Kusatsu Onsen Daitokan
草津温泉 大東舘
Area photo — not the ryokan itself · Yubatake at night, Kusatsu Onsen, Gunma · Σ64 / CC BY 4.0
A budget Meiji-era inn facing Kusatsu's Yubatake that pipes the Yubatake spring itself into its baths and serves big Gunma buffets — but the building is tired, every room is a smoking room, and a 'Yubatake-side' room doesn't guarantee a view
Daitokan is a Meiji-era inn on the edge of Kusatsu's Yubatake hot-spring field, and one of the few that pipe the Yubatake spring itself into their baths, cooled on its way through the field. Today it's a 95-room, nine-floor house run by the Iconia Hospitality group, with mostly 10-tatami Japanese rooms, a buffet restaurant and a dog-friendly floor; a stay also gets you into the baths of two sister hotels on other springs. Only one recent first-hand blog (May 2024) turned up, so most of the recent evidence here comes from booking-site reviews. There are plenty: 3.86 across 2,907 reviews on one major site (location 4.15, dinner 4.12, but rooms 3.51 and facilities 3.45) and 4.0 across 384 on another (dinner 4.3, cleanliness 3.4). Guests in 2026 praise watching the lit-up Yubatake from the window, the sulphur-scented water, an 80-dish Gunma buffet with tempura fried on the spot and Joshu-beef sukiyaki, free coloured yukata and drinks, and surprise anniversary dessert plates. The complaints are just as consistent: a tired 'Showa' building with creaking or sagging floors, a cigarette burn in the tatami, flies from a washbasin and toilets that won't flush (July–October 2026); every room permits smoking, and some found futons and towels smelling of smoke; 'Yubatake-side' rooms that saw little or nothing of it; and small, crowded baths with too few showers, no handrails and slippery floors. Two-meal buffet stays usually run about ¥9,000–16,000 per person, though one guest paid ¥43,000 during the September 2026 holidays.
Room Selection Guide
What the guests who stayed here actually recommendRecommended
Yubatake-side Japanese rooms (7.5 tatami, 27.7㎡, or 10 tatami, 29.7㎡), on as high a floor as possible
The reason to stay here: in August–October 2026 guests watched the lit-up Yubatake from a small balcony until the lights fade at midnight, and an August 2026 family on the eighth floor could look straight down on it. One October 2026 couple who mentioned an anniversary was given what they called the best-angled room on the field. Expect to pay about ¥2,000 more than a mountain-side room — and read the warning below, because 'Yubatake side' isn't a guarantee.
Yoheiji-tei (与平次亭), the eighth-floor 12+6-tatami rooms (63.2㎡, up to 10 people)
Two tatami rooms divided by sliding doors, for families and groups. A blogger who stayed in May 2024 paid ¥40,290 for three adults with two meals and found it roomy and clean though dated, with the Yubatake visible diagonally below; a five-time repeat guest in July 2026 found the combined layout awkward. The top-grade 98.6㎡ Japanese-Western room (12.5 tatami plus twin beds) also faces the Yubatake, but in August 2026 the floor around the beds felt alarmingly soft.
Request To Avoid
Mountain-side and low-floor rooms — and 'Yubatake-side' rooms that don't deliver
A third-floor mountain-side room in September 2026 was 'just a room to sleep in', at holiday prices; a July 2026 mountain-side room looked at the next building; another room's window opened onto a walkway where passers-by could see in (August 2026). Even paid-for Yubatake-side rooms disappointed in October 2026 — one had an air-conditioning unit blocking the view, another saw nothing from its only window — and others got a partial view (May 2024, August–September 2026). Reviewers in 2026 also mention dark rooms, thin walls, taps that won't shut off and cramped toilets. In-room baths are not onsen.
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Dining Deep Dive
Breakfast Consensus
3.9/5A Japanese and Western buffet in the second-floor Shiun restaurant (7:00–9:00, last entry 8:00, 60-minute slots) with French toast from a live kitchen — praised for variety and for staying well stocked late in the session, though a May 2024 blogger found it more modest than dinner
Ask for a Yubatake-view room and mention any celebration when booking — guests from 2024 to 2026 were surprised with anniversary or birthday dessert plates. Arrive early: by a 17:00 check-in in August 2026 the free coloured yukata had all gone, dinner times are allotted in order of arrival, and the sister hotels' baths close at 21:00 (last entry 20:00). Luggage is held after check-out and umbrellas are lent free.
Dinner Insights
3.9/5Most plans include the Shiun buffet (18:00–20:30, 90-minute slots): about 80 dishes with Gunma specialities — Joshu-beef sukiyaki, roast beef, motsu-ni stew, and tempura fried to order (maitake and thick-cut sweet potato are singled out). Many 2026 reviewers called it excellent for the price, but others found the tempura cold or hard (July and August 2026), the best wagyu dish gone by a late 20:00 sitting, the same menu on both nights of a two-night stay, and the food 'poor' for ¥43,000 per person in holiday week. Drinks are ordered in a queue at busy times. The alternative is a set dinner in a private room at Sora no Kagami on the ninth floor — Joshu-beef sukiyaki (September–June) or tōban-yaki (July–August), or Joshu beef and barley-fed pork shabu-shabu, for up to four per room; October 2026 guests on these plans (about ¥20,000–27,000 per person) enjoyed it.
Onsen & Wellness Realities
The Yubatake spring (acidic, sulphur-bearing aluminium sulphate–chloride water), piped from the hot-spring field in front of the inn. The official site says it is cooled by passing through the Yubatake and arrives temperature-adjusted, and the booking-site listing describes the baths as 100% free-flowing. In-room baths are not onsen. Guests can also use, free, the baths of two sister hotels: Kamenoi Hotel Kusatsu Resort (the Bandai spring, pH 1.6, with a garden open-air bath, about 5 minutes by free shuttle) and Kamenoi Hotel Kusatsu Yubatake (Nishinokawara, Yubatake and Bandai springs), both 15:00–21:00.
Two baths, each with an indoor tub and a small outdoor tub — Ichi-no-yu, styled on an Edo-period bathhouse with a waterwheel, and the brighter Ni-no-yu — swap between men and women (15:00–24:00 and 1:00–9:30). No private baths. Day visitors are admitted 15:00–21:00 (¥800). Guests love the water ('the best I've ever bathed in', September 2026) but in 2026 reported baths too small for the house, queues for too few showers, showers that wouldn't run hot, no handrails on slippery floors, one side very hot, mould and standing water in a late-night visit, and a broken water dispenser in the changing room.
The inn's listing on one major Japanese booking site states that guests with tattoos are not permitted in the baths; there's no policy on the official site. There are no private baths, and in-room bathrooms use ordinary (non-onsen) water.
Local Warnings & Nuances
- 01
Check-in 15:00, check-out 10:00. Futons are laid before arrival, and Kusatsu's ¥150 bathing tax is charged separately.
- 02
There's no parking at the inn: the car park is opposite the sister Kamenoi Hotel Kusatsu Resort, a 15-minute walk or about 5 minutes by free shuttle. Guests reported queues for the shuttle at check-out and, in the September 2026 holidays, a 30-minute crawl in traffic; since 24 August 2026 it has run to a temporary timetable during street works.
- 03
Every room is a smoking room, including the dog-friendly floor. The inn will deodorise a room on request but says the smell can't be removed completely; smoke in futons, towels and corridors is a recurring 2026 complaint.
- 04
Dogs are welcome on a dedicated floor of 10 rooms (at least one year old, vaccinated, under 30 kg; dogs over 15 kg not in 7.5-tatami rooms; ¥2,200 per additional dog; no dogs in restaurants or public areas). Children are welcome, with a kids' corner and game rooms.
- 05
Prices swing sharply: most two-meal buffet stays cost about ¥9,000–16,000 per person, but holiday rates run several times higher. On 18 November 2026 the main baths open only at 17:00 for the town's spring maintenance.
Before your stay
Souvenirs from Kusatsu Onsen and practical help for your trip.
Kusatsu Onsen souvenirs on Rakuten
Rakuten prices as of Oct 18, 2026 — check the shop for current price and stock. Supported by Rakuten Developers Rakuten links are affiliate links: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Things to do nearby
Kusatsu Onsen: sights, experiences and seasonal events from Trip Gacha, our sister site.
Sources
The real blog posts and stay reports this article draws on
- 草津温泉大東舘 宿泊記・ブログ おすすめポイント・バイキング・ペット・口コミなど (普通人Mの旅)
- 草津温泉 大東舘 に実際に泊まった方のクチコミ・レビュー (楽天トラベル)
- 草津温泉 大東舘 宿泊プラン一覧 (楽天トラベル)
- 草津温泉 大東舘のクチコミ・評価 (じゃらんnet)
- 草津温泉 大東舘 - 宿泊予約 (じゃらんnet)
- 草津温泉大東舘 - クチコミ・評判 (Yahoo!トラベル)
- 【公式】草津温泉 大東舘 - 湯畑を見下ろす源泉かけ流しの宿
- 温泉・湯めぐり (草津温泉 大東舘 公式)
- お料理 (草津温泉 大東舘 公式)
- 客室 (草津温泉 大東舘 公式)
- アクセス (草津温泉 大東舘 公式)
- ペットと宿泊 (草津温泉 大東舘 公式)
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Read the guidePhoto credits
- Naraya — the entrance, Kusatsu Onsen · Abasaa / Public domain
- FamilyMart convenience store, Aichi Prefecture · KKPCW / CC BY-SA 4.0
- Shibu Onsen, Yamanouchi, Nagano · David McKelvey / CC BY 2.0
- Lawson, Kasugai, Aichi · KKPCW（Kyu3） / CC BY-SA 4.0
More Consensus Reports
Kusatsu OnsenClassic
Kusatsu Onsen, Gunma — beside Yubatake, about five minutes' walk from the bus terminal
15 sources
Naraya
草津温泉 奈良屋
Kusatsu's famously soft-yet-acidic Shirahata water, cooled by hand the old way, a few steps from Yubatake — with tableside sushi, and dinners that can run long
Read the Consensus
Area photoKusatsu OnsenClassic
Kusatsu Onsen, Gunma — on a back lane behind the Honke Chichiya manjū shop, about three minutes' walk (steeply uphill on the way back) from the Yubatake and five from Kusatsu Onsen bus terminal
9 sources
Kusatsu Onsen Kanemidori
昔心の宿 金みどり
A 30-room Kusatsu inn, founded in 1902 as a restaurant, that guests choose for its nine-course dinners and two free-flowing springs — but the rooms have no views, the private baths cost extra and the portions defeat many
- Destination Dining
Area photoKusatsu OnsenClassic
Kusatsu Onsen, Gunma — on the hill above the Yubatake, a 3–5 minute walk (uphill on the way back) from the hot-spring field and about 7 minutes from the bus terminal
11 sources
Kusatsu Onsen Boun
草津温泉 望雲
A Kusatsu inn dating to 1598, with strong, free-flowing acidic water from two springs and a new wing of onsen-bath rooms — but uneven service and dinners that recent guests rate below the baths
- Private Onsen Rooms
- Historic Ryokan
Area photoKusatsu OnsenClassic
Kusatsu Onsen, Gunma — directly across the street from the Yubatake hot-spring field, about five minutes' walk from Kusatsu Onsen bus terminal
10 sources
Kusatsu Onsen Hotel Ichii
草津温泉 ホテル一井
The closest hotel to Kusatsu's Yubatake, with two free-flowing springs and a much-praised live-kitchen buffet — but only 23 rooms see the hot-spring field, most rooms are dated, and it's a big, busy house with long corridors
- Historic Ryokan
Area photoKusatsu OnsenValue
Kusatsu Onsen, Gunma — beside the stone steps up to Kōsenji temple at the edge of the Yubatake (about 15 seconds' walk to the hot-spring field), five minutes' walk from Kusatsu Onsen bus terminal
10 sources
Nushiyu Ryokan
草津温泉 ぬ志勇旅館
A small family-run inn on the Yubatake with Kusatsu's only open-air bath looking down on the hot-spring field, fed by the rare Shirahata spring, plus a free private bath — but it's an old stair-climbing house with smoking rooms, no air conditioning and cash-only payment, and the view is mostly from the men's side
- Private Onsen Rooms
Area photoKusatsu OnsenClassic
Kusatsu Onsen, Gunma — at the southern entrance to the town, about a 10-minute walk from the Yubatake hot-water field, with a free shuttle from the Kusatsu Onsen bus terminal
10 sources
Kusatsu Onsen Hotel Sakurai
草津温泉 ホテル櫻井
Kusatsu's biggest onsen 'hotel' is really a 179-room ryokan: mostly tatami rooms, a 30-metre bath fed by three free-flowing springs, a live-cooking buffet and a nightly yumomi show — but it's big and busy, and the in-room open-air baths aren't onsen
Read the ConsensusPhoto credits: Naraya — the entrance, Kusatsu Onsen · Abasaa / Public domain / Yubatake at night, Kusatsu Onsen, Gunma · Σ64 / CC BY 4.0
Kusatsu Onsen Daitokan
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