Osakaya Ryokan — Hotel in Kusatsu

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...

We're getting ready to book our SECOND stay - here's why:||My wife and I stayed two nights mid-November 2015. The weather was a little wet, but as we live in a desert town in California, the light mist added to the romantic and authentic sense of Kusatsu-onsen.|| Our room was beautiful, and huge! the large sitting/dining area was 13 tatami, plus a 6 tatami sitting area, and 7 tatami sleeping room! || Our first night's dinner was in the room; sitting in our yukata at the table. Two young women in full kimono - kneeling at the sliding door - announced themselves, and were THE MOST PROFESSIONAL and graceful servers we've ever experienced, anywhere, ever! It didn't matter at all that we spoke little Japanese, and they little English - the meal was gourmet-quality with many courses, many dishes and all perfectly prepared, elegantly plated, and served to us as though we were...traveling nobility! Halfway through that meal we couldn't help but feel as though we'd stepped back 200 years to the old Edo Period.|| Breakfast was also meticulously Japanese - elegant, simple yet complex, and perfectly served by our kimono-clad awesome server.|| It was really cool how our (last) name was hand caligraphed - in English and (Katakana, I think) - and posted out front of the Inn.|| There may be other Ryokan that either cost less, or perhaps look "new" - and that's fine. We spent 2 weeks in Japan in 2015, and are getting ready to book our next 2 weeks in Japan for 2016 - When it was time to leave, my wife began to cry as we began taking off the traditional clothing and had to return to the modern world: Over the course of two days and nights we had been taken back in time - the only thing missing as we strolled `round the "Yubatake" through the moonlit mist under an umbrella were my Samurai swords! This is why Osaka-ya at Kusatsu-onsen is our choice.|| If any of my review touched you, or made sense, PLEASE try to stay 2 nights - I know it looks really expensive 'on paper', but you will NEVER FORGET this experience! And when I added up the A+++ room, 2 gourmet-quality dinners and 2 gourmet-quality breakfasts, it's not completely insanely priced!|| Since there is NO TIPPING in Japan, we wanted to show our gratitude by bringing mementos from our hometown such as decorated key chains, and gave them to those whom we were touched by - such as our server, and a really cool bartender at a tiny bar in Kyoto...they will be touched by the...

We're getting ready to book our SECOND stay - here's why:||My wife and I stayed two nights mid-November 2015. The weather was a little wet, but as we live in a desert town in California, the light mist added to the romantic and authentic sense of Kusatsu-onsen.|| Our room was beautiful, and huge! the large sitting/dining area was 13 tatami, plus a 6 tatami sitting area, and 7 tatami sleeping room! || Our first night's dinner was in the room; sitting in our yukata at the table. Two young women in full kimono - kneeling at the sliding door - announced themselves, and were THE MOST PROFESSIONAL and graceful servers we've ever experienced, anywhere, ever! It didn't matter at all that we spoke little Japanese, and they little English - the meal was gourmet-quality with many courses, many dishes and all perfectly prepared, elegantly plated, and served to us as though we were...traveling nobility! Halfway through that meal we couldn't help but feel as though we'd stepped back 200 years to the old Edo Period.|| Breakfast was also meticulously Japanese - elegant, simple yet complex, and perfectly served by our kimono-clad awesome server.|| It was really cool how our (last) name was hand caligraphed - in English and (Katakana, I think) - and posted out front of the Inn.|| There may be other Ryokan that either cost less, or perhaps look "new" - and that's fine. We spent 2 weeks in Japan in 2015, and are getting ready to book our next 2 weeks in Japan for 2016 - When it was time to leave, my wife began to cry as we began taking off the traditional clothing and had to return to the modern world: Over the course of two days and nights we had been taken back in time - the only thing missing as we strolled `round the "Yubatake" through the moonlit mist under an umbrella were my Samurai swords! This is why Osaka-ya at Kusatsu-onsen is our choice.|| If any of my review touched you, or made sense, PLEASE try to stay 2 nights - I know it looks really expensive 'on paper', but you will NEVER FORGET this experience! And when I added up the A+++ room, 2 gourmet-quality dinners and 2 gourmet-quality breakfasts, it's not completely insanely priced!|| Since there is NO TIPPING in Japan, we wanted to show our gratitude by bringing mementos from our hometown such as decorated key chains, and gave them to those whom we were touched by - such as our server, and a really cool bartender at a tiny bar in Kyoto...they will be touched by the...