Shima Onsen — photo: Kentaro Ohno from Tokyo, Japan · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
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The 3 best onsen towns in Gunma
If you want one onsen town in Gunma, the three to look at are Kusatsu, Ikaho and Shima. All three are reached by JR train and a local bus, with no car, and of the 62 onsen in Gunma in our data they are the three best known. They are also three of the twelve best-known onsen towns in all of Japan. Ikaho is about two hours from Tokyo; Kusatsu and Shima are about three, in the mountains to the north-west.
Why these three, in one paragraph
We did not pick by taste. We took every onsen in our data in Gunma Prefecture, ranked them by how often each town's Wikipedia article is read, as a measure of how established a town is, and then checked from the top down which ones you can reach without a car. The top three all pass. The full method, with numbers, is at the end.
Gunma in numbers: more famous towns than anywhere else
Gunma is a small, landlocked prefecture north of Tokyo, but it has more well-known onsen towns than any other. Of the 1,538 onsen in our data, 22 pass 2,000 in our count of Wikipedia readership, and three of them are in Gunma. No other prefecture has more than two.
The water is varied. Of the 57 Gunma onsen with a water type on record, the most common are sulfate (31) and chloride (24) springs, both usually clear. Only five are sulfur springs, and only one, Kusatsu, is recorded as more acidic than pH 3. Of the 48 with a source temperature on record, 25 reach 42 °C and 10 reach 60 °C.
That means the three towns below are not three versions of the same thing. Kusatsu is strongly acidic, Shima is neutral and clear, and Ikaho is known for a brownish iron water. If you have time for two nights, picking two of them is a good way to feel the difference.
1. Kusatsu: the strong water and the steaming town square
Why it made it. Kusatsu Onsen is the best-known onsen town in Gunma by a wide margin, at 5,664 in our count, and the second best known in Japan. It is about three hours from Tokyo in our travel data.
The town. Kusatsu sits high in the mountains, around the yubatake, a wide channel of steaming water in the middle of town where the spring is cooled before it reaches the baths. The streets around it are full of inns, public baths and souvenir shops, and the whole centre is walkable. Kōsen-ji Temple is right above the yubatake, and there is a ski area just over a kilometre away.
The water. Recorded at 44.9 to 94.5 °C, pH 1.0 to 2.2, and about 32,300 litres a minute. It is listed as acidic, sulfur, chloride and sulfate. Water this acidic stings on cuts and tarnishes silver, and many baths are hotter than people expect. Our Kusatsu guide explains how to handle it.
Getting there. The JR limited express from Ueno to Naganohara-Kusatsuguchi, then a local bus up the mountain of roughly 25 minutes. There are also direct highway buses from Tokyo and Shinjuku, and a bus from Karuizawa on the Hokuriku Shinkansen. The JR Pass covers the train, not the bus.
Good for: anyone for whom the bathing is the point, walking from bath to bath, winter snow. Watch out for: it is too far for a comfortable day trip from Tokyo; the road over the Shibu pass to Nagano is closed in the snow season; take off silver jewellery before you get in.
2. Ikaho: the stone-step town, closest to Tokyo
Why it made it. Ikaho Onsen is second at 3,265, the sixth best known in Japan. It is the closest of the three, about two hours from Tokyo in our travel data.
The town. Ikaho is built up a steep hillside, and its centre is a long stone staircase lined with old inns, shops and game stalls, with Ikaho Shrine at the top. Walking up and down the steps in a yukata in the evening is the reason to go. The Takehisa Yumeji memorial museum is under a kilometre away, and Mizusawa-dera Temple about three.
The water. Our records list Ikaho as a sulfate spring. The town is known locally for two different waters, a brownish, iron-tinted one and a clear one, from different sources, so what you get depends on the inn or bath. We have no source temperature on record for Ikaho, so we will not guess one. Our guide to reading the water sign helps you tell which is which.
Getting there. A JR train to Shibukawa, then a local bus of about 20 minutes up the hill. The JR Pass covers the train, not the bus. A direct highway bus also runs from Shinjuku.
Good for: a first onsen trip, one night from Tokyo, an evening walk. Watch out for: the steps are steep, so pack light or leave your case at the inn; weekends are busy.
3. Shima: the quiet valley with clear water
Why it made it. Shima Onsen is third at 2,283, the twelfth best known in Japan. It is about three hours from Tokyo in our travel data.
The town. Shima is strung out along a narrow river valley in the mountains, a long, thin village of inns rather than a busy centre. It is the quietest of the three, with a few small public baths along the road and old wooden inns by the river. Further up the valley is a dam lake known for the unusual blue of its water. Agatsuma Gorge is about 15 km away.
The water. Recorded at 43 to 82 °C, pH 7.7, about 3,500 litres a minute, and listed as chloride and sulfate. Clear, neutral water: the opposite of Kusatsu's, which makes the two a good pair. It is gentle enough for a long soak.
Getting there. The JR limited express from Ueno on the Agatsuma Line to Nakanojō, then a local bus of about 40 minutes up the valley. The JR Pass covers the train, not the bus. Shima and Kusatsu are both on the Agatsuma Line but are about 17 km apart as the crow flies with mountains in between, so going from one to the other means returning down the line.
Good for: a quiet night by a river, gentle water, a second night after Kusatsu. Watch out for: there is little to do after dark; buses up the valley are not frequent, so check the last one; the village is long, so ask how far your inn is from the bus stop.
Which of the three?
- One night, first trip, short on time: Ikaho.
- Strong water and a lively town: Kusatsu.
- Quiet, clear water and a river: Shima.
- Two nights: Kusatsu and Shima together show you two completely different kinds of water.
- On a JR Pass: all three are reached by JR trains, but the last bus leg in each is not covered.
The towns that only just missed
Manza came fourth at 1,969. It is a high mountain spring over the ridge from Kusatsu, recorded at 80 °C and listed as acidic and sulfur, the milky white water many people picture. It is about 90 minutes by bus from Karuizawa, and the road is cut off in winter, so plan with care.
Sarugakyō (1,092) and Minakami (1,091) were fifth and sixth, almost tied. Both are in the Minakami area in the north of the prefecture, about two hours from Tokyo: Minakami is a short walk from its own JR station, and Sarugakyō is a bus ride from Jōmō-Kōgen on the Jōetsu Shinkansen. They are the easy choice if you want the mountains and Mount Tanigawa without the long ride to Kusatsu. Hōshi, a single old inn in the same area, is at 499.
How we picked these three
- Starting pool: all 62 onsen in our data in Gunma Prefecture.
- Known: ranked by how often each town's Wikipedia article is read. Kusatsu 5,664, Ikaho 3,265, Shima 2,283. The next are Manza at 1,969, Sarugakyō at 1,092 and Minakami at 1,091. Six of the 62 are above 1,000 and eleven above 500.
- No car needed: we went down the list from the best known. The top six are all marked in our travel data as reached by train and a local bus or short walk, so the top three by readership are the top three here.
- Not used: views, inn quality, price, tattoo policy, food or private baths. We have no data that ranks those fairly, so we did not pretend to.
- About the water: of the 62, 48 have a temperature on record and 25 reach 42 °C. Kusatsu is recorded at 44.9 to 94.5 °C and pH 1.0 to 2.2, Shima at 43 to 82 °C and pH 7.7; we have no temperature for Ikaho. The water did not decide the ranking.
- Travel times are rough estimates from our data. Check the current timetable before you go.
For every onsen within reach of Tokyo, see onsen near Tokyo and our guide to onsen trips from Tokyo. Want the best three around Tokyo as a whole? See the best onsen near Tokyo. For the whole story of one town, read our Kusatsu guide. Over the mountains in Nagano: Shibu, Nozawa and our Japanese Alps guide. For towns you can reach by train, see onsen you can reach without a car and onsen on the JR Pass. What do "sulfate" and "acidic" mean? See onsen water types. New to this? Start with how an onsen stay actually works and onsen etiquette. Tattooed? Read going to an onsen with tattoos before you book.