Mt.Motoshirane hike & Yugama in Kusatsu, Japan

Hiking course that Tomo & Chouchou went

Shirane Rest House (Japanese: 白根レストハウス) 　➡　Yugama crater lake（Japanese: 湯釜, Yugama)  on foot of Mt. Shirane (Japanese: 白根山, Shirane-san)　➡　Shirane Rest House 　➡　Mt.Ainomine　➡　Mt.Motoshirane　➡　Shirane Rest House　

  You can enjoy 3 mountains though this hiking; 

1) Mt. Shirane =Mt.Kusatsu-Shirane 2160 m high, active volcano
    (Japanese: 草津白根山, Kusatsu-shirane-san)
2) Mt.Ainomine 2110 m high (Japanese: 逢ノ峰, Ainomine)
3) Mt.Motoshirane 2171 m high, volcano (Japanese: 本白根山, Motoshirane-san)

Location: Kusatsu-matchi, Agatsuma-gun in Gunma prefecture
                (Japanese: 群馬県吾妻郡草津町)

 

Mt. Shirane (=Mt. Kusatsu-Shirane,

2160m high, active volcano)

There is a crater lake called "Yugama" on the foot of Mt.Shirane.

This is the Shirane Rest House.

Many buses stop around here. 

We can walk to Yugama from here.

 

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Start to climb Mt. Shirane

 

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The view from Mt.Kusatsu-Shirane.

On the way from Shirane Rest House to Yugama

 

The view from Mt. Kusatsu-Shirane.

 We can see many mountains around such as

 Mt. Motoshirane and Mt. Ainomine.

The view of Mt.Kusatsu-Shirane.

We could see Yumiike pond (Japanese: 弓池, Yumi-ike). 

This is Yugama (Japanese: 湯釜). 

Yugama is one of the most famous and largest of three crater lakes

 of Mt. Kusatsu-Shirane (Japanese: 草津白根山).
It's an emerald-green or turquoise-colored crater lake.

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Go back down to Shirane Rest House

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Go across the car road

 Here is the trailhead of Mt.Ainomine and Mt.Motoshirane.

There are stairs to go up.

 

We can see Yugama from Mt.Ainomine.

The hiking trail to Mt.Motoshirane. 

Easy to walk. 

We can enjoy the landscape of mountains all the time.

We could see the top of Mt.Motoshirane.

 

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Go back to the Shirane Rest House.

 

Episode of Hiking 3 mountains in Kusatsu

Tomo & Chouchou dreamed of seeing Yugama, which is an emerald-green or turquoise-colored crater lake on the foot of Mt.Shirane (=Mt.Kusatsu-Shirane). In front of Mt.Shirane (=Mt.Kusatsu-Shirane), there is Mt. Motoshirane. Mt.Ainomine is located between Mt.Shirane and Mt.Motoshirane. So there are three mountains to hike! So we decided to enjoy Yugama, hiking and hot spring in Kusatsu. 

We took a bus from Kusatsu-onsen Bus Terminal to Mt.Shirane. Bus stops around the Shirane Rest House.

The hiking trail to Yugama was very crowded by the tourists, but we walked up Mt.Shirane at first. On the way to go up to Yugama, the landscape was very beautiful. We could see many mountains and Yumiike pond. 

When we arrived at Yugama, so many tourists were taking photos. It was very crowded. But we could understand their feeling. Because the color of Yugama crator lake was so bright as the travel brochere. We were fascinated by the beauty of the nature.

We went down from Yugama, passed the rest house, acrossed the car road, then headed to the trailhead of Mt. Ainomine. Hiking course was nice and easy to walk.  It was not the hike in the forest. It was the hike on the top of the mountains all the time. So we could enjoy the landscape of mountains while walking.
On the top of Mt.Motoshirane, we can enjoy the 360 degrees wide view. We can also see Yugama far. We took our lunch on the top of Mt.Motoshirane.

After 30 minutes down from the top of Mt. Motoshirane, we found the pond called "Kagami-ike" (Japanese: 鏡池). After going down more, we found the Shirane Kazan Ropeway. Ropeway runs from Sancho station (near the top of Mt. Ainomine) to Sanroku station. But Tomo & Chouchou didn't take a ropeway. We walked back to the rest house to take a bus to Kusatsu-onsen.
Three mountains in Kusatsu are not so high mountains but we could enjoy the hike and the landscape like we were hiking high mountains.

Tomo Chouchou's advice for hiking

1) If you have difficulty to climb the mountain or go down the mountain, you can use Shirane Kazan Ropeway. Ropeway runs from Sanroku station to Sancho station (near the top of Mt.Ainomine). You can also use one way to go up or to go down.

2) Enjoy your lunch on the top of Mt. Motoshirane. The view from the top of Mt.Motoshirane is really nice. It's 360 degree wide view.

3) Many tour buses stop around Shirane rest house. We can walk up to Yugama from the rest house. It's not difficult to hike. Many tourists only enjoy walking course between Shirane Rest Hourse and Yugama. This walking course is very crowded, but other hiking courses are not crowded.

4) We can access to Mt.Shirane from Kusatsu Hot Spring (Japanese: 草津温泉, Kusatsu-onsen). It takes 30 minutes by bus. It costs around 1000yen. We can book a bus ticket at Kusatsu-onsen Bus Terminal. You can book an accomodation at Kusatsu hot spring then you can come visit to Mt.Shirane for hiking or sightseeing! Don't miss Yugama in Kusatsu! It's very worth to see it!


information
Mt.Kusatu-shirane was erupted on January 23, 2018.
You had better check if you can hike there.


Other places in Gunma, Japan

- Oze Marshland [Ozegahara] hike

- Fukiware Falls [Fukiware-no-Taki]