Kusatsu Onsen in Gunma, a village built around water that arrives too hot to touch.
Japan welcomed a record 42.7 million international visitors last year, and 2026 is running ahead of that pace. The pressure is showing. Kyoto increased its lodging tax this year, with the highest rate reaching ¥10,000 per person per night, and the country’s departure tax tripled in July.
There are still places where the experience feels remarkably intact.
Nozawa Onsen is one of them.
The mountain village sits in Nagano Prefecture, a few hours from Tokyo, and is best known internationally as a ski town. Skiers and people who know Japan well have been coming here for decades.
But the reason to go isn't simply the mountain.
Nozawa is an onsen town in the most literal sense. Hot spring water runs beneath it, and thirteen public bathhouses, known as soto-yu, are scattered through the village. They are maintained by neighborhood associations and are free to use, with donations requested for their upkeep.
These aren't spa facilities built for visitors. They are small community bathhouses used by residents as they have been for generations.
The water can be startlingly hot. Each bath has its own source and character, and learning the etiquette is part of being there: wash before entering, don't bring a towel into the bath, and expect very little English signage.
Unlike many Japanese onsen, the public baths generally do not prohibit tattoos.
At the top of the village is Ogama, a steaming hot spring where the water reaches roughly 90°C. It isn't for bathing. Local residents use it to cook vegetables and eggs, and access to the hottest area is restricted to villagers.
Food is part of the rhythm here as well. The village gave its name to nozawana, the leafy green vegetable commonly pickled and served throughout the region. Small shops sell oyaki, buckwheat or wheat dumplings filled with vegetables, mushrooms or sweet bean paste.
Winter is the fullest version of the place. Storms off the Sea of Japan bury the village under several meters of snow, ten feet or more, from December into spring. The cold outside is what makes the hot water worth walking to. January and February are the heart of the season.
In the evening, the narrow streets quiet down. Steam rises from drains and bathhouses. People walk between inns and baths in yukata. There are bars and restaurants, but the village doesn't organize around nightlife.
Every January, Nozawa holds the Dosojin Fire Festival, one of Japan's best-known fire festivals. Villagers build a large wooden shrine that becomes the center of a ritual battle on the night of the 15th, involving torches, fire, and the village's men of particular ages. Access to the ceremony that night is limited to village residents and guests staying overnight in the village with tickets.
The next one is January 15, 2027.
