Live camera
Mount Ontake live camera — Nagano / Gifu border
The 2014 eruption caused heavy casualties among climbers, and prompted a national review of how volcanoes are monitored.
Sample August 2026What you are looking at
Mount Ontake, under continuous watch by the Japan Meteorological Agency. It stands alone, so the frame takes it in one sweep from the lower slopes to the summit.
At 3,067 metres it is the second-highest volcano in Japan after Fuji. Late in the morning of 27 September 2014 a steam eruption came with little warning and killed or left missing a large number of climbers near the summit — the deadliest volcanic disaster in Japan since the war. Shelters were installed near the top afterwards and monitoring was tightened. This camera is part of that monitoring.
There were eruptions before 2014. On 28 October 1979 a row of small craters opened on the south slope of Kengamine and ash flew as far as Maebashi. In the Western Nagano earthquake of September 1984 the southern slope collapsed, the debris ran about ten kilometres and 29 people died. An older debris avalanche, about 50,000 years ago, travelled on as a mudflow some 150 kilometres down the Kiso River.
A free-standing peak makes its own cloud. As the sun gets high, updraughts run up the slopes and the summit is often hidden by the middle of the day, so early morning is the reliable window.
By season, the clear air from November to February gives the best views. In May and June, when snow lingers in streaks down the slopes, the relief of the ground reads especially well. Summer afternoons bring thunderclouds and can be lost for days at a time.
About this camera
| Place | Nagano / Gifu border |
| Format | Still, every 2 min |
| Time zone | Asia/Tokyo (UTC+9) |
| Category | Volcano |
| Operator | Japan Meteorological Agency — volcano surveillance cameras |
| Terms of use | PDL 1.0 |
The operator's own page
The footage belongs to each agency. This site is an unofficial guide, and each sample frame was copied once per camera under that agency's terms of use.
Cameras nearby
- Kappa-bashi, KamikochiMatsumoto, NaganoLive video
- Kamikochi bus terminalMatsumoto, NaganoLive video
- Mount Norikura from Norikura PlateauMatsumoto, NaganoStill, hourly
- Mount YakeNagano / Gifu borderStill, every 2 min
- Mount NorikuraNagano / Gifu borderStill, every 2 min
- Zenko-ji templeNagano, NaganoLive video
- JR Nagano StationNagano, NaganoLive video