2 Best Sights in Kyushu, Japan

For many visitors, the smoldering crater of Mt. Aso's Naka-dake is the highlight of a visit to the Aso-Kuju National Park. Inside the crater, a churning ash-gray lake bubbles and spits scalding, reeking steam. The Nakadake cable car was closed following an eruption for 2016. A shuttle bus from the parking area to the crater runs when there is limited volcanic activity, but this service was halted after the October 2021 eruption. If rumbling turns to shaking, and steam and smoke turn to sizable ash fall, there are bunker-like concrete shelters located across the area.

Sakurajima is one of the world's most active volcanoes. Visible from Kagoshima City, across Kinko Bay, it is spews thick plumes of ash and smoke almost daily. The last big eruption was in 1955, but the far side of the cone sometimes lets loose with explosive belching that lights the night sky red and covers the island of Sakurajima in a blanket of ash. There are scattered lodgings and hot springs at the base of the volcano, as well as winding paths up to old lava plateaus with great views over the crater or back toward town. There are usually four ferries per hour from Kagoshima City to the Sakurajima. The one-way adult fare for the 10- to 15-minute trip is ¥200.