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Joshin’etsukogen NP, Gunma
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On Sky Rock Trail, “lava tree molds” formed from hot ash and rock, not ordinary lava: the 1783 Agatsuma flow buried trees, leaving hollows. Japan designated these rare formations a Special Natural Monument in 1952.
Wild bilberry along the center’s trail is nicknamed “Asama grape”; its berries make jam, but its leaves also feed caterpillars of the locally protected mountain yellow butterfly. A tasty berry is a butterfly nursery, too.
The 2021 center is not the old volcano-museum building: that museum, opened in 1967, closed as it aged. Today’s geology hub occupies the former hall honoring the 1955–59 Asama motorcycle races.
The name “Onioshidashi” captures how people imagined the 1783 eruption: an oni (ogre) shoving rocks out of the crater. The lava field stretches about 5.5 km north from it.
The center itself stands on glassy gravel from a blast near the tip of the 1783 lava flow. Its trail also crosses older eruption layers, including deposits from around the 3rd century and 1108.
After nearly 20 years with its suspension bridge closed, Asamaen’s Volcano Walk reopened its full loop in 2026, letting visitors circle through the 1783 lava field again.
The center’s models show the sequel to an eruption: plants reclaim bare lava. Outside, even at the same elevation, solid lava and wind-scoured, shifting gravel support different plant communities.
The pearl-white berries of shira-tama-no-ki look like tiny pearls; the center’s field guide says crushing one releases a strong wintergreen scent. In this national park, plants are for admiring, not picking.
The “Lower Stage” lava is named for its broad, flat, platform-like bench—not a theater. Its steep edge exposes where the flow ended, and Sky Rock Trail winds among these lava-built steps.
