Kusatsu, Shiga

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This article is about the city in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. There is a town with this name in Gunma Prefecture, see Kusatsu, Gunma.

**Kusatsu**
**草津市**
Kusatsu's location in Shiga, Japan.
Location
Country	Japan
Region	Kansai
Prefecture	Shiga
Physical characteristics
Area	67.92 km² (26.22 sq mi)
Population (as of April 2008)
Total	123,690
Density	1,820 /km² (4,714 /sq mi)
Location	35°1′N, 135°58′E
Symbols
Tree	Sweet Osmanthus
Flower	Aobana (Commelina communis L. var. hortensis Makino)
Flag
Kusatsu Government Office
Mayor	Wataru Hashikawa
Address	〒525-8588 3-13-30, Kusatsu, Kusatsu-shi, Shiga-ken
Phone number	077-563-1234
Official website: Kusatsu City

Kusatsu (草津市, Kusatsu-shi^?) is a city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on October 15, 1954, and as of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 123,690 and the density of 1,820 persons per km². The total area is 67.92 km².

1 Overview
2 Tourism
3 Sister cities
4 External links

[edit] Overview

The city mostly comprises large new apartment blocks and many people chose to live there due to the views over Lake Biwa and the ease of commuting to work in Kyoto, Osaka or other Kansai centres. For similar reasons, there are several business hotels, love hotels and hotels catering for weddings around Kusatsu.

Kusatsu can be reached from Kyoto by travelling by train on the Tōkaidō Biwako Line.

[edit] Tourism

Huge lotus pond bloom in summer at Karasuma Peninsula in Kusatsu.

There is a museum related to the natural history of Lake Biwa located within the city and close to a bridge over the lake, and the Mizunomori Water Botanical Garden features extensive displays of lotus plants.

The city is often confused with Kusatsu, Gunma Prefecture, which is a famous hot spring resort. There is even an imitation of the Gunma Kusatsu hot spring in the local public bath house.