I was really looking forward to Aso because it was all volcano-y and mountain-y and looked really beautiful in pictures. Unfortunately, it was low cloud and rain while I was there so I didn't get to see the big picture of the surrounding rim of the caldera.
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| You know how sometimes cloud formations make it look like a volcano is erupting? That's not a cloud formation. |
It was still good though. I got to go to the edge of the Naka-dake volcano and peer down into the active crater. There's a bus that takes you from the town of Aso to the bottom of a ropeway. You can take the ropeway, walk up a path or drive up a road to get to the rim of the crater. When I first got to the bottom of the ropeway, all access to the crater had been shut due to poisonous gases at the crater but by the time I had looked around (stores and a temple) they had opened the access again so I walked up to the crater. I had originally intended to do a walk around the crater up to the peak of Naka-dake, but I chickened out due to the threat of poisonous gases. I felt good about my decision when I got back to the bottom of the ropeway and saw that they were stopping people from accessing the crater again. Yay for not dying from poisonous volcanic gases!
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| Fallout shelters at rim of crater |
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| Naka-dake crater |
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| Naka-dake crater (when the volcanic activity is low, there's a lake down there) |
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| The less famous, non-venting Naka-dake crater |
I also went to another onsen in Aso. I felt less awkward this time and really enjoyed it. I felt so nice afterwards.
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| I just like the "no smoking" sign at the rim of a volcano crater. Smoking at dinner? Sure! Smoking by volcano that's spewing more dangerous emissions than your cigarette? No! |
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