Mt. Aso, located in Kumamoto Prefecture, is an active volcano and has one of largest caldera in the world. Mt. Aso comprises of five mountains in the middle of the caldera and outer mountains on the periphery of the caldera. The five volcano mountains are Takadake, Nakadake, Nekodake, Eboshidake and Kishimadake Mountains.

The size of the caldera is twenty-five kilometers in the north to south direction and eighteen kilometers in east to west direction. The highest peak of the Aso mountains is Mt. Takadake and it is 1,592 meters in height.

Trains run in the Aso caldera. One is the JR Hohi Main Line from Kumamoto to Oita through the north side of the caldera. The other is the Minami-Aso Railway from Tatsuno to Takamori in the south side of the caldera. The bus access is available from Aso Station on the Hohi Line to Mt. Nakadake.

On the way to Mt. Nakadake, you will see Mt. Kujyu beyond the outer mountains of the Aso caldera.

You will also see Mt. Nekodake shown in the left side and Mt. Takadake on the right of the below picture.

Before arriving at Mt. Aso Terminal, a bus stops at "Kusasenri / Aso Volcano Museum" Bus Stop. Kusasenri is the huge grass field in the five Aso Mountains.

You will see Mt. Eboshidake beyond the Kusasenri glass field. Kusasenri used to be a crater and the area is seventy-eight hectares. The scenery of Kusasenri is really spectacular.

You can walk on the Kusasenri glass field. Horse riding is also available. In the middle of the Kusasenri glass field, you will see Mt. Kishimadake to the north, shown in the below-left picture. You will also see Mt. Takadake and Mt. Nakadake to the east, shown in the below-right picture.

From Kusasenri, you will take another bus to Mt. Aso Bus Terminal. On the way from Kusasenri to Mt. Aso Bus Terminal, you will see Mt. Nakadake and Mt. Takadake.

Mt. Nakadake is an active volcano. The shuttle bus service is available from Mt. Aso Bus Terminal to "Kako-Nishi", the west of the Mt. Nakadake crater.

You are not allowed to go inside the crater due to volcano activities, as of March 1st, 2021. When the activities of the Mt. Nakadake are getting aggressive, the area of off-limit will be increased. There are a couple of evacuation shelters at the peripheral of the crater.

The views of the active volcano are very impressive. You will feel massive energy from the volcano. In adition to the active crater, there are seven non-active craters at Mt. Nakadake.

To the north from the five Aso Mountains, Uchimaki Hot Spring is located. The view from Uchimaki Hot Spring is also spectacular. This view is said the image of the Buddha entering nirvana. Mt. Nekodake, which has sharp peaks, looks the face of the Buddha.

Next morning, Mt. Aso was shown above morning haze. This view is solemn.

The Aso area was seriously damaged by the earthquakes happened in April, 2016. These damages are now on the way to recover, but the Minami-Aso Railway stops their operation between Tateno and Nakamatsu.

How to get there
From Tokyo, take a "Nozomi" bound for Hakata. From Hakata, take a "Mizuho", "Sakura" or "Tsubame" to Kumamoto. From Osaka, a "Mizuho" and "Sakura" runs directly to Kumamoto. Change at Kumamoto to a train on the Hohi Line to Aso Station. A bus runs from Aso Station to the Mt. Aso Bus Terminal.

Other Historical Sites near by:
Ruins of Kumamoto Castle
Suizenji Garden
Stone Arch Bridges
Ruins of Uto Castle
Ruins of Hitoyoshi Castle