Osakaya Ryokan

Osakaya is a small 31 room traditional ryokan located only a minute or two walk from the Yubatake (the central onsen spring water field in the middle of Kusatsu where the spring water is cooled through a traditional wood pipeline system) and as such, it has unbeatable convenience for strolling out to see the town. However, because of its proximity to the Yubatake, you will constantly be able to smell sulfur in the air since the spring water has heavy sulfur concentration and you will sometimes catch a whiff of it even inside your room. I arrived in Kusatsu on the 4 hr expressway bus from Shinjuku station and found it was an easy 5 min walk down to the Yubatake and Osakaya, though the streets are a bit confusing as they are narrow, often one way, and not well shown on maps. Once you orient yourself though, it was easy to get around and I walked to each of the three famous baths of Kusatsu as well as to two of the three free baths for locals that also allow tourists to use them. Usual check in time is 2 pm but staff promptly checked me in when I arrived a little early at around 1:30 pm. My room was large with a large tatami mat room as well as a small carpeted side sitting room with the much appreciated Western style chairs (so I did not have to sit on the flat to the floor Japanese chairs). The bathroom has a small tub and standard Japanese wash area but you really do not need to use it as it was much more comfortable to use the large wash areas in the ryokan's own men's public bath with its large indoor bath and a smaller outdoor bath that could accommodate about 3 or 4 individuals. Eventhough the ryokan is located very close to the Yubatake, the spring from which it draws its water, I noticed that the water in both the large public indoor bath and the outdoor bath were considerably less hot than the free public bath located right at the Yubatake. The three springs of Kusatsu produce a tremendous amount of spring water and at a temperature around 50C that is too hot to bathe in and hence the Yubatake and the onsen water fields and the Yumomi water stirring ceremony performed in the town center. Most ryokan, private (ie. paid) and free baths in Kusatsu let the spring water cool in various ways to a comfortable bathing temperature but there are a few that maintain the water at an almost painfully hot temperature which, after the initial shock, is actually a very deeply relaxing experience. Osakaya has a number of non-Japanese staff who speak English. Some of the Japanese staff also speak English but I noticed some of the senior Japanese staff at reception seem not to speak English so the other staff sometimes play translator passing my questions to the senior staff and passing the answers back to me. I did not see many Westerner guests but one could certainly get by just fine in English at the Osakaya. My rate at the Osakay included dinner and breakfast. Dinner was a multi course affair beautifully presented and efficiently served in about three sections so dinner can be comfortably completed within an hour, allowing plenty of time before and after dinner to explore the town or use the Osakaya's baths or the other baths around Kusatsu. The food was delicious and there was plenty of food for one person. I stayed two nights to give myself more time to explore Kusatsu and as has been my experience at all onsen ryokans so far, the meals on the second day are always a little bit better and fancier than on the first day as sort of a reward to the customer for the extra patronage (since most guests usually stay just the one night). Be warned though my treat for dinner the second day was a whole fish head! It actually had a lot of meat on it and was not that difficult to eat, but was a bit of an initial shock when it was served. Because Osakaya only has 31 rooms, it never felt crowed around the ryokan be it at meals or at the public bath. i found Osakaya to be priced quite moderately compared to other nicer ryokans in Kusatsu that have their own baths and that serve included breakfast and dinner and given its excellent location just a short walk from the Yubatake, I would heartily recommend it to visitors to Kusatsu.

There are many hotel choices in Kusatsu onsen, but if your priority is hot spring quality, budget, location, and quietness, you definitely need to consider this place. My friend and I stayed at this Osakaya Ryokan for 2 nights in the winter of 2023. We stayed in the biggest room which consist of 3 smaller rooms: A sitting room, a tea room, and a room with beds. The room was located on top floor with great view, very clean, and extremely quiet. There were other guests on the same floor that we saw but we never once heard them and we both have very good hearing. But the main reason why we chose this Ryokan was because of it's onsen, and we were not disappointed at all. In addition to free flowing hot spring from the source (Yubatake), the setting was incredible. Women side has one indoor bath, two outdoor baths, and you can pay a little extra to used the private bath. All except the indoor bath are "cave" style. Which I believe is extremely rare in Kusatsu. I totally enjoyed the quietness and an "isolating" feeling of the bath and the freshness of the water. Once done soaking, all the shopping and sightseeing are just 2 min of walk away. It was incredible. They even have a shuttle bus that takes you to and from the Kusatsu bus terminal (10min walking distance). We did not book plans with meals as there were plenty of places to eat. So I cannot comment on the quality of their food. Hospitality is quite average but it didn't bother us in any way. In all, for us this was a great place to be in Kusatsu. We enjoyed every minute of staying in Osakaya Ryokan and would highly recommend this place for reasons above.

This is my second time in Kusatsu Onsen. This time I stayed here. The inn I went to for its large public bath is usually empty, but on this day it was crowded with families with children. The morning bath was also a little crowded, even though I'm usually alone. I also had two outdoor baths, which were hotter than the indoor baths, but they were relaxing. The food was kaiseki, served in the dining area. They came out little by little, and the portions were just right, so it was delicious. Of course, the breakfast was also delicious. The room was average. The only thing that was disappointing was that the washlet was broken (in the room I stayed in and in one of the women's toilets on the first floor). Other than that it was fine. There was a souvenir shop next to the inn, so I bought some of the miso-boiled shiitake mushrooms that were served at breakfast. Thank you for your help.