Things to do · Live cameras
Japan live cameras: watch Mount Fuji, the snow monkeys, the Alpine Route and Niseko in real time
Right now a camera is pointed at Mount Fuji, another at a snowy valley where wild monkeys come down from the hills, and others at a dam deep in the Northern Alps, and ski slopes in Hokkaido. This guide gathers live cameras run by the places themselves — a prefecture, a monkey park, the company behind a mountain route and a tourism board — and works out when to look, in Japan time and in UTC, so you catch daylight instead of a black screen.
Last checked · Sources
In short
Yes. Official live cameras show Mount Fuji (Shizuoka Prefecture's Fujisan View map), the snow monkeys of Jigokudani in Nagano, the peaks and dam along the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, plus the Niseko ski areas in Hokkaido. They are ordinary public web pages, free to open in a browser. Japan runs nine hours ahead of UTC, so midday there is 03:00 UTC.
How Japan's live cameras work, and what time it is there
Japanese websites call them raibu kamera, and they are everywhere: prefectures, city halls, railway companies, ski areas and visitor centres point cameras at their best-known views and put the pictures online. Some stream video; others show still photos that are replaced at intervals. Every camera in this guide is run by the place itself or by its local government, and the Sources section at the bottom links each operator's own page.
The one thing that trips people up is the clock. NICT, the national research institute that keeps Japan's official clock, defines Japan Standard Time as UTC plus nine hours, tied to the meridian at 135 degrees east. Take nine hours off a Japanese time and you have UTC; then adjust for your own time zone.
Japan time against UTC
- 05:00 in Japan: 20:00 UTC on the previous day
- 09:30 in Japan: 00:30 UTC
- 12:00 in Japan: 03:00 UTC
- 16:00 in Japan: 07:00 UTC
- 21:30 in Japan: 12:30 UTC
Mount Fuji: Shizuoka Prefecture's live camera map
Shizuoka, the prefecture on the southern side of Mount Fuji, runs a page called Live Camera Fujisan View (Raibu Kamera Fujisan Byū in Japanese). At the top sits a map with a Mount Fuji live feed you can start and stop; the prefecture's own three cameras look at the mountain from Shimizu Port in Shizuoka City, from Fujinomiya and from Gotemba. When we checked, the page had last been updated on 2 November 2026.
Below the map is a numbered table of eleven Fuji feeds in the prefecture, each with the name of whoever runs it. The page is in Japanese, but the table is short, and the cameras open from their names.
Who runs the Fuji cameras on Shizuoka's list
- Shimizu Port, Fujinomiya, Gotemba: the prefecture's own three cameras
- Fujinomiya City Hall: a second Fujinomiya view, run by the city
- World Heritage Centre: the Mt Fuji World Heritage Centre, Shizuoka, has its own camera
- Satta Pass: a camera run by Shizuoka City
- Nihondaira: run by Nihondaira Yume Terrace
- Darumayama: Izu City's camera
- Susono: run by Susono City
- Fuji: Fuji City's camera
- Around the mountain: the national land ministry's Fuji Sabo office, which works on erosion control
Because the feeds sit in different towns on the Shizuoka side, a cloud that hides the cone from one place does not always hide it from another. If the first camera shows only grey, try a second one before giving up.
Snow monkeys: the Jigokudani live camera
Jigokudani Yaen-koen is a monkey park in northern Nagano, where the Yokoyu River has cut a gorge below the Shiga Kogen plateau, within Joshinetsu Kogen National Park. The park says the site is 850 metres up and lies under snow for close to a third of every year, and that it has let people watch a wild troop of Japanese macaques since it opened in 1964. Its website has a live camera in two forms, still pictures (seishiga) and video (dōga), both linked from the menu on the top page.
The monkey park at a glance
- 850metres: the park's altitude
- 1964opening year
- ⅓of each year spent under snow, roughly
There is a catch, and the park is open about it: this is not a zoo. The monkeys live in the mountains and choose to come down to the park, and the park warns that on some days they may not come down at all. In autumn the hills are full of food, with the peak from late September to early November in the park's words, and it is also the mating season, so the valley can look empty for long stretches.
To help, the park posts a weekly forecast with the playful title saru-tachi shukkin yohō, which comes out roughly as the monkeys' commute forecast. The one for 9 to 15 November 2026 looked like this.
Monkey forecast for 9–15 November 2026
- Expected arrival: 9:00–10:00 Japan time (00:00–01:00 UTC)
- Expected departure: 14:30–15:30 Japan time (05:30–06:30 UTC)
- Suggested time to visit: 9:30–15:30 Japan time (00:30–06:30 UTC)
The park calls it a rough guide built from recent patterns and data. A new forecast goes up each week.
If you hope to go one day, note one rule from the top page: from December to April, visitors who bought a web ticket in advance get priority entry.
Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route: high peaks and Kurobe Dam
Tateyama Kurobe Kanko, the company that runs the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route, keeps live cameras at six points along it: Midagahara, Murodo, Daikanbo, Kurobedaira, Kurobe Dam and the summit of Mount Tateyama. The English site links all six from one page, and the Japanese site adds a seventh page for Otani. The Japanese camera pages give the height of each spot: 2,450 metres for Murodo and 2,350 metres for Otani.
The best extra is the time-lapse under each live picture. A frame is pulled from the camera every three minutes between 04:00 and 20:00 Japan time, and the frames are joined into a short film of the whole day, posted at around 21:30 Japan time (12:30 UTC). Older days are kept in an archive, so you can watch a morning you slept through.
The Alpine Route cameras
- 6camera points on the English site
- 2,450metres up at Murodo
- 3minutes between time-lapse frames
Watching a whole day in a few minutes
- Open the live camera list on the Alpine Route site and pick a spot, such as Murodo or Kurobe Dam.
- Scroll past the live picture to the time-lapse player.
- Press play to see 04:00 to 20:00 of that day, or open the archive link for an earlier date.
Check the season before you plan a real trip. The English home page gives the 2026 operating period as 15 April to 30 November, and a winter timetable has applied since Wednesday 4 November.
Niseko: ski slopes and snow in Hokkaido
Niseko Tourism, which calls itself the official Niseko tourism website, has a Live page that brings everything a skier checks in the morning onto one screen. It shows weather and lift status for four ski areas, Annupuri, Grand Hirafu, Hanazono and Niseko Village, with links to webcams and to the day's avalanche report.
Webcams on Niseko Tourism's Live page
- Hanazono: Niseko Hanazono Resort
- Annupuri: Niseko Annupuri Ski Area
- Moiwa: Niseko Moiwa Ski Resort
- Grand Hirafu: Niseko Tokyu Grand HIRAFU
- Niseko Village: Niseko Village Green Leaf
- View Plaza: Niseko View Plaza
The avalanche report sits on the same page, under a short reminder to stay safe on the mountain, so anyone planning a real ski day can check it next to the pictures.
Tokyo: the Shibuya camera that went quiet
Tokyo is the city people most often search for, and the hardest to cover with an official camera. SHIBUYA SKY, the observation deck of the Shibuya Scramble Square tower, began streaming its SKY LIVE CAMERA on YouTube on 13 September 2022, looking down on Shibuya Crossing from about 230 metres. Its press release promised crowds by day and a calm Shibuya early in the morning.
When we opened that stream on 13 November 2026, YouTube said the recording was not available, and the deck's channel had no live broadcast running. We have not found another official Tokyo camera that we could confirm is still on air, so none is included here.
Before you trust a live camera link
- The page says who runs the camera
- It sits on that operator's own website
- A date and time appear with the picture
- In daylight, the view matches photos of the place
For Tokyo, a recorded walk is the next best thing. You can stand in Shibuya Crossing, Senso-ji and other famous places with Google Street View, and the Rainbow Bridge walking route shows Tokyo Bay from above the water. The video below is a recording, not a live feed.
Frequently asked questions
Can you watch live cameras in Japan for free?
Yes. Every camera in this guide is on a public web page run by a prefecture, a park, a transport company or a tourism board, and opens in a normal browser.
Can I see Mount Fuji on a live camera?
Several. Shizuoka Prefecture's Live Camera Fujisan View page has a live map with three cameras of its own and a list of eleven feeds around the Shizuoka side, run by cities, two visitor facilities and a national government office.
Can I watch the Jigokudani snow monkeys live?
Yes. The park's website offers both still pictures and video from its camera. The monkeys come down from the hills by choice, so the best chance is during the hours in the park's weekly forecast, which in mid-November 2026 was 9:30 to 15:30 Japan time.
What is the time difference between Japan and UTC?
Japan Standard Time is UTC plus nine hours, and NICT bases it on the 135 degrees east meridian. So 18:00 Japan time equals 09:00 UTC.
Why does a Japan live camera show only darkness?
Usually because it is night in Japan. Subtract nine hours from Japan time to get UTC, then compare with your own clock. Cloud, a camera being serviced or a closed season can also leave a view blank or frozen.
Is there a live cam of Shibuya Crossing?
SHIBUYA SKY started one on YouTube in September 2022, but on 13 November 2026 the stream page said the recording was not available. For now, our Street View tour and recorded walking video are the way to see the crossing.
Which months does the Alpine Route run?
For 2026 the route's English site gives 15 April to 30 November. Plan any real visit between those two dates.
Do the Niseko webcams cover more than one ski area?
Yes. Niseko Tourism's Live page links cameras at Annupuri, Niseko Village, Grand Hirafu, Hanazono and Moiwa, plus Niseko View Plaza, alongside weather, lift status and an avalanche report.
Sources
Official and primary sources used for this page. Checked November 13, 2026.
- Shizuoka Prefecture: Live Camera Fujisan View — the live map, the prefecture's three cameras and the table of eleven feeds with their operators (Japanese)
- Jigokudani Yaen-koen: official site — location, 850 metres, snow for about a third of the year, opened in 1964, live camera menu, winter priority for web tickets (Japanese)
- Jigokudani Yaen-koen: live camera, video — the video camera page (Japanese)
- Jigokudani Yaen-koen: live camera, still pictures — the still camera page
- Jigokudani Yaen-koen: monkey forecast for 9 to 15 November 2026 — expected arrival and departure times, why the monkeys may not come, autumn food and mating season (Japanese)
Show all 13 sources
- Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route: Live Camera — the six camera points
- Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route: Murodo live camera — height, time-lapse every three minutes from 04:00 to 20:00, posted at about 21:30 (Japanese)
- Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route: Otani live camera — height of the Otani camera (Japanese)
- Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route: English home page — 2026 operating period and the winter timetable from 4 November
- Niseko Tourism: Live — weather and lift status, the list of webcams, avalanche report
- NICT: Japan Standard Time (PDF) — Japan Standard Time nine hours ahead of UTC, the 135 degrees east meridian
- Shibuya Scramble Square: SKY LIVE CAMERA press release, 13 September 2022 (PDF) — start date and the height of about 230 metres (Japanese)
- YouTube: SKY LIVE CAMERA stream page — marked as not available when we checked on 13 November 2026
Related guides
To cite or link to this page: Japan live cameras: watch Mount Fuji, the snow monkeys, the Alpine Route and Niseko in real time — Japan Pocket Guide, https://japanpocketguide.com/things-to-do/japan-live-cameras/