The place we were staying at Tomi city is dominated by mountains all around and the most impressive is the Asama volcano, it is covered with snow, very beautiful.
Asama Volcano before eruption (click for bigger image)
Then 2am on 2nd Feb the volcano erupted, #Bing bong bing# there is an anouncement system wired into the telephone system keeps the local people abreast of events such as earth quakes and volcanos. The girl announced (in Japanese of course) that the volcano had erupted but that it was within safety margins, although there was a 4km “no go” area imposed around Asama.
The newspaper covers the eruption
The last major eruption in 1783 devistated 500 sq km
A cloud of steam coming off Asama (as always click for a bigger image)
More steam...
local artists capture the Asama volcano
nicely captured
Yet more steam, should we be getting worried?
Naaah! Maybe not, lets go for a drive anyway.
The traffic lights have a count down so you know when its going to change - good idea! Boris?
5…
4…
3…
2…
ONE!
We took the opportunity to go and get our train tickets back to Tokyo, so we'll be ready to go on the last day.
These statues were a gift from China
Ok, I couldn't resist this one; a curry restaurant called "Poo"
A waterwheel in the centre of Ueda
