Over the past 30 million years, the island of Kyushu
was mainly built by the outpourings of lava and ash from the volcano
of Mt. Aso. It has thrown out so much debris that the surface
has collapsed, forming the largest above-ground active caldera in
the world (a larger underwater caldera is found in Indonesia).
Towns, farms, hot spring resorts, highways and railroads are found
along the crater floor. Hot spring waterfalls can be found on
the central slopes. The volcanic structure has 5 high peaks
and is known as Aso-gogaku, or the Five Mountains of Aso.
Lesser volcanic cones are found throughout the area. Technical
climbing on the steeper slopes is a popular pasttime. Kurosawa's
Ran was filmed on the slopes. The yearly outdoor country
music concert (Charlie Nagatani) is also here. The upper slopes,
being too close to the volcano for permanant structures, are used
for open cattle grazing, a rare sight in Japan.
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