Katashina

Katashina is a mountain village of about 3,900 people on Route 120, which runs through the middle of it from Numata toward Nikko. The village names four areas: Kamata in the centre, Oze around Tokura and the Iwakura plateau, Marunuma up by the lake and Hotaka on the slopes of Mt. Hotaka. Oze National Park split from Nikko National Park in 2007, and Katashina is its Gunma gateway, with the village marking 30 August as Oze Day.

In winter the draw is Marunuma Kogen. Chalet Marunuma stands at 1,400 m beside the slopes, and the Center Station has a day bath called Zazen Onsen fed by a spring that rises on the ski area itself. Past Marunuma, Route 120 over to Yumoto Onsen in Nikko closes for the winter, so plan to come and go by the Numata side.

Eating out means maitake and soba. Katashina Shokudo in Kamata makes udon with spring water from the national list of famous waters, and Midoriya serves maitake tempura beside two kinds of soba. Marunuma Kohantei by the lake and Kamoshika-mura in Tokura both close from late autumn to spring, so check the season before driving up for lunch.