A View I Never Forgot: Mount Asama 21 Years Later - 31st July 2005
This photograph was taken 21 years ago at a parking area located roughly halfway along the Onioshidashi Highway. At that time, it was simply an open parking lot with nothing else around. I was surprised to learn that the site has since been developed into what is now known as the Asama Mountain Campground. Onioshidashi HighwayMount Asama, located on the border between Nagano and Gunma Prefectures, is an active volcano with an elevation of 2,568 meters. It is one of Japan's most famous volcanoes and is widely regarded as a symbol of the Karuizawa and Saku regions because of its beautiful, cone-shaped profile. The mountain remains volcanically active today and is continuously monitored by the Japan Meteorological Agency. Mount Asama has a complex geological history. Its present volcanic activity is believed to have begun around 10,000 years ago. Throughout recorded history, it has erupted many times. Among these eruptions, the Great Tenmei Eruption of 1783 is particularly well known....