Naraya
草津温泉 奈良屋
Naraya — the entrance, Kusatsu Onsen · Abasaa / Public domain
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
Naraya has stood beside Kusatsu's Yubatake since 1877, and it is one of the best-rated inns in Japan's most famous hot-spring town: 4.62 across 185 reviews on one leading booking site, 4.68 across 921 on another, with the baths scoring highest (4.79). The water is the reason. It comes from the Shirahata spring at 55–56°C and a pH of about 1.2 — strongly acidic — and instead of adding cold water the inn's bath-keepers let it rest overnight and then stir it by hand (yumomi) to soften its bite. Guests describe it as 'gentle, just as its reputation says', a little hot but keeping them warm long after. The building is carpeted in tatami, corridors included, so you walk barefoot. Dinner is the other highlight: a sushi chef makes nigiri at your table, and breakfast comes with big croissants. The criticisms are consistent: in summer 2026 several guests said dinner took two and a half hours; sound travels (footsteps, corridor voices, even the kitchen); older rooms show their age; and parking, a walk away, turned muddy during 2026 works. Only one room, Iwakagami, has its own onsen bath, and there are stairs everywhere.
Room Selection Guide
What the guests who stayed here actually recommendRecommended
Iwakagami (いわかがみ) — the only room with its own onsen bath
A 90㎡ split-level room with a semi-open-air bath fed from the Shirahata spring and a view over Yubatake. It is the inn's only room with a private onsen, and one of only two with a Yubatake view (the other is Minezakura). Children are not accepted in it.
Sen'yu-tei (泉游亭) rooms named after alpine flowers
Thirteen rooms, most with beds. A guest in Kokemomo said they 'couldn't hear any noise from other rooms at all'; a November 2024 couple in Watasuge and Kokemomo loved the dinner and the water, though they found the central air conditioning too warm.
Request To Avoid
Single rooms (Utsugi, Waremokou)
Handy for solo travellers — a 2024 guest paid ¥28,050 a night with two meals — but theirs was about 15㎡ with no window and let in street and rain noise through a vent, and they could also hear people talking in the corridor.
Tsutsuji, Kiri, Momiji and Sakura, if stairs are hard
The inn notes these need extra climbs of 12, 12 and 16 steps. Everyone faces 11 steps at the entrance and 12 to the baths; there is no lift in the wooden wing and the inn cannot accommodate wheelchairs.
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Dining Deep Dive
Breakfast Consensus
4.4/5A Japanese breakfast with tamagoyaki — and the large croissants that nearly every blogger photographs
Bathe late at night or before breakfast: the large baths flow 24 hours a day, swapping men's and women's sides at 4:00, and are closed only for cleaning (1:00–4:00 and 10:00–12:30). Rinse off after bathing if you have sensitive skin — the inn warns the acidity can cause a rash.
Dinner Insights
4.3/5Served in semi-private dining rooms. The signature is a sushi chef who makes nigiri at your table ('big, fresh toppings'), alongside dishes such as tomato hot pot and Joshu beef teppanyaki. Guests love the food but not the pace: in July–September 2026 several reviews on two sites said dinner took two and a half hours or arrived unevenly, one could hear kitchen chatter, and a 2023 guest noted the dining space is not fully private and sushi requests are limited.
Onsen & Wellness Realities
Shirahata spring: acidic sulphur-aluminium sulphate-chloride water, 55–56°C at the source and about pH 1.2. It is cooled without added water — rested overnight to 46–47°C, then stirred by hand — and served at about 42°C. The inn calls it basically colourless with settling flakes; one blogger saw it milky white.
Two large baths, Okumiage-no-yu and Hana-no-yu (with indoor and outdoor tubs), both free-flowing around the clock. The semi-outdoor baths face the street and have no view, and there is no sauna. Three private baths with ceramic tubs (Hi, Fu, Mi) are open to guests 24 hours; a 2023 guest paid ¥2,700 for 45 minutes under the previous set-up, and one 2026 reviewer wanted more privacy and clearer instructions.
The inn's FAQ says large tattoos are not allowed in the public baths; small ones are fine if covered with a sticker. It suggests the private bath as the alternative.
Local Warnings & Nuances
- 01
Check-in is 15:00 (last 19:30) and check-out 11:00; a late check-out to noon costs ¥5,000 per room.
- 02
From Kusatsu Onsen Bus Terminal it is a 5-minute walk, or call and the inn will fetch you (tell them in advance if arriving after 17:00).
- 03
Parking is not on site: the inn uses a lot about 10 minutes' walk away and will pick you up. A temporary car park is in use from 25 August 2026 to 31 March 2027, and reviewers in September 2026 complained it was muddy after rain.
- 04
Day visitors can bathe 12:30–14:00 (¥1,500).
- 05
Prices in our sources: about ¥30,000 per person with two meals in 2022, and ¥28,050 for a single room with two meals in 2024.
Sources
The real blog posts and stay reports this article draws on
- ☆2024年11月 草津温泉旅行 NO.4 『奈良屋』☆ (Ameba Blog)
- 【宿泊ブログ】口コミで評判の奈良屋の食事・部屋・温泉を一人旅で体験！
- 草津温泉 奈良屋 館内の様子 実際に1泊しての体験レビュー (きなこブログ)
- 草津温泉の湯宿「奈良屋」で贅沢でサプライズのある時を過ごす (note)
- 【草津温泉】奈良屋レビュー｜泉游亭こけもも・カフェ喫茶去メニュー (Love travel)
- 宿泊レビュー！【草津温泉 奈良屋】老舗旅館で名湯と伝統を堪能！ (fishand.tips)
- 草津温泉 奈良屋 クチコミ (一休.com)
- 草津温泉 奈良屋 クチコミ・感想 (楽天トラベル)
- 奈良屋 口コミ (Relux)
- 草津温泉 奈良屋 (公式サイト)
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Photo credits: Hiiragiya — the frontage on Anekoji-dori, Kyoto · Mariemon / CC BY 3.0 / Mukaitaki in the snow, Higashiyama Onsen, Aizu-Wakamatsu · Fumihiko Ueno / CC BY 3.0 / Mikiya — the wooden main building, Kinosaki · Ippukucho / CC BY 3.0
Naraya
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