Volcano
Mount Unzen: 1 Live Camera in Japan
The volcano at the centre of the Shimabara Peninsula. The lava dome built by the eruptions of the 1990s still sits on the summit. Monitored, refreshed every two minutes.
What you can see
Unzen is the collective name for a group of volcanoes on the Shimabara Peninsula in Nagasaki. The eruptions from 1990 to 1995 produced repeated pyroclastic flows, and the new lava dome pushed up at the summit was named Heisei-Shinzan. It is now the highest point in the range.
What the camera shows is the massif including that dome. Nothing grows on it — it is still bare grey rock, and it stands out clearly against the green slopes around it. The shape of this mountain is itself the record of the eruption.
The dome still gives off high-temperature vapour at times. It remains one of the continuously monitored volcanoes.
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 Unzen
Shimabara, Nagasaki · Volcano
The eruption that began in 1991 built the peak now called Heisei Shinzan. The paths the pyroclastic flows took are still visible; the camera looks from Nodake.
When to watch
The Shimabara Peninsula is ringed by sea, so damp air hits the mountain and makes cloud easily. Through the rainy season, June and July, there are many days with nothing to see. Autumn into winter is drier and steadier.
For time of day, early morning through late morning. Wind rising off the sea tends to bring fog in the afternoon.
In spring the Kyushu azaleas colour the slopes. From late May into early June a band of pink across the mountainside can sometimes be made out even at this distance.
Where Mount Unzen 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.