Aso

On our way to the Aso volcano we stopped first at the Shinto shrine in Aso City. This is one of Japan's oldest and most significant shrines. People come here to revere the volcano and to pray the volcano stays dormant.

On our way up the hill to the volcano we saw horses and cows on the grasslands. The white cloud you see on the right side of the picture is actually gasses erupting from the volcano.

A Shetland pony was part of the herd.

The drive up to the caldera was long and very slow. Many other people were here to visit. We had one long wait to talk to a ranger at a booth asking if we had heart conditions, lung conditions or asthma which would keep up from continuing our journey.