Residents of the Lake Toya hot springs resort area, access to which has been prohibited since eruptions began on Mount Usu on March 31, were briefly allowed to return home Tuesday for the first time in more than six weeks.
The spa area in the town of Abuta is located close to the craters created in the latest series of eruptions.
Local authorities permitted 878 evacuee families who live in relatively safe parts of the area to briefly visit their homes to fetch clothes and other belongings.
On Tuesday, 41 families from the northwestern part of the area -- divided into smaller groups -- were driven to their homes by firefighters and allowed to stay for just 30 minutes.
Emergency vehicles were prepared in case more eruptions began, and the residents were ordered to wear helmets.
Kohei Omizu, 52, deputy principal of a local junior high school, told reporters after the brief visit to his home, "I saw cracks on the roads nearby, but my house was undamaged."
Mitsuhiro Togeya, 25, another local resident, said, "The front door to my house would not open, so I had to break the bathroom window to get inside and fetch my clothes and other daily necessities.
"The house itself did not seem to have been much damaged," he added with an expression of relief.