Hakone volcano is a tourist destination located approximately 100 km west of Tokyo, the capital of Japan, which can be reached within about two hours by road or rail. Owakudani is one of the most popular tourist spots in Hakone, with three million visitors a year. It is also the largest fumarolic area of the volcano. The fumarolic area was ground zero of the 2015 eruption and the fumarole vents seen in this photo were formed during the eruption. Geological investigations revealed that several much larger phreatic eruptions also occurred in the area after the latest magmatic eruption about 3,500 years ago. Consequently, predicting eruptions in Owakudani is an urgent issue because the tourist spot is a potential eruption center. The photo shows Owakudani valley where an eruption occurred in 2015, and which is still venting steam (foreground), the Owakudani tourist area with buildings and parking lots (middle), and Mt. Fuji, which is another tourism resource in this area (back).
(Photograph: Yuji MIYASHITA, date taken: April 26, 2021;
Explanation: Kazutaka MANNEN)
