Tokyo (CNN) -- A Japanese volcano was erupting for a second day on Thursday, spewing smoke and ash up to 9,800 feet (3,000 meters) into the air, officials said. The smoke from the Mt. Shinmoe volcano, on the boundary between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, is rising and falling from the volcano crater, said the Kagoshima Meteorological Observatory. Some people in Miyazaki voluntarily evacuated Thursday morning, but all have returned home, and the government has issued no evacuation advice, according to the Miyazaki disaster prevention office. However, the alert level was raised Wednesday to 3. That prevents people from entering the mountain area. The eruption began Wednesday. Smoke was drifting southeast, the observatory said. Ash was seen in Miyakonojo city in Kagoshima prefecture. The last Mt. Shinmoe eruption was in July. A large-scale eruption such as this one, however, was last observed about 52 years ago, the meteorological observatory said.
Mt. Shinmoe's last eruption was in July . Some residents evacuated voluntarily, but have returned .