Black Egg - Owakudani, Hakone, Japan - Drawing Waymarks on Waymarking.com

Owakudani is a volcanic basin created some 3,000 odd years ago after the eruption of Mount Hakone. The resulting crater and subsequent landslides opened up a series of hot springs and sulfur vents that give the entire area a distinctive Dante-ish appearance… and smell.

The barren, rocky cliffs of Owakudani are eternally shrouded in a sulfuric mist that causes the whole area to smell like eggs that have gone past their expiration date. That and the fact that the caldera’s gurgling waters are being used to boil dozens of eggs.

Kuro-tamago, literally “black eggs,” are regular chicken eggs boiled in Owakudani’s natural hot springs. The sulfur in the water turns the eggshells as black as charcoal. According to local lore, eating one egg will add seven years to your life. You can only buy the black eggs in packs of five for the affordable price of ¥500. This might help explain why Japanese people live longer than everyone else. For the same price as a pint of beer you can add 35 extra years of life.

To witness the eggs being boiled in the hot springs, take a short walk up the mountain from the Owakudani ropeway station. The trek takes about 15 minutes, or roughly one-fifth of the time it takes to cook the eggs. Reportedly, the kuro-tamago are boiled for an hour in the 80-degree hot springs (roughly 175 degrees Fahrenheit), and then steamed for an additional 15 minutes. The eggs themselves taste like regular boiled eggs. They can be purchased directly at the tourist area of the hot springs or at the Owakudani ropeway station.

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Note: You can get to the area by car or bus, but we liked using the cable car to get there. We tasted the black eggs and couldn't see any difference in taste from the regular chicken eggs.

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