At Kusatsu Onsen in Gunma Prefecrture, one of the major hot spring resorts in Japan, att.JAPAN formed a dance team and participated in “the 5th Hot Water Yumomi Dance Championship in Kusatsu Onsen” (May 11 and 12, 2019) .
Please seeVol. 1to read more about the preliminary round and Kusatsu Onsen’s charms.
After the day of the disappointing results, the comeback match and the final match was held on the next day, May 12.
Team att.JAPAN members started practicing immediately after having breakfast at the inn. They arranged the dance more challenging than before to aim for the final match.
This day’s venue was at the front stage of “yubatake” where they enjoyed footbaths and strolled around on the previous day. It is a spot where many tourists visit and there were more audience than the day before.
At the opening, the participating teams all paraded around the yubatake and cheered up the atmosphere.
Now the competition has started! Everyone was already enjoying their time. 
Team att.JAPAN performed their dance that they arranged the day before.
With the familiar Queen’s medley, the audience clapped their hand with excitement.
The competing team “SISTERS” performed a more energetic dance than the previous day.
The result was…
Unfortunately, “SISTERS” won the victory! Team att.JAPAN was shocked and could not hide their disappointing expression. But then…
The MC appeared on the stage… 
Team att.JAPAN’s passion in their dance and their first time experiencing the Japanese hot springs has moved the MC’s heart so they decided to let team att.JAPAN rise up to the finals! 
Regret tears turned into joyful tears all at once since they were all looking forward to seeing the real “Nestunoyu” stage in the final match.
During the rehearsal in front of the “Netsunoyu” stage, they danced holding a wooden board for the first time. The different atmosphere of the stage has made everyone surround themselves with nervousness. They were enjoying but at the same time preparing for the final check of their position carefully.
They also practiced after leaving the venue. The feeling of wanting to perform with no regrets on the final stage was the same with everyone. 
And the final performance started! att.JAPAN warmed up the stage by being the first runner.
You can see the final dance match in this video!
Then there were the “SISTERS” who overcame the comeback match together. The penguins were cute too! 
A team of small ballerinas, “Pink Swan,” danced with a specially made miniature wooden board. 
“Street Style” performed a human hot spring wooden board dance made only for this day that made the stage full of laughter. But the audience was amazed by the cool street dance afterwards. 
“Hinano Ori Tahiti” left an impressive smile with their Tahitian dance. A surprising combination of the costumes of the tropical country and the hot springs can only be seen here. 
And lastly, the “Arrows”!
The cool dance performance surrounded the venue in excitement.
After all the participants performed, they went back to the stage outside to hear the results.
The championship offers various awards in addition to the top winner. Will team att.JAPAn be awarded…?
As the awards were announced one after another, att.JAPAN was finally called!
They got the “humor award,” since the unique dance incorporating the movement of the bathing style perfect for Kusatsu was highly valued!
As a second prize, they received a standard bath-tub bucket that is necessary when taking a bath and Kusatsu Onsen’s towel! It was a perfect prize for team att.JAPAN since they all wanted to enjoy the Japanese hot spring culture more. 
The winner was the high-level dance team “Arrows!” They got the winner’s trophy and the hot spring wooden board.
In the end, they showed off their performance once again. The local character Gunma-chan from Gunma Prefecture was there to see it live.
Lastly, they all took a commemorative photo with the prizes! Team att.JAPAN were satisfied with their dance and the hot springs. The team’s cohesion has become even more stronger and returned back to Tokyo to have a party. Many members said that they seem to have deepened their understanding of Japanese culture and would want to enjoy hot springs more. 
