Here is some awesome time-lapse footage of the eruption of Mount Asama, an active volcano straddling the border of Gunma and Nagano prefectures north of Tokyo, which suddenly awoke in the early morning hours of Monday, February 2 (0155 and 0230 JPT). The sky is so beautiful in the stages just prior to the blast.
http://bousai.maechan.net/volcano/asama/maechan/movie/20090202_0155-0230.html

fascinating! that is some super powerful lens they used to film this---awesome!

thanks for posting the video.

It looks like one of those sparking fountains you set-off on your driveway on the 4th of July, except it ain't sparks, it's red-hot mag-mah (bwahaha).