Kusatsu Onsen's Hot Stream Park: Sai No Kawara Koen

Outside the town center of Kusatsu Onsen lies an amazing park - not the park you could think of where you see kids play on the playground, or benches where you could relax, or adults running around and exercising. This park is unspoiled - a very close to nature that is.

Sai No Kawara Koen (西の河原公園 or Sainokawara Park) is located a few minutes walk from the famous Yubatake. It's on the upper part, not on the usual part of the town where tourists gather. We intentionally did a little bit of hiking to go there with my friends on our 2nd day in Kusatsu Onsen, to lose those carbs we just had at lunch and to pass time before riding the bus going back to Tokyo.

It was a cold day, I mean it's in the middle of winter and we're on the mountains. So we stopped by to get coffee on the way to the park. A friend who had been there before told us there's no cafe or shops in the park so if we wanted to spend time there, better get something to drink or eat just before we enter the park. I got myself a hot cafe latte. Let's see if this hot drink would help me keep warm.

Just before entering the park premises, we noticed there's an ongoing construction but no workers. We went last year, they must have finished by now. 😅

We just followed the walking trail and delighted ourselves with the view of nature. Too bad the snow wasn't a lot by the time we went so we were not walking on a white carpet. On the other hand, it's better because there's no risk of slipping and we could walk properly.

I was so left behind as I was so busy with photos and videos of the park. We're not yet halfway though.

We passed by toriis (red gates) lined up. I was pretty sure there's a shrine at the top. We didn't bother going though. I was a bit curious of the shrine but if I went up, I would lose sight of my friends.

Notice the rocks and their colors? Sainokawara Park is actually full of hot spring water flowing all over (not on the walking trails though). Because it's too hot, the rocks have changed colors.

It's okay to dip in here. Actually we were looking for a place to sit and put our feet in the water (足湯 as in foot bath) but we couldn't find a place to sit. I knew some people come here, sit on a rock, drinking coffee while having a foot bath. I wanted to do the same but we couldn't find a good spot.

There were mini pools, that would have been already perfect for a foot bath. And there's a big one where you could sit on the edge made of wood. Unfortunately there was a notice that it's not allowed to do a foot bath that day, but we saw 2 people not minding the notice and just went on with it.

And now I was totally left behind. I went in another direction and was enjoying the view and now my friends were up there!

The mini waterfalls look so refreshing in winter. Say hi to @appleeatingapple and @itz.inno waving at me like we're miles apart.

And here's me, finding shade in the hut, still holding my not-so-hot-anymore cafe latte.

Since I didn't want to be left behind any longer, I was able to find my way up only to be welcomed by the majestic view of the park. It's like a mix of untouched and constructed nature.

I was finally able to catch up with the gang right outside the bathing house.

Yes, it's an open air bath house, and because it's an onsen, expect to get naked in the snow. Well, not really in the snow, but imagine soaking in a big hot bath while you're in the middle of a snowy forest. It's cool, right?

There's a fence so your privacy's certain but my friend told me there's a place where you could see the men's area from outside the fence. uwu 😸 Too bad, I didn't go near it!

It seems there were many people who wanted to try but for us, we're not here for onsen. We're just here for a walk. I heard inside there's no shower, just onsen so you have to bring your stuff if you wanna go onsen there.

We headed back on our way but we're still looking for a place to settle down. We found a hut and took a few minutes break there. Only for a few minutes while waiting for others, because at that time, we were already freezing in the cold. Our hot drinks were now cold.

Even when our goal was to relax our feet in the hot water on the streams, talking with each other with a drink on hand, none of it happened and instead we were freezing, it was still a fun walk in this park. I got to enjoy the wonders of nature. It was my 2nd time in Kusatsu but it was my first in this park. It was an enjoyable walk and I wish I could come back again some other time - and at that moment, I will really fulfill that goal. Who knows, maybe I can hit the open air bath around this place.

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Thanks for reading!
See you around! じゃあ、またね！

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With love,

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If you like to read my Kusatsu Onsen travels, here's for you!

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^{All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.}