JAPAN FOOD TOUR | EAT BLACK EGGS IN HAKONE
On your Japan food tour, if you are in Hakone, a must do activity is to go to Owakudani. At Owakudani, you might be asked if you want to try kuro tamago or literally black egg. You would understand why the eggs are black if you visit Owakudani and see its breathtaking views of the sulfurous fumes being expelled from the side of Mt. Hakone - an active volcano.
Owakudani is the only place in the world that sells these special black eggs! But you might be wondering why they are black. No they use no artificial coloring or any kind of artificial ingredients - it’s 100 percent all natural. These eggs are slowly boiled for sixty minutes in a pond that holds water from hot springs at about 80 degrees C (176 F) which is naturally heated from the Earth. Iron is absorbed by the egg from the natural hot spring water. The color of the eggs is a result of a chemical reaction with hydrogen sulfide (hydrogen sulfide is black). The black eggs are transferred to a steam container where it's steamed for 15 minutes to complete cooking the egg. They actually don’t taste that much different from a regular boiled egg, but it definitely is delicious!
It is said that eating this egg adds 7 years to your life. According to legend, there is a jizo (statue of a guardian deity of children) located in Owakudani who promotes longevity and child raising. It was said that it was carved by Kukai or Kobo Daishi who is the founder of Shingon Buddhism in Japan who offered a prayer for the people suffering who saw this hellish scenery of a valley. This jizo became known as a good luck symbol and extending life spans if black eggs were consumed (there used to be a hot spring to cook egg near this jizo). The number 7 is used because it is a lucky number associated with the Seven Deities of Good Fortune and over the course of time it began to be associated with these black eggs.
If you travel to Hakone, this is a must eat and see on your Japan food tour. You can only buy a bag of 5 for 500 yen
Location:
You can access the Owakudani Station via rope-way on the Hakone Rope-way. Once you arrive, you will literally see black eggs being advertised everywhere. You wont miss it!
Address of Owakudani Station:
〒250-0631 Kanagawa, Ashigarashimo District, Hakone, 仙石原
Hakone Travel: Eating black eggs at Owakudani