Live cameras in Kobayashi, Japan

Kobayashi is a city in the southwest of Miyazaki Prefecture on Kyushu, about 60 km west-northwest of the prefectural capital. It covers roughly 563 square kilometers of farmland, forest and volcanic upland, and had an estimated population of about 42,100 in 2023. The northeastern part of the Kirishima mountains lies inside the city, including the slopes of Karakunidake, at 1,700 m the highest peak of the group, and the crater lake Ohataike. Hot springs are common here because of the volcanic ground, and the Ikoma Plateau above town is known for cosmos in October and Iceland poppies in spring.

The cameras on this page belong to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), which watches Kirishimayama around the clock. There are eight of them, looking at Shinmoedake and Ohachi from Inokoishi, at the south rim of the Ohachi crater, and from the Takaharu west foot, Yakubo, Karakunidake, the Ebino Kogen plateau and the south side of Iozan. JMA posts a new still image every couple of minutes. The views exist so forecasters can spot steam and ash plumes, glow at night and changes around the vents, and they feed into the national Volcanic Alert Levels, which run from 1 (potential for increased activity) to 5 (evacuate). Shinmoedake, the busiest vent, erupted in 2011, again in 2017 and 2018, and twice in 2025, in June and August.

When to look

Kobayashi keeps Japan Standard Time, UTC+9, with no daylight saving time. The clearest views usually come on dry winter mornings, when the peaks may carry a little snow. The rainy season in June and early July and the late-summer typhoons often hide the summits in cloud. At night a lit-up plume or glow is easiest to see against a dark sky, so evening frames are worth checking when activity is reported.

For a different angle on Kyushu's volcanoes, our pages for Kagoshima, with Sakurajima across the bay, and Aso, with its huge caldera to the north, carry their own JMA cameras. The Ebino Kogen area also has walking trails around its crater ponds when access is open.

Sources: Kobayashi, Miyazaki - Wikipedia · Mount Kirishima - Wikipedia · JMA volcano monitoring cameras · JMA: Volcanic Warnings and Volcanic Alert Levels.