[598th Day of Living in Karuizawa] Kusatsu and Karuizawa are the perfect pairing
Have you ever been to Kusatsu Onsen?
“Kusatsu is a good place, come at least once”
as the locals sing, but I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve visited (laughs).
Before moving to Karuizawa, I never once thought that Kusatsu Onsen was close by. Even after realizing it, I just thought, “Come to think of it, I went there for fun in my student days, but it was far.”
However, when you go by car, it is indeed close. And it’s almost a straight road. In just over an hour, you arrive in a flash at the Kusatsu Yubatake.
Since the Edo period, there was a highway from this Kutsukake (Nakakaruizawa Station) to Kusatsu.
The hot springs in Kusatsu are wonderful, you know, the water quality is amazing. Living up to their motto of “Spring Quality First,” being drawn in by the scent of sulfur drifting through the town, and then soaking in the bathtub, truly heals both body and soul.
I may not look like it, but I’ve climbed many mountains and have soaked in wonderful sulfur springs all over the country many times. Zao is nice, my hometown’s Sukayu is nice, and the sulfur springs around Norikura are also very good, but for some reason, I still feel that nothing beats Kusatsu.
There are also several tourist spots in the vicinity.
A mysterious moss that grows without losing to the powerful flow of sulfur.
It’s beautiful, covered in green even on top of the rocks. It’s a bit far, though.
It’s quite cool along the river.
And in winter, skiing! My children improved their skiing skills on this natural snow in Kusatsu! Even though they were hopeless at any artificial snow ski resort...
You can enjoy it in summer or winter, the hot springs are the best, and the food is delicious too...
The soba restaurants are good, I always go to the okonomiyaki place in front of the shrine at Yubatake, I always buy Matsumura Manju, and I also grab yakitori skewers or fish while passing by.
But the ultimate highlight is definitely Joshu beef. The steakhouse’s generous portions are amazing...
Hey, where’s the salad? Isn’t it the other way around?
Well, I’ve completely advertised Kusatsu, but Kusatsu has been a friend of Karuizawa for a long time. It seems that in the Edo period, the Shogun had hot spring water transported from Kusatsu to Edo via Karuizawa... though it seems like it would have cooled down completely and lost all its properties by then.
And then came the Meiji and Taisho eras, and believe it or not, there was a railway running on this road connecting Kusatsu and Karuizawa (though it was a bit deeper in the mountains than the road). It apparently took three and a half hours to leisurely travel from Karuizawa to Kusatsu, passing through Tsumagoi.
So, I went to check it out immediately. Actually, it’s the trailhead for Mt. Hanare, so even though I kept thinking I’d go, the days passed where I’d finish my hike and find it too much trouble to go, so today I headed over in the afternoon, looked at the exhibits, and then went for a hike.
Mr. Jacoulet was a French ukiyo-e artist who lived in Karuizawa.
This exhibition is also held here, alongside the permanent exhibition on the history of Karuizawa, of course.
Below the museum is the villa of Fumimaro Konoe (a pre-war prime minister), which you can also enter.
Although, this area is actually the home of Mr. Amamiya, who pioneered Karuizawa.
Photography is prohibited inside, but while it is small, it tells the history of Karuizawa, including the surprising fact that there were ruins here, how it was deathly cold and difficult to develop during the Edo period, and how the post town was very prosperous, along with models and the history of the Kusakaru Electric Railway. Ah, it would have been fun if the railway still existed today...
However, as someone who has studied this, I felt there were more episodes and stories about this railway that could have been told, and it would have been nice to hear about the Kitakaruizawa station building, but I suppose just knowing that the railway really existed might be a surprise for the general public.
By the way, above this museum is the Hanareyama Library, which is open until September. As you know, the Karuizawa Library is attached to Naka-Karuizawa Station, but it seems that until this was built, this old library in the mountains was the main one.
And if you go further up the narrow road, there is also the Karuizawa Museum of Contemporary Art. It is there, but it closes tomorrow. A lot of cars were passing through this road today. I was surprised...
There are various facilities like this in this area, so how about visiting them all and then trying to climb Mount Hanare? (Maybe no one does that.) The maximum temperature in Karuizawa today was below 20 degrees, and it is getting even colder. Everyone, a jacket is essential!
This time it was a promotion (?) for Kusatsu and an introduction to the Kusakaru Electric Railway exhibition. See you tomorrow!