Daikanbou – 360 views from the Aso Caldera

Mount Aso is at the center of a huge volcanic caldera, the history you can read here. On clear days, Mount Aso is best seen from a viewing platform called Daikanbou, which struts out from the caldera edge allowing for unobstructed views of the entire caldera. It’s a popular spot to visit when the skies are clear and should be avoided on other days as the caldera’s edge is often shrouded in clouds (you can see nothing). As you can see from the Google maps data, a cloudy day equals no visitors (blue is normal level, red was actual numbers that day).

The main reason to go is the amazing view from the outcrop the viewing platform sits, however there are a few other things to keep you busy such as a monkey show (cruel?) and a restaurant with the obligatory “soft cream” ice cream made from real Aso milk.

Tandem Paragliding

Tandem paragliding operates all year round weather permitting. They may have one of the Japanese Olympic para-gliders on standby certain days which will allow 3 person paragliding (instructor, child and adult) although usually it is just the instructor and passenger. The standard ride is about 20 minutes however landing on the outcrop can sometimes be difficult which means the instructor may glide down to the caldera floor and you have to come back up by car. Some days they offer a discount down to ¥10,000 from the usual ¥15,000.

Access by public transport?

Access is basically only by car. There is a bus from Aso Station however there are only 6 buses a day weekdays, and a mere 4 at weekends and holidays (and the buses are not at regular times). The timetable back to Aso Station from Daikanbo is here (in Japanese). The bus take an hour and then you have to walk for 30 minutes up the hill to the main site. The advice from “When Japan” is to hire a car when in Aso as most places have large car parks.