The crater is under Level 2 eruption warning with a 1km restricted zone around the crater. Visitors can access up to the mountain plaza, but cannot enter the restricted crater area. The crater-view shuttle bus and park road are operating during posted seasonal hours.
- Restricted radius: 1,000 m
- Crater shuttle bus: Operating
- Areas affected: Nakadake crater, Mountain plaza (Sanjo hiroba)
Traffic/Parking (schedule estimate, not live sensor data): Today is a weekend combined with late-morning/early-afternoon timing typically means slower going and a fuller lot than usual.
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 9 minutes ago
