Fall Colors 2022 - Karuizawa and Kusatsu

 Last fall when we visited Kyoto and Hiroshima I went crazy taking pictures of Momiji (Fall colors). I thought I might have burned myself out on them but no, I have not! This year I am again taking pictures of all the beautiful fall leaves in Japan. 

We took advantage of the Veteran's Day holiday to drive to the mountains near Nagano and visit two towns with spectacular fall colors - Karuizawa and Kusatsu. 

In addition to seeing the leaves we made a few stops along the way. First, to check out a great view point at Kyu Usui-toge Miharashidai. It was incredible to see the rows and rows of mountains. This spot sits at the boarder of Nagano and Gunma prefectures - both known for beautiful mountains!

Next a stop at Shiraitonotaki (meaning white threads). This waterfall is different from most in that the water is not falling down a river. It comes through the ground and takes years to come to this point where it finally exits.

Then on to a hike to see another waterfall - Sengataki. The hike was lovely and almost no one else there. Our car stood along in the parking lot!

 

On our way to Kusatsu we stopped at Mt Asama Magma Stone Park to view the lava rocks left by an eruption in 1783. I wasn't expecting this area to be "beautiful" but it was! Stunningly so. The lava has such strange yet interesting formations. Over the many years since the eruption, vegetation has grown in and around the lava pillars to create a forest of sorts. It was very impressive to walk through it. Sadly, my pictures don't do it justice or capture how it looks.

When we reached Kusatsu we took a stroll through a lovely park with more beautiful trees.

Finally we headed to the Sainokawara Open-Air Bath. It was just about dark when we arrived at the bath and discovered it was "mix bathing" night! We had not realized that and did not pack swimming suits. But no problem, they rent them! We were both skeptical about renting a swimming suit....but they turned out to be very one-size-fits-all type suits. Not form fitting lycra, but rather a baggy polyester material. Basically basketball shorts with a wrap-type top for the ladies. And the best part was that pretty much everyone was wearing them. That's one of the great things about Japan- people love to match/wear a uniform so you never have to stand out or feel out of place.

We had to wait for about 30 minutes before the evening soak was open. In the meantime we walked around the grounds where there were several hot pools for taking a free foot bath. The town was close by so we walked through one of the shopping areas and got a snack before our soak.

The Open-air bath is a huge spring-fed pool, situated next to a river. The unique thing about this bath is that it doesn't have a washroom. As you are getting in they ask you to rinse with warm water, but you don't use soap or shampoo. The water is from a natural hot springs and it is quite hot! The pool was different temps depending on where you stood. We both headed for the cooler area even thought it was a cold night. We would soak for a few minutes, then sit on the rocks along the side to cool down, and then after a few minutes get back in to soak some more. After about an hour we were DONE! 

On the walk back to the car neither of us wore our coat even though we were both wearing them before the bath. The soaking really warms you up!

I wish we could take pics in the pool, but it's frowned on, even on "mixed bathing" night. But I did take a couple from the outside as we were leaving - you can see the steam coming off the hot water.