Aso: Living with a Volcano

On the caldera plain of Aso in Kumamoto stretch vast grasslands, the largest in Japan. Mount Aso at the center is an active volcano that is still repeatedly erupting. Fresh volcanic ashes with almost no organic matter easily turn this land totally infertile. This is a story of a satoyama on a pastoral land where people and cattle live together with an active volcano at their doorsteps. Explore an year of the grassy satoyama and see how the idyllic scenery has been protected by the people's constant effort for a mindboggling time and how ancient wisdom still supports the lives of the locals.