The IAVCEI volcanology conference was in Kagoshima, in southern Kyushu.
The city sits just across the bay from the very active Sakurajima.
A couple small explosions were occurring near the summit each day, although none
were large enough to shower the city with ash, as sometimes happens.
This is an eruption as seen from the conference building
One day a few of us from the conference took the ferry over to Sakurajima to get a closer look.
Looking back across the bay at Kagoshima
And up at Sakurajima
Looking back at Kagoshima at sunset
The conference organized a number of field trips to volcanic sites, including this to the southern end of the bay.
After the field trip, there was a reception on a ferry cruising in the bay between Kagoshima and Sakurajima.
On the return to Tokyo I stopped in Kumamoto for two days to try to visit Unzen and Aso volcanoes.
Unfortunately the weather, which had been very good for most of the trip, turned bad.
There were serious thunderstorms occurring both days and as these volcanoes
are at the topographic high points, I only got to spend a little time exploring them.
Unzen, as seen from the bus heading up towards the summit.
Seishichi Jigoku (Seishichi Hell) -- one of the fields of fumaroles in the Unzen Spa area
The next day I took a local train to Aso, then a bus part way up the mountain.
A ropeway (cable car) climbs the final cone on Asosan
The "view" of the crater
and the shelters built to protect tourists during the occasional eruptions.
A group of children on a field trip to Asosan had to
take shelter in the summit building during the thunderstorm.
Heading back down from the mountain towards to local train station.
Parts of the road were flooded from the very heavy rains.
On the local train back from Aso to Kumamoto
I encountered a different group of school children returning from a few days at a local camp.
Among their new prize possessions were pet beatles:
The following day I took the shinkansen from Kumamoto back to Tokyo,
and at Narita caught my 787 flight back to Denver.
