, or , is a bus terminal located near

Kusatsu Onsen is a hot spring resort located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, northwest of Tokyo. It is a popular tourist destination. There are 13 public baths at Kusatsu Onsen. The small bathhouses that are free for both town residents and tourists are managed ...

in the town of Kusatsu,

Agatsuma District is a rural district located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. As of January 2015, the district had an estimated population of 56,994 and an area of 1,278.55 km2, with a population density of 44.6 people per square kilometer. Towns and villages # ...

Gunma Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It is managed by Kusatsu Bus Terminal Company in a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

between

JR Bus JR Bus collectively refers to the bus operations of Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies in Japan. JR Bus is operated by eight regional companies, each owned by a JR railway company. JR Bus companies provide regional, long distance, and cha ...

and the Kusatsu municipal government. JR Bus, Seibu Bus, and Kusakaru Kotsu operate bus services at the terminal.

History

From the

Taishō era The was a period in the history of Japan dating from 30 July 1912 to 25 December 1926, coinciding with the reign of Emperor Taishō. The new emperor was a sickly man, which prompted the shift in political power from the old oligarchic group of ...

until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, many railway lines were constructed around Japan, though the country's acute topography led many bus routes to substitute train lines. The Joshu Kusatsu Line was one of many bus lines connecting

Naganohara-Kusatsuguchi Station is a passenger railway station in the town of Naganohara, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Naganohara-Kusatsuguchi Station is a station on the Agatsuma Line, and is located 42.0 kilometers from ...

with Kusatsu Onsen,

Yudanaka Station is a railway station in the town of Yamanouchi, Nagano, Japan, operated by the private railway operating company Nagano Electric Railway. Yudanaka Station is a gateway to seasonal mountain and outdoor activities, including hiking and skiing or sn ...

Karuizawa Station is a railway station in the town of Karuizawa, Nagano, Japan, operated jointly by the JR Group company East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the third-sector railway operator Shinano Railway. Lines Karuizawa Station is served by the JR ...

, and Mount Kusatsu-Shirane. The bus terminal was opened on 11 December 1935 as with the commencement of bus service on the to in Naganohara. The "Joshu" in the name was intended to avoid confusion with Kusatsu Station in

Shiga Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Shiga Prefecture has a population of 1,412,916 (1 October 2015) and has a geographic area of . Shiga Prefecture borders Fukui Prefecture to the north, Gifu Prefecture to the nort ...

on the

Tōkaidō Main Line The is a major Japanese railway line of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) network, connecting and stations. It is long, not counting its many freight feeder lines around the major cities. The high-speed Tōkaidō Shinkansen largely parallel ...

. The bus terminal was renamed to Kusatsu Onsen Station on 1 June 1962, following the closure of the Kusatsu Onsen train station.

Station layout

The main concourse and gates (of which there are 9) are on the 2nd floor, along with a ticket office, internet terminals, vending machines, and a coffee and souvenir shop. There is a restaurant and tourist information desk on the 1st floor and a hot spring library on the 3rd floor. There is a

MARS Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

ticket office operated by

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

, which sells railway tickets (including

limited express A limited express is a type of express train service. It refers to an express service that stops at a limited number of stops in comparison to other express services on the same or similar routes. Japan The term "limited express" is a common ...

tickets) for use at the nearby

, as well as tickets for the bus service that connects the Kusatsu Onsen Bus Terminal with Naganohara-Kusatsuguchi Station. The ticket office also sells tickets for Seibu Bus and Kusakaru Kotsu bus services.

Bus services

Former train station

Located approximately south of the current Kusatsu Onsen Bus Terminal, the original was a

train station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...

on the Kusakaru Electric Railway Line that operated from 1926 through 1962. The site of the former station has since been turned into a park, with a monument dedicated to the station.

References

External links

Official Website
{{commons category Bus stations in Japan Transport in Gunma Prefecture Buildings and structures in Gunma Prefecture Kusatsu, Gunma Transport infrastructure completed in 1935 1935 establishments in Japan