Kusatsu Onsen Bus Terminal (Japanese: 草津温泉バスターミナル, Hepburn: Kusatsu Onsen Basu Tāminaru), or Kusatsu Onsen Station (草津温泉駅, Kusatsu Onsen-eki), is a bus terminal located near Kusatsu Onsen in the town of Kusatsu, Agatsuma District, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. It is managed by Kusatsu Bus Terminal Company in a joint venture between JR Bus and the Kusatsu municipal government. JR Bus, Seibu Bus, and Kusakaru Kotsu operate bus services at the terminal.
The bus terminal was opened on 11 December 1935 as Joshu Kusatsu Station (上州草津駅, Jōshū Kusatsu-eki) with the commencement of bus service on the Joshu Kusara Line (上州草津線, Jōshū Kusatsu-sen) to Joshu Otsu Station (上州大津駅, Jōshū Ōtsu-eki) in Naganohara.[1] The "Joshu" in the name was intended to avoid confusion with Kusatsu Station in Shiga Prefecture on the Tōkaidō Main Line.
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 MARS ticket office
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 ticket office operated by JR East, which sells railway tickets (including limited express tickets) for use at the nearby Naganohara-Kusatsuguchi Station, 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.
Kusatsu, Agatsuma District, Gunma Prefecture Japan
Operated by
Kusakaru Electric Railway
Line(s)
Kusakaru Electric Railway Line
Connections
Bus stop
History
Opened
19 September 1926 (1926-09-19)
Closed
1 February 1962 (1962-02-01)
The site of the former Kusatsu Onsen Station
Located approximately 400 m (0.25 mi) south of the current Kusatsu Onsen Bus Terminal, the original Kusatsu Onsen Station (草津温泉駅, Kusatsu Onsen-eki) was a train station 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.[5]
References
^Ministry of Finance Printing Bureau, ed. (1935-12-09). 官報 [Kanpō (Japanese government gazette)] (in Japanese). 日本マイクロ写真. doi:10.11501/2959160. Retrieved 2023-02-21 – via National Diet Library.
^ abcAt the bus stop, passengers are able to transfer onto Nagaden Bus for Yudanaka Station via Hasuike and Shiga Kogen.
^ワンコインバス [One Coin Bus]. Kusatsu Onsen Tourism Association (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-02-21.
^草津温泉町内巡回バス【路線図・時刻表】 [Kusatsu Onsen Round Bus (Route Map - Timetable)]. Town of Kusatsu (in Japanese). 2017-07-07. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
^草軽電気鉄道 草津温泉駅跡. Kusatsu Skyland Hotel (in Japanese). 2015-07-29. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
