Mt. Kyonotake
A singular shield volcano
Mt. Kyonotake is one of the few shield volcanoes in Japan completely visible from base to summit. Shield volcanoes get their name from their unique shape, which resembles a warrior’s round shield placed on the ground. They are formed through eruptions of low-viscosity basaltic lava, and in general are known as complex volcanoes. Mt. Kyonotake, located in the center of Fukue Island’s Miiraku Peninsula, is also a monogenetic volcano, meaning it has erupted only once. This is true of all the Goto Island volcanoes.
The Miiraku Peninsula was formed by Mt. Kyonotake’s eruption about 300,000 years ago. A Japan Self-Defense Force base is now located at the summit, where a pond is believed to mark the spot of the volcano’s crater. A few circular-shaped farms in the area grow satsuma imo, a kind of sweet potato, because the water here is not conducive to rice cultivation.