The crater area is under Eruption Warning Level 2 with a 1km restriction radius from Nakadake crater. Visitors cannot enter the immediate crater area, but the mountain upper plaza (山上広場) and access road are open during designated daytime hours; the crater shuttle bus/road operates seasonally with current summer hours 8:30 AM-6:00 PM (gate closure at 5:30 PM).
- Restricted radius: 1,000 m
- Crater shuttle bus: Operating
- Areas affected: Nakadake crater, Within 1km radius of crater, Crater viewing area
Traffic/Parking (schedule estimate, not live sensor data): Today is a weekend, but outside the typical late-morning/early-afternoon peak, so the effect is usually milder.
If it looks busy: The shuttle bus uses the same road as cars into Kusasenri, so when that lot is full, buses queue in the same backup -- it saves you the parking search, not the traffic itself. If you're driving and not stopping at Kusasenri, the Minamiaso approach (via Nakamatsu) reaches the summit terminal directly without going through Kusasenri at all, which can avoid that bottleneck entirely -- though we don't have confirmed reports on how busy that road itself gets at peak times, so treat it as a "probably better, not guaranteed" option. Arriving before 9:00 or after 15:00 remains the most reliable way to avoid the worst of it regardless of route. Aso City publishes specific congestion forecasts ahead of major holiday weekends (Golden Week, Obon) on its website, worth checking the day before if you're coming on one. If Kusasenri's lot is full, Daikanbo and Komezuka are nearby viewpoints with their own separate parking.
Official Aso regulation status ↗
· updated 1 hour ago
