Gunma Prefecture

Soak in Japan's three classic hot spring towns

Kusatsu, Arima and Gero have been called Japan's three finest hot springs since the 1600s, and each town has public baths you can use on a day visit without staying overnight. The water is different in each: strongly acidic in Kusatsu, rust-brown and salty in Arima, smooth and alkaline in Gero. Arima is about an hour from Osaka, while Kusatsu and Gero are better with a night at a ryokan.

Compare the waters of five hot spring towns

These are five of Japan's best-known onsen towns: Kusatsu, Gero and Arima, the classic three, plus Beppu, which has more hot spring water than anywhere else in Japan, and Dogo, one of the oldest. Each has its own water and a landmark at its heart, from wooden channels of steaming water to a bathhouse where you are buried in warm sand. They are spread across Japan, so pick the one that fits your route; Arima is the closest, about an hour from Osaka.

Drink fresh beer next to the tanks it came from

All over Japan, small craft breweries pour their beer in taprooms set right beside the brewing tanks, so what you drink was made a few steps away. Order a few small glasses to compare styles, often with food made to go with them. The places in and around Tokyo make an easy evening out, while those farther away fit into a longer trip through the region.

Pedal along old train tracks on a rail bike

On a few closed country railway lines the tracks have been left in place, and you can ride them on a rail bike, a small pedal-powered cart that runs on the rails. You roll through tunnels, over iron bridges and along river gorges, with the clack of the rail joints under your wheels. Rides need booking in advance and most stop for the winter, so check the season first.

Sip coffee with your feet in a warm foot bath

An ashiyu is a foot bath: a shallow pool of warm water, often from a hot spring, where you sit and soak only your feet. At a foot-bath cafe you order a drink or a sweet and keep your feet in the water while you eat, a good rest after a day of walking. Several are at hot-spring inns, but anyone can drop in without staying, and rolled-up trousers are all you need.

A rail town of brick arches and clay-pot bento

Yokokawa, in the mountains of Gunma, is where trains once stopped to add extra locomotives before climbing the steep Usui Pass, and where kamameshi, a bento of rice cooked and served in a small clay pot, was first sold on the platform. Eat one, see the retired locomotives at a railway park next to the station, then walk the old track, now a trail through brick tunnels to a four-arch brick bridge. It is about 30 minutes by local train from Takasaki, which is under an hour from Tokyo by shinkansen.

Grab hot noodles from a retro vending machine

In a few corners of Japan, vending machines built around the 1970s still cook hot noodles: drop in coins, wait a little, and a steaming bowl of udon (thick wheat noodles) or soba (buckwheat noodles) comes out with a clunk. Most stand beside country roads or shops with big parking lots, so they make an easy stop on a drive, and you eat in your car or at a counter by the machines. Bring plenty of coins, since nobody is there to make change.

Hunt for old tableware at an antique market

On set days each month, antique dealers lay out stalls across the grounds of shrines and temples, with old bowls, plates and household tools spread on tables and mats. Wander the rows, pick up whatever catches your eye and ask the price, and you may find a piece to take home. Each market keeps its own schedule and the stalls start early, so check the date, go in the morning and bring cash.

Sip coffee with the lake right outside

These lakeside cafes have windows or a terrace that look straight out at the water. Sit with coffee and cake, and let a walk or a drive slow down for an hour. Most are outside the big cities and easier by car, so check the access before you go.

Walk behind a curtain of falling water

At a few waterfalls in Japan, a path runs behind the falling water, so you can stand in a hollow of the rock and look out through it like a curtain. In Japanese these are called urami no taki, or falls seen from behind. The rock behind the water is wet and slippery, so wear shoes with good grip, and expect to need a car for most of them.

An onsen town that cools its water with song

In the middle of Kusatsu, hot spring water runs steaming down wooden troughs called the yubatake, or "hot water field," to cool before it reaches the baths. Nearby, performers stir the water with long wooden boards while singing a folk song, a cooling method called yumomi, and the public baths around the square welcome day visitors. It is about 3 hours from Tokyo by limited express and bus.

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