御嶽山 is a 3,067 m active volcano whose summit stands inside a legally designated 警戒区域 — a restricted zone declared under Japan's Disaster Countermeasures Basic Act — which is opened to walkers only for a limited window each summer, announced season by season by Kiso Town, Otaki Village and Nagano Prefecture. The 2014 eruption killed 63 people on these slopes, and the safety regime built afterwards is still in force: helmets are requested for the climb and can be hired at the ropeway and at the prefectural visitor centre, and the お鉢めぐり crater-rim circuit stays closed even when the summit corridor is open. Within that window the usual day is the 黒沢口 route from the ropeway's Iimorikogen station up to 剣ヶ峰, about 7 km there and back for just under 1,000 m of climbing. Confirm the current restriction map with the town or village office before committing to the day — the boundaries move between seasons and in bad weather.

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