kusatsu onsen-shima onsen

From Kusatsu Onsen it takes about 1 hour by train to Nakanojo.

From Nakanojo, it takes about 30 minutes by bus (and 930 yen!) to get to Shima Onsen.

Again the snow was coming down steadily, but a little "warmer" -3C(26F).

We grabbed some lunch at Sekizenya, a little eating area off to the side of Sekizenkan, a ryokan with over 300 years of history.

Tororo udon for Satoshi and sansai (mountain greens) soba for me.

It was nice to get out of the cold for a bit.

We also got to tour parts of the ryokan.

In the olden days, you would leave your shoes out in the hall...plus, there are no locks on the doors...eep!

After lunch, we called Chuseikan, the ryokan we would be staying at and they "came down" the mountain to pick us up.

With all the snow that had fallen, it sure was a trek back to the ryokan.

After checking in, we took a nap under the kotatsu (heated table).

Here is a short video of the area outside of our window...super peaceful, yeah?!

I loved the tile in the entrance to our room and the beautiful chair in the sitting area (which was too cold to sit in).

Dinner was served in our room and was an assortment of things.

There was also a pork hot pot.

After clearing our dishes, the owner came to take out our futon(s).

I say futons because the rooms weren't centrally heated so we definitely needed two!

He also gave each of us these yutanpo...lifesaver!

There was also a gas stove in the room, which I am not used to...it scared me because when we turned it off before going to bed, the smell of gas was pretty strong!

I was afraid there wouldn't be wi-fi nor television, but there were both.

It was a long day, but I was enjoying the quiet.

Sekizenya
4236 Oaza Shima, Nakanojo-machi
Agatsuma, Gunma
Phone: 0279.64.2101

Chuseikan
4374 Otsu Oaza Shima, Nakanojo-machi
Agatsuma, Gunma
Phone: 0279.64.2336