Japan raises volcanic warning at Hakone resort

A policeman mans a roadblock halting access to a popular hot springs resort in Hakone, Kanagawa prefecture on May 6, 2015. Japan's meteorological agency on May 5 issued a warning to limit access to the popular hot springs resort of Hakone after a nearby volcano became active and began belching steaming gas. - AFP PHOTO

The warning upgrade, which bans entry to areas around the Owakudani volcanic vent, came after seismologists detected minor but more frequent volcanic tremors at the popular tourist site, some 80 kilometres (about 50 miles) southwest of Tokyo, an official said.

“We raised the warning to level two after detecting the tremors getting relatively bigger and hitting deeper points,” he said.