Mount Hakone Volcanic Activity

The popular hot spring resort town Hakone, here in Kanagawa Prefecture, is having quite the spectacle at the moment. The Owakudani area, which is known for its steam vents and black eggs (a local delicacy), is the centre of the activity.  A phreatic explosion is possible, meaning a small eruption. There have been many small earthquakes every day, more than one hundred per day.

Owakudani from the tram. Notice the steam. This photo is showing normal activity.

If there is an eruption, it’ll likely only affect a small localised area. My guess is that the town of Hakone will be okay, but Owakudani will be inaccessible for quite some time.

From where I live, I can see Mount Hakone. It’s much smaller than the nearby Mount Fuji, which everyone is expecting a large eruption from sometime in the future (that would be devastating for the Tokyo area most likely).  I’ve been asked many times if I’m in any danger.  I would say that no, it’s extremely unlikely I’d be in danger here.  A major eruption is not expected. However, I’m hoping the volcano settles down, because we have a possible plan to visit Hakone in October. We’ll see.

Life in Japan: A Return to Japan

Last week, we went to a festival and my daughter had the opportunity to meet Ultraman, who is a famous hero on TV.  We had no time, unfortunately, and ever since, she’s been asking when we can return to see Ultraman. That I have no answer to. But I do have an answer to my next question, which was asked by S. R. Carrillo.

Would you ever return? Or plan to – with your daughter?

Posing in front of Ultraman…but he’s so far away!

A return to live or a return to visit? Well, the answer to the first is that we don’t have plans to return to live with our daughter, but I’d be open to it after she’s grown up, most likely. Even so, there’s still a possibility we could return sometime to live in Japan. It’s just too difficult to say for now.

As for visiting, absolutely. We’d love to visit every year if possible. We have plans to visit a different part of Japan each time we come, and if we can spend a month or so during summer, that would be great.  Of course, it depends on work. If we had the money, we’d try having a house in Canada and a condo in Japan, possibly around Fujisawa or Yokohama. But that’s a dream, and we have no idea if it would be possible.

If you have any questions about living in Japan, please see the original post and leave your questions in the comments.