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Kusatsu Onsen: the hot-spring town around the Yubatake
Kusatsu Onsen in Gunma stands 1,200 meters up on the slope of a volcano. At its center is the Yubatake, a spring that sends 4,000 liters a minute down wooden troughs. -
How to bathe in an onsen: Japan's hot-spring rules, from washing first to tattoos
At a Japanese onsen you undress completely, wash before getting in and keep your towel out of the water. What makes water an onsen, the board in the changing room, mixed bathing and tattoos. -
Snow monkeys: why the macaques of Jigokudani bathe in a hot spring
At Jigokudani in northern Nagano, wild Japanese macaques sit in a hot spring through winters when the temperature falls below minus 10°C. The habit began with one young monkey in 1963. -
Suwa: the lake, the four shrines and the log-riding festival
Suwa lies around a lake 759 meters up in central Nagano. Its ice ridges, the four shrines of Suwa Taisha, the Onbashira log festival, hot springs and silk. -
What is a ryokan? Japan's traditional inns and how they differ from hotels
A ryokan is a Japanese-style inn: tatami rooms, futon, a cotton yukata, and dinner and breakfast with the stay. How ryokan differ from hotels, where they came from and how many there are.