Since Automn 2003, it has become very usual to enjoy week-ends traveling in japanese countryside. With this winter, we inaugurate a new type of trips combining onsen & ski.

Onsen are very famous in Japan, and we had the opportunity to visit a lot of them, from rotemburo (outside baths) overlooking the sea, to inside onsen made with wooden bathtubes and mixed baths located in the forest. But the feeling of soaking in the very hot water (reminder: the temperature can reach up to 46°C) when the outside bath is surrounded by snow is definitively the best. After a day of skiing, it is pure paradise... But note that in summer, it's quite nice, too!

Second Visit in Summer (04/08/13)

Some pictures taken around Yubatake (see winter for detailed explanations) when Christian came to Japan. It seemed a nice place to try onsen for the first time... although finally we prefered more remote Manza.

A place I really wanted to see... I noticed last winter that a hot spring was located right in the middle of a small river, but I couldn't reach the shore because of the snow. This summer, it was much easier!

First Visit in Winter (04/01/17)

Located in Gunma-ken, reached in 2.5 hours from Kawagoe, Kusatsu is very famous for its onsens. In the middle of the village is located Yubatake, an open-air facility build to cool down the water of the spa, and to distribute it to the 18 free public baths available in the town (some of them being really small buildings with nice wooden baths).

Some large rotemburo can also be found - well, one to be precise, but surrounded by powder snow...

Ski fields are attractive, too. It is not Hokkaido, and the slopes are not very steep, but it is still pleasant, especially at night, when nobody is enjoying the ski under the lamps... I also found some very nice sake there! And it is really nice to indulge yourself in the small bath for feet located in the middle of the village... where I met a Swiss guy who was visiting the countryside!

But with the sun, day ski is still more attractive to me... and obviously to Seiko, although she didn't ski for about 7 years, she still managed to do really well!