Volcano
Mount Ontake: 1 Live Camera in Japan
A free-standing peak on the Nagano–Gifu border, over 3,000 m, still venting near the summit. A Meteorological Agency monitoring camera refreshing every two minutes.
What you can see
Ontake stands 3,067 m with nothing tall nearby, so its foothills run a long way out. It has been a site of mountain worship for centuries, and a pilgrimage path runs to the summit.
The eruption of 27 September 2014 killed many climbers. This camera is part of the Meteorological Agency's continuous watch, refreshing conditions around the crater every two minutes. It is monitoring equipment, not a tourist camera.
What you see is the mountain, and in the right conditions the vapour rising near the summit. It reads whiter the colder it is. Anything white floating at a height unconnected to the mountain is cloud; what rises from a single point at the summit is the vent.
Cameras you can watch now: 1
All 1 are still images. Tap one to open it in the camera list.
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Sample August 2026
Mount Ontake
Nagano / Gifu border · Volcano
The 2014 eruption caused heavy casualties among climbers, and prompted a national review of how volcanoes are monitored.
When to watch
Standing alone, it makes its own cloud. As the sun climbs, updraughts run up the slopes and the summit is often hidden by around midday. Early in the day is the reliable window.
By season, the clear air of November to February gives the best views. In winter the snow cap separates the mountain sharply from the sky, and in May and June, when snow lingers in streaks down the slope, the shape of the ground is easiest to read.
Summer afternoons build thunderclouds, and it can be invisible for days at a time.
Where Mount Ontake is
Agencies publishing the cameras on this page
- Japan Meteorological Agency — volcano surveillance cameras (PDL 1.0) — Official site
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.