as the paint for underdrawings in yuzen and shibori dyeing.
Living here
Kusatsu Station is served by the JR Biwako Line (Tōkaidō Main Line) and the Kusatsu Line, and JR Special Rapid trains stop here. Kyoto is 20 minutes away and Osaka 50, with no change of trains.
+4.9% since 2015
101,828 → 143,913
46.31km² of it habitable
2024
2.1 people per household
2020
National average 60,630 yen
2023
10.1 per 10,000 people
2023
These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.
ACCESS
Travel times follow 観光公式『草津市観光物産協会』のスポット『JR琵琶湖線・草津線 草津駅』の見出し『京都から20分、大阪から50分』（https://kanko-kusatsu.com/spot/kusatsueki）。JR西日本『JRおでかけネット』の区間時刻表（line-timetable/2235『JR神戸線・JR京都線・琵琶湖線・山陽・東海道本線（姫路～大阪～米原）上り』・ページの日付 2026-10-07）で乗り換えなしの直通列車を数えた：大阪『発』→草津『着』は新快速の列（列車番号の色が新快速の青で、34xxM の番号帯）が55本・最速50分・運転日注意欄に印の無い便あり。京都『発』→草津『着』は同じ列が55本・最速20分・運転日注意欄に印の無い便あり。ほかに特急ひだ（運転日は平日のみの印）の京都→草津19分・大阪→草津52分、特急はるか・らくラクびわこの22分・53〜54分があるが、毎日乗れる定期便ではない（運転日注意欄に印）ので採らない (checked 2026-10-07). They vary by time of day.
Shape
North to south
11.6km
If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.
Similar towns
A flood-control pond became the town's lake.
Koshigaya Lake TownA lake, Post town, Traditional crafts
Not one pit dwelling has been found.
Shimonogo Site, moated villageA lake, Post town
Beyond the torii, Ise-bound Saio stayed.
Tarumi Saio Tongu sitePost town, Traditional crafts
