Places & destinations
JapanPlaces & destinations
Kusatsu Onsen
Four thousand litres of scalding water a minute, cooled with wooden paddles to a work song.
On the mapGunma
At the village centre the yubatake, literally "hot-water field", spreads the source through wooden channels to drop it from seventy to forty-five degrees without dilution. The strongly acidic water was said to cure "everything but lovesickness". Yumomi, paddle-stirring set to a work song, served the same cooling purpose and is now performed as a demonstration. The resort draws three million visitors a year and stays open all year round.