Hiking Mount Unzen

The Unzen-dake hike from Nita Pass

We spent two nights in Unzen Onsen at Fukudaya and made an early start for the hike. There are no regular buses to the trailhead, but the town has a comfortable shared taxi service: a small minivan that takes hikers up to Nita Pass. From there, start walking straight away on the forest path. Optionally, you can take the ropeway as well.

We walked the main circuit in about two hours, which left us with time to spare before the shared taxi back to Unzen Onsen. The paths are well marked, the hike is relatively easy and rewarding: the route moves through forest, over open ridgelines, and across several viewpoints.

Lava dome Heisei Shinzan

The classic route links three peaks: Mt. Myoken, Mt. Kunimi, and Mt. Fugen. From Fugendake, you get a clear view of Mt. Heisei Shinzan, the lava dome formed during the 1990-1995 eruption. This peak at 1,4383 meters peak is the world's newest mountain.

Once on top, the views from the peaks were splendid, with the sea visible in almost every direction.

Mount Unzen and its volcanic history

Mount Unzen, or Unzen-dake 雲仙岳, is a group of active stratovolcanoes in the centre of the Shimabara Peninsula on Kyushu. Its best-known peaks include Fugendake 普賢岳 at 1,359 m and Heisei Shinzan 平成新山 at 1,486 m, the lava dome that now rises above the older summit area.

In Japan, Unzen is remembered for one of the country’s worst volcanic disasters. In 1792, after an eruption, a massive landslide swept through the old city of Shimabara and into the sea, triggering a tsunami that struck nearby coastal areas and killed nearly 15,000 people.

The volcano became active again from 1990 to 1995. On June 3, 1991, repeated collapses of the growing lava dome generated powerful pyroclastic flows, killing 43 people. Because of this history, and because the volcano sits close to populated areas, Mount Unzen was designated a Decade Volcano by the United Nations in 1991.