Unzen Onsen

Unzen sits at about 700 metres on the Shimabara peninsula and was made part of Japan's first national park designation in 1934. The town's centre is the jigoku, thirty or so vents and boiling pools spread over open ground with boardwalks through them, hissing and smelling strongly of sulphur; steam drifts across the road and the inns take their water from it. The plateau above has the Unzen massif, with a ropeway up Myokendake and walking to the Fugendake area; Mount Heisei-shinzan, the lava dome that grew during the eruption of 1990 to 1995, stands beside it and the volcano remains closely monitored, with a disaster memorial museum at Shimabara explaining what happened. Miyama azaleas colour the slopes in May. The town was a hill station for foreign residents of Nagasaki and Shanghai and has a golf course from 1913 and some old Western buildings.

What you actually see

• The jigoku - thirty vents and boiling pools with boardwalks through the steam.
• Heisei-shinzan - a lava dome that grew during the 1990 to 1995 eruption.
• Japan's first national park - designated here in 1934.
• A hill station past - old Western buildings and a golf course from 1913.

When to go

May for azaleas, late October for colour. Two days.

Honest expectations

Hydrogen sulphide in the jigoku is strong and unsuitable for some. Volcanic alert levels can close the upper mountain and the ropeway. The town is small and quiet at night. Buses from Nagasaki take about ninety minutes.

Nearby

Shimabara and its castle are east; the Amakusa islands are across the sea.