Minakami

Minakami is the biggest municipality in Gunma by area and runs right up to the Niigata border at Tanigawa-dake. The tourism association groups its hot springs as the Minakami 18 onsen, from the inns along the Tone River in Minakami Onsen to single-inn valleys such as Takaragawa and Hoshi. The Joetsu Shinkansen stops at Jomo-Kogen, and a local bus takes about 20 minutes from there to Minakami Station.

Winter here belongs to the mountain. The Tanigawa-dake Ropeway climbs to Mt.T at Tenjindaira, where Ryokan Tanigawa says the snow season runs into May, Hodaigi sits up the valley at Fujiwara, and Norn Minakami is the third big name in town. At Doai Station 462 steps climb from the tunnel platform to the street, and the old station office now holds a cafe with a glamping site beside it.

Book the inn first and plan transport around it. Hoshi Onsen gets two town buses in the morning and two in the afternoon, and Takaragawa sends a courtesy car to its bus stop when you book. Both run mixed baths under their own rules, which their pages here set out. Minakami Onsen itself has a craft brewery, a steakhouse on the river and soba shops by the station for the evenings you stay in town.