Owakudani’s Black Eggs Hakone Japan walk tour 🇯🇵

#hakone #japan #travel

Owakudani is an active volcanic valley in the famed Hakone region west of Tokyo. It’s known to locals as "Jigokudani" (the Valley of Hell) and is famous for its black eggs, which are boiled in the sulfurous waters to give the egg shells a distinctive color.

The Owakudani area will surely take your breath away, not just for the magnificent view of nearby Mt. Fuji on a clear day, but also from the rising volcanic gases that originate underneath the valley itself. When you look around, there is an infinite amount of steam pouring up through vents scattered around the mountain and a very distinct odor that will remind you that you are indeed traversing an active volcanic valley.

Black eggs, you say!? Don’t worry — they are regular chicken eggs. The albumen and other parts of the egg still look the same as a traditional boiled egg, but it’s the manner in which they are boiled that makes them a little bit special.

These eggs are cooked in natural spring water for 60 minutes at a temperature of 80 degrees Celsius. They are then steamed at 100 degrees for 15 minutes in steel baskets.

The water that they are boiled in contains sulfur and iron, thus giving the shells their unique color. The black eggs, commonly called Kuro-Tamago by the locals, are perfectly safe, although they may smell like sulfur. In fact, eating them is believed to add a few years to your life span – on average, five to seven years!

The price for four eggs is ¥500 (as of April 2024). You can purchase these special eggs at Oowakudani Kurotamagokan, a store near Owakudani Station. There are also plenty of other omiyage (souvenirs) to choose from, if you are not too keen about bringing home the eggs. There are manju (bean jam buns) that have been designed to look like the black eggs, as well as tasty cookies!