Owakudani or “the Great Boiling Valley” in Hakone, Japan, is barely
the perfect tourist spot. However it’s a large volcanic caldera formed almost
three thousand years ago following a large eruption of Mount Hakone. It was also
known as "Jigokudani" (the Valley of Hell) by locals some time ago.
Once you step foot on its wondrous soil, it will surely will take your breath
away. Owakudani is still active with
boiling pools of sulphur-rich water and huge vents spewing forth steam and
volcanic fumes of hydrogen sulphide and sulphur dioxide. Because the whole area
has a robust smell of rotten eggs, but it’s the eggs the tourists who visit the
Great Boiling Valley are seeking for.
The Owakudani black eggs or “Kuro-tamago” are regular chicken
eggs that are tough in the naturally hot water pools. The sulphur in the water
renders the eggs’ shell black while also imparting a particular smell to it. Thus
the local peoples say that taking one can prolong one’s life by 7 years. If you
take two, and you’ll get 14 extra years added to your life. Therefore, the eggs
are boiled on top of a hill which peoples can reach by a kilometer long hike or
by taking the Hakone Ropeway. Here from this vantage point one can have a superb
view of Mt. Fuji that lies next door. This area is prone to landslides due to
the continuous volcanic activity. In potentially dangerous conditions, the
walkways to the egg boiling springs may be closed.
The eggs are continually cooked in large batches in the
waters of a spring located on top of a hill. They’re loaded onto large metal
crates and plunged into the 80˚C spring water for about an hour. Then they are steamed
at 100˚C for 15 minutes. They come out perfectly black, with the insides still
white and yellow like a regular boiled egg. The eggs are eaten right there, also
the spring where they are boiled and sold. So, small wooden tables are laid out
in the open for guests to peel the blackened shells and enjoy the soft sulphur
tinged flesh inside. The black eggs are so popular throughout Hakone and one
need not always visit Owakudani to eat them. They’re sold in numerous shops
around the town in small bags of six for 500 Yen. There is nothing wrong about
eating sulphur boiled eggs, actually. If you think they are gross, you should
sense how the Chinese like their eggs.
