Kusatsu Hot Spring Hotel Takamatsu

This hotel is about four minutes' walk from Yubatake (湯畑), Kusatsu's famous source pool, and has roughly 103 rooms. Its baths run on that same source at full strength, with no added water and no reheating. The water is usually clear, but after rain it can turn a milky white from real yunohana (湯の花) mineral flakes carried down the pipes, which locals take as a lucky sign rather than dirt. The two communal baths, Izumi (泉) and Megumi (恵), swap between men and women and both open onto wood-deck outdoor sections with hinoki, rock-lined or ceramic tubs; in the hinoki tub a sulfur smell mixes with the wood scent. Megumi also keeps three indoor tubs at different heats, including a lukewarm one, so kids can ease in gently. Two indoor private baths, styled like small gardens, can be booked by the hour, by guests or by day visitors. A couple of the premium suites add their own semi-outdoor onsen bath, sauna and cold plunge on a private terrace, though most standard rooms don't have a bath of their own. On clear mornings the dining room looks out toward the surrounding mountains.