To limit damage to tourism from Mount Hakone's surge in volcanic activity, the town of Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, has posted a new "eruption alert level map" on its website to show that only a small part of the popular hot springs resort is off-limits.
The map is not intended to emphasize the dangers of potential eruptions in Owakudani, the district popular for its volcanic vent, but is aimed at showing how small the no-go zone is to prevent tourists from ditching the Hakone area as a whole, municipal officials said.
The Meteorological Agency on Wednesday raised its eruption alert level from 1, denoting normal, to 2, a level regulating entry to areas by the vent, to warn of the risk of a small eruption and urge people to stay away from risky areas.