Volcano
Mount Tokachi: 1 Live Camera in Japan
The active volcano behind Biei and Kamifurano in central Hokkaido, on one Meteorological Agency camera refreshing every two minutes. It steams continuously — a white plume is the normal state of this mountain.
What you can see
Mount Tokachi is an active volcano at the southern end of the Daisetsuzan range. It stands above Biei and Kamifurano — if you have seen photographs of those rolling hills, this is the mountain in the background.
It is best known for the eruption of 1926. The eruption itself was less deadly than what followed: snow lying on the mountain melted all at once and came down as a torrent of mud that engulfed the settlements below. It is called the Taisho mudflow, and it is still taught as the case that showed the danger of a volcano is not only rock and lava.
The camera looks up at the mountain from below. Steam is normally present, so seeing it does not mean anything is wrong. Whether the volume has increased is not something an untrained eye can judge — check the alert level with the Meteorological Agency.
Elsewhere in Hokkaido, see Shikotsu-Toya and Mount Asahi. Asahi is the northern end of the same Daisetsuzan range.
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 Tokachi
Biei, Hokkaido · Volcano · Nature
The 1926 eruption melted the snow all at once into a mudflow that did great damage below. The summit is seen over the gentle pastureland on the Biei side.
When to watch
Winter gives the best picture: the whole flank goes white and the steam is the only thing rising out of it. Colder air makes the plume read whiter and thicker, so a cold morning shows it most clearly.
Late September is the autumn colour. Daisetsuzan turns earlier than anywhere else in Japan — these mountains are colouring while Honshu is still dressed for summer.
Go in the morning. Cloud builds here in the afternoon and on many days only the mid-slope is left visible. Occasionally it clears again right before sunset.
The hills of Biei are in the foreground of this camera too. Summer green and the brown of a harvested autumn change the whole frame.
Where Mount Tokachi 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.