What are the black eggs from Owakudani?

The black eggs, or 'kuro-tamago,' are ordinary chicken eggs boiled in Owakudani's sulphur-rich hot springs, which turn their shells black.

Does eating Owakudani's black eggs really add seven years to your life?

A thousand-year-old local legend claims that eating one black egg adds seven years to your life, though there is no scientific evidence to support this.

How can I reach Owakudani from Tokyo?

Owakudani can be reached from Tokyo by taking a train to Odawara, followed by a series of local transports including mountain trains, cable cars, and the Hakone Ropeway.

Home / Lifestyle / Owakudani's Black Eggs: A Taste of Longevity

Owakudani's Black Eggs: A Taste of Longevity

29 Jan

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Summary

Owakudani's black eggs are boiled in sulphur-rich hot springs for an hour.
A legend claims eating one black egg adds seven years to your life.
The volcanic valley Owakudani is an active geothermal zone requiring caution.

Owakudani's Black Eggs: A Taste of Longevity

Japan's Owakudani, a steaming volcanic valley in Hakone, offers a unique tourist experience rooted in ancient folklore. Known as the 'Great Boiling Valley,' this geothermally active zone, formed around 3,000 years ago, is famous for its 'kuro-tamago' or black eggs.

These eggs gain their distinctive black shells after being boiled for about an hour in the valley's sulphur-rich hot springs. Local legend, dating back over a thousand years to the monk Kobo Daishi, states that consuming one black egg can add seven years to one's life, a belief tied to the number seven's symbolic significance in Japanese culture.