A volcano in southwestern Japan stopped erupting on Friday, after spewing a plume of ash the previous day for the first time in 250 years, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

But the agency retained the alert level of 3 on a scale of 5, as fumarolic gas continued to be observed at Mt. Io, one of the Mt. Kirishima group of volcanos straddling Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures. No one was reported injured, the local government said.

(Photo taken by a Japan Meteorological Agency observation camera)

Following the eruption of the 1,317-meter volcano in Ebino, Miyazaki Prefecture, the agency restricted access to the mountain and its vicinity and raised the alert level from 2 to 3, the highest since the measure was applied to the mountain in 2016.

Although the eruption stopped as of 6:30 a.m., the agency warned of the risk of large flying rocks and pyroclastic flows within about 2 kilometers of the crater.

Mt. Io erupted Thursday afternoon for the first time since 1768, spewing ash up to around 500 meters from the crater.