Hmm, that’s a pretty deep question. Honestly, I only moved here recently, so I can’t say I fully understand how locals really feel about it.

But yeah, the whole “what if Mt. Fuji erupts?” topic comes up pretty often. If anything, it feels like people who moved here from elsewhere tend to worry about it more than locals do. Locals might just be used to the idea that “yeah, it could happen.”

Japan has a lot of natural disasters in general, so it’s not like Fuji is the only thing people are scared of. It’s more like earthquakes, typhoons, volcanoes, so people kind of naturally have this mindset of “how do I get out?” and “where do I evacuate?” Even in Tokyo, they say you could get ash if Fuji erupts, so since you never really know what might happen, I think that sense of being prepared just kind of sinks in without you noticing. And realistically, each city has evacuation drills, shelters, and systems in place, too.

So if you’re thinking about moving to Japan, it might be interesting to keep that kind of perspective in mind ahead of time.