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Nikko NP, Tochigi / Fukushima
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Records say Nasu’s 1408 eruption sent sulfur and ash into the Naka River, turning its water yellow for years. The 1410 eruption killed more than 180 people; in 1881, ash killed fish downstream.
Chausu is the range’s active, steaming volcano, but Sanbonyari is higher: 1,917 m, or 2 m above Chausu. The range’s familiar volcanic plume comes from a different summit than its highest one.
Sanbonyari means “three spears.” Tradition says 3 feudal domains planted spears to mark their borders there, but Tochigi Prefectural Library researchers found no Edo-period source for the story—only Meiji-era print.
Nasu’s “Nasuben” bento brings together 9 local ingredients—including Nasu Wagyu, milk, rice and seasonal produce—as 9 dishes served on a Yamizo cedar tray. Local growers and food businesses developed it as a taste of the region.
Nasu’s volcanic centers shifted south over time: activity began at Kashi-Asahi about 500,000 years ago, reached Sanbonyari about 300,000 years ago, then began at Chausu about 16,000 years ago. Chausu still steams today.
The Nasu nine-tailed fox legend is set in the Heian court, but its first known written appearance is in a 1445 text, according to Nasu Town. The tale later became a subject for Noh and kabuki theater.
Every May, participants carry torches from Nasu Onsen Shrine to nearby Sessho-seki for the Goshinka-sai. A drummer in a fox mask and white robes plays beside a bonfire, keeping the local nine-tailed fox legend alive.
Though the highest summit is only 1,917 m, ridges near Kiyoshimizu and Sanbonyari support alpine plants including dwarf Japanese stone pine, lingonberry, crowberry and azaleas. Around Chausu’s gas vents, by contrast, plants struggle to grow.
The eastern slopes of Asahidake are noted for a high concentration of Hakone salamanders, while forest green tree frogs live around Kagami-numa and Amenuma ponds. The Nasu-Kashi mountain area has small, distinctive wildlife habitats.
Nasu’s sulfur smell has a human history, too: sulfur and alum were mined on the slopes from the late Edo period through the 1960s. The industry left traces such as old mining and refining sites.
Local legend says a hunter discovered the Yumoto spring around 629 after finding a wounded white deer bathing there. A written record mentions Nasu Onsen by 738; today, the source still flows at 68°C and 800 liters per minute.
A rain-triggered landslide on June 14, 1858 devastated the old Yumoto hot-spring area beside the spring. The hot-spring settlement moved uphill to its present location, while the original source remained below.
Sandogoya Onsen lies high in the range and is reached on foot, about a 2-hour hike from the ropeway area. Its discovery is traditionally dated to 1142; after the lights go out at 9 p.m., the inns use lamps.
After World War II, settlers cleared highland around the range’s southern foothills. The cool upland climate helped dairy farming and highland vegetable production grow into important parts of local life.
A local railway company’s president dreamed up a Chausu ropeway in 1956, despite the mountain’s strong winds. It opened on October 19, 1962, carrying visitors 805 m up the slope.
In March 2022, Sessho-seki, the legendary “killing stone” near the range’s foothills, was found split in two. It had visible cracks for years, and local reporting said natural weathering was considered the likely cause.
