Quaint Onsen town not far from Tokyo?

I plan to do a 2 night 3 days trip to Hakone, doing the loop from Gora to Hakone Yumoto and staying in 2 separate ryokans. This will be October 29-31. Now I read that Owakudani and the ropeway are close due to risk of small volcanic eruption.

In case the situation doesn't clear by my trip date, would anyone be able to recommend a 2 nights side trip out of tokyo to an attractive onsen town with preferably some attractions like canal/stream, waterfalls, quaint shops.. Some place with a traditional and quaint vibe like Kinosaki Onsen.. I don't like it too crammed with modern tall brick buildings. Thus, are not too keen on Kusatsu Onsen.
Not too far, max 2-3 hours by non Shinkansen
Tq, Mel

Hi Mel,

I'm actually surprised that you mentioned that you don't want to go to Kusatsu Onsen, as this is really the main place I was going to suggest. It's true that there are some large hotels at Kusatsu, but this fails into comparison to many other onsen towns near Tokyo (Atami comes to mind).

If you don't want to catch the Shinkansen, then you will be severely limited in your choices. As Tokyo has such a large population with cash to spend, most onsen towns grew exponentially in the bubble times of the 1980's.

Some other options include:

Shuzenji Onsen (Izu Peninsula)

Yumoto Onsen (near Nikko)

Kawazu Onsen or Izu Kogen both on the Izu Peninsula might also be a possibility.

Hello.
I would recommend Shibu Onsen in Nagano prefecture.
http://www.shibuonsen.net/english/

There are fewer people compare to Kusatsu.

However,if you go there,you should take Nagano Shinkansen.

Hope this helps.

Yugawara seems to be the type of hot spring place you are looking for. It was known at least 1000 years ago and it has many small ryokan tucked away on small streets and alleys off the one main street that parallels a river running down from the Hakone mountains.It is also near Cape Manazuru, a small, picturesque peninsula that juts out into Sagami Bay. At the end are 3 famous rocks that I believe are also a shrine.
Agoda is a hotel reservation site I have used. It shows a map with many hotels on it. When you hover over one it gives a brief description and prices.
AGODA http://www.agoda.com/yugawara-onsen-ashikari-ryokan/hotel/hakone-jp.ht...

I have a gallery with two maps and a few photos. http://dickh.zenfolio.com/p1070795537

It is easily reached from Tokyo.
1) Fastest way is Shinkansen Hikari #467 leaves Tokyo at 10:03, arrives Atami 10:43. Yugawara is 1 stop on the Tokaido lline going back towards Tokyo, takes 5 minutes.
2) Odoriko Express leaves Tokyo at 10:30, stops at YUGAWARA at 11:45. No changing trains.
3) Regular Tokaido line train takes 1 hour 50 minutes from Tokyo. No changing trains.

Thanks for all your recommendations. I'm slowly researching them out.
Yugawara does seem nice. And indeed it isn't too far from Tokyo at all

Mel

How about Ikaho?

Ikaho a bit too much steps 😆

I'm re-considering Kusatsu..

Haha
Why did you reject kusatsu in the first place?

I think the Yubatake quite ugly.. 😝 Hope I haven't insulted anyone? But after doing a google map street view Kusatsu doesn't look too bad..
Anyway, I've booked a night at Takaragawa Onsen Osenkaku. I want to do 2 nights away from Tokyo. So the second night at Kusatsu isn't too far from Takaragawa ya? Or any suggestion for another location nearer? Will get the Kanto Area Pass so it won't cost too much jumping on and off trains. And I think it's a good combination, one very rustic while the other one very vibrant.