Credit: 123rf
TRAVEL companies featuring Japan’s Mount Aso on their itineraries are swiftly rethinking their plans after the volcano rumbled violently to life on Monday, September 14.
Tourists were on the mountain when the first major eruption occurred at 09.43, with volcanic debris being launched from the crater and a pall of ash rising several kilometres into the air above the caldera.
Authorities quickly evacuated the mountain of tourists and staff of local businesses there, which includes those from a museum, cable car service and a number of souvenir shops.
The eruption has affected flights to and from Kumamoto Airport, which is roughly 20 km to the west of the peak of Mount Aso. So far, 20 flights have been cancelled and others diverted to other airports in the region in order to avoid the ash plume.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has raised the alert level on the nation’s largest volcano to three on the five-point scale and issued warnings that the mountain should not be approached. There is danger of rocks ejected from the crater falling as far as two km from the peak, the agency said.
“In the coming week we were meant to have a group of 11 cyclists taking the road that crosses the mountain, but we will now take an alternative route,” Thomas Holvoet, founder of Japan Biking, told TTG Asia e-Daily.
Access restrictions were placed on some parts of the mountain a year ago, he added, after the first indications that an eruption might occur.
Llewelyn Thomas, managing director of Kyushu-based Walk Japan, said a group of hikers are scheduled to climb the mountain later this year.
“It is very possible that everything will have calmed down again by then, but we are contacting our clients to keep them informed of the situation and to let them know that we will be providing an alternative walk if the restrictions are still in place,” he said.
