Natsume Sōseki and Ikaho Onsen
Writers and artists have long come to Ikaho Onsen. Natsume Sōseki, known for works such as Botchan, also seems to have come to Ikaho when he was young.
According to Ikaho Mame Techo: when Sōseki was a student at the Imperial University, he and Koya Yasuji — from Maebashi, later a professor at Tokyo Imperial University — became rivals for the beautiful student Ōtsuka Kusuo.
Their discussion is said to have been settled in Ikaho. Sōseki gave up and yielded the romance to Koya, and Kusuo married Koya.
For that reason, it is said that Koya and Kusuo often appear as models in Sōseki’s works. (From Ikaho Mame Techo.)
Why not look into Sōseki’s works? Other writers who came to Ikaho include Yosano Akiko.