Gunma Prefecture · Kanto
道の駅 草津運動茶屋公園
Ease into your Kusatsu Onsen trip with a footbath and hanamame bean sweets before entering the hot spring town.
Illustrative image — not an on-site photograph
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Eat, shop, play, take in the view or rest. Choose from the station’s strengths to suit your day.
Get your bearings at the roadside station, then continue to the footbath at the entrance to the hot spring town to ease into the Kusatsu atmosphere.
Try Gunma flavors with Joshu Mochibuta pork himokawa udon, sauce katsudon or Kusatsu Onsen gyoza. Sauce katsudon is a rice bowl topped with a sauce-dressed pork cutlet; gyoza are filled dumplings.
Sweets made with highland hanamame beans make a memorable Kusatsu souvenir to open at your accommodation or back home.
Harumichi Morisaki sees Kusatsu Undo Chaya Koen as an anteroom to the hot spring town. It is understandable to want to hurry to Yubatake. But warming your feet at the town gateway’s footbath, looking at a map and learning a little history makes Kusatsu more than just another hot spring town.
A few minutes before entering the hot spring town bring the trip into sharper focus.
Michi-no-Eki Kusatsu Undo Chaya Koen is a place to pause just before heading into Kusatsu Onsen, the hot spring town. The woodland restaurant Shakunage, two souvenir shops, tourist information, the Baelz Museum and an alpine botanical garden bring eating, shopping and learning together before or after a visit to Yubatake. Guide Harumichi Morisaki recommends it as “a place to take a breath before entering the hot spring town and pick up Kusatsu sweets on the way home.” A michi-no-eki is a roadside rest station.
Tourist information, the footbath at Kusatsu Onsen Mon (草津温泉門), and Yubatake about 5 minutes away by car help you settle into the trip before entering the hot spring town. The footbath is at the town gateway, a separate stop from the roadside station.
From Joshu Mochibuta pork himokawa udon to Kusatsu Onsen gyoza, hanamame bean roll cake and farm-direct highland vegetables, even a short stop lets you take local flavors with you. Himokawa is a broad, flat style of udon noodle.
The Baelz Museum, scenic pedestrian bridge and alpine botanical garden offer a brief introduction to Kusatsu’s background and seasons that a visit to the hot spring town alone may miss.
Spend your time at the station or add somewhere nearby. These ideas help you plan around your companions and the weather.
Get your bearings at tourist information and look around the woodland restaurant Shakunage or the souvenir shops first, so you are less likely to feel lost once you reach Yubatake.
Roadside station → Kusatsu Onsen Mon → Yubatake → Sainokawara Park.
In winter, check road conditions and prepare warm clothing.
Learn about Kusatsu at the Baelz Museum, then take a short walk across the scenic pedestrian bridge or through the alpine botanical garden before entering the hot spring town.
Within the roadside station → Kusatsu hot spring town.
Check official information for opening days.
Compare hanamame bean roll cake, hanamame amanatto (sugar-coated beans), onsen manju (sweet filled buns) and Kusatsu Onsen Cider at the Romantic Shop and Museum Shop.
Hot spring town → roadside station → journey home.
On busy days, allow for a wait to park.
Look at himokawa udon and hanamame bean sweets at Michi-no-Eki Kusatsu Undo Chaya Koen, then continue to Kusatsu Onsen Yubatake if you feel like exploring further. Using the station as a gateway to the area rather than your final destination makes the trip more rewarding.
Roadside station → Kusatsu Onsen Yubatake → Sainokawara Park or journey home.
Hours for dining, shops and nearby facilities may vary by day, so check official information just before your visit.
If you cannot stay long, go beyond a toilet break and choose a hanamame milk soft serve or an onsen manju. Enjoying it in the car or opening it back home gives you something to remember this stop by.
Park → toilets → farm-direct produce and shops → take a photo and depart.
Popular items can sell down during the day; stop early if you have something particular in mind.
These hours are also a guide for the Romantic Shop and Museum Shop.
Last orders at 15:30. Follow official notices for menus and temporary closures.
At night, use the station mainly for rest breaks. Shop and eat during the day.
CHAdeMO 50 kW/125 A; up to 30 minutes per session.
Stars show the editorial recommendation for each age group on a five-point scale. Read the reasons alongside each rating.
Suited to short breaks using the 24-hour toilets and parking.
Highland breezes can make it hard to keep little ones at a comfortable temperature even on cool days, so brief trips between the shops and toilets while carrying them work well.
A short walk in the alpine botanical garden or across the scenic pedestrian bridge can provide a change of pace.
Rather than a long walk, try 10–20-minute stretches with breaks for hanamame soft serve or a look around the shops.
Eating, sightseeing and short walks are all available, helping reduce waiting time before Yubatake.
On days with children’s activities such as insect collecting, the roadside station can be a destination in its own right.
Combining the Baelz Museum, alpine botanical garden and Yubatake adds learning and walking to the trip.
In summer, plan around alpine plants and children’s events; in winter, you can include Kusatsu Onsen Ski Resort.
Permanent spaces and dated events are listed separately. Events can change both the atmosphere and crowds; use the official links for details.
Checking event dates.
These sometimes host children’s events or street performances, extending your stay beyond an ordinary rest break.
See seasonal flowers on a short visit, including renge azaleas in late May and komakusa (dicentra) in late June.
A symbol of the roadside station with views of Kusatsu’s townscape and surrounding nature. Good for a short walk on a clear day.
On days with pottery markets or new product sales, checking official notices before setting out helps you choose what to look for.
Practical ideas and things to consider when spending time here.
The hot spring town is Kusatsu’s main attraction, but choosing parking and restaurants can be confusing just after arrival. Deciding at the roadside station “we’ll have himokawa udon here” or “we’ll just have sweets at Yubatake” leaves more time to walk around the town.
At the gateway to Kusatsu, about 1,200 m above sea level, snowy scenery is attractive, but cold temperatures and road conditions affect visits. Even though the hot spring town is only minutes away, check road information for your return journey as well.
Including the Baelz Museum lets you enjoy Kusatsu’s hot springs beyond sightseeing alone. For elementary-school children and older visitors, even a short stop before Yubatake can change how the town looks to you.
Michi-no-Eki Kusatsu Undo Chaya Koen leaves a stronger impression when you continue to Kusatsu Onsen Yubatake or Sainokawara Park rather than ending your visit at the station. Choosing what to buy, eat and visit soon after arrival can turn a break into the heart of the trip.
On holidays and event days, avoid packing in too many goals. Decide first how to prioritize meals, hanamame sweets, farm-direct shopping and toilet breaks for a more satisfying stop. Taking home even one Kusatsu Onsen souvenir gives the visit a lasting purpose.
Renge azaleas in late May, komakusa in late June and children’s insect collecting in July can add short seasonal experiences before or after the hot spring town. Flowering times and event dates vary, so check the latest notices before visiting.
Even if you did not have enough time to shop in the hot spring town, the station’s two souvenir shops let you look again at hanamame sweets, onsen manju, bath additives and soda. Stopping in the morning or around midday after an overnight stay also makes it easy to load purchases into the car.
Opening and closure days, individual businesses and facilities for children or dogs can affect your plans.
Specialities, places to eat, sweets and bakeries can all give you a reason to stop. Check individual menus for current prices and availability.
A meal, a sweet treat, market shopping or something to take away: choose a focus for the day instead of trying everything at once.
Fill up with a distinctly Gunma bowl before entering the hot spring town. The restaurant takes last orders relatively early, making it better suited to lunchtime.
Shakunage restaurant generally opens 9:00–16:00, with last orders at 15:30.
Good for a day when you want lunch during your drive. It reduces the time spent looking for a restaurant around Yubatake.
For a short break before or after heading into the hot spring town. Easy to choose from even when your companions have different appetites.
For enjoying Kusatsu sweets at your accommodation or at home. Also useful for picking up something you missed in the hot spring town.
You can shop for more than food, with items that bring some hot spring atmosphere back home.
From summer through autumn, farm-direct highland vegetables add to the station’s shopping choices. They are convenient to buy when driving home.
Sales depend on the season and deliveries, so decide after seeing the day’s selection.
If the map does not load, open it in Google Maps
Ease into your Kusatsu Onsen trip with a footbath and hanamame bean sweets before entering the hot spring town.
The centerpiece of Kusatsu sightseeing. Get ready at the roadside station before heading here for an easier visit.
Extend your walk beyond the hot spring town.
Learn a little Kusatsu history before entering the hot spring town.
For outdoor activities in winter or the green season.
The centerpiece of Kusatsu sightseeing. Get ready at the roadside station before heading here for an easier visit.
Extend your walk beyond the hot spring town.
Learn a little Kusatsu history before entering the hot spring town.
For outdoor activities in winter or the green season.
Send your travel companions a possible stop.
