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A Famous Spa Town Dating Back to the 13th
Century
 People of Kusatsu in Gunma Prefecture are proud to have
one of the most prolific outpourings of hot water of all hot springs in
Japan. Spa water gushes up from a number of wells in the town and the combined
output for the whole town is about 37,000 liters (9,772 gallons) per minute.
The springs produce sulfurous spa waters with high acidity that are said
to be effective against neuralgia and skin diseases. Records show that
men in power visited the town to bathe in the hot waters in as early as
the 13th century, and that the spa itself was already well-known at that
time. Today the town is part of the Joshin'etsu Kogen National Park and
is constantly busy with many visitors. People come in the summer to escape
the heat, in the fall for the autumn leaves, and in the winter for the
skiing.
While Kusatsu is a popular tourist destination, the bountiful
spa water is also supplied to the private homes of the town's residents,
making use of the resource, and the hot spring waters are also piped under
the major roads to melt the settling snow in winter.
There are at least 18 public baths in the town, which are open round the clock to everyone without charge. At some of the public baths the traditional way of controlling the water temperature, known as "yumomi", is still practiced. Yumomi adjusts the temperature by mixing the cold air of the highlands into the hot water with vigorous movements of the wooden boards. Several women standing at the edge of the bath tub and stirring the water in the bath with a wooden board to cool the water. The raw spring water is too hot to bathe in, but adding cold water decreases the medical efficacy of the spa water. Therefore, in recent years Yumomi has been performed as an entertainment show and become a popular tourist attraction for the visitors staying in Kusatsu. Photos: (Top) "Yubata" at the center of Kusatsu Town; (middle) Nishi-no-kawara Park in Kusatsu Town; (bottom) "Yumomi", in which attendants stir and cool the hot water, singing traditional songs. (Gunma Prefecture) Unauthorized reproduction of the
photos in this page is prohibited.
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