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Fumaroles of Mt. Hakone volcanic activity emitting white smoke.
After changing from the cable car to the ropeway at Hayamiyama Station on the main route of the Hakone tour, While enjoying an aerial walk for a while the scenery suddenly changes. The lush greenery disappears, and white plumes of smoke billow out from the crumbling, bare rock. This is Owakudani, an explosive crater created by the most recent volcanic activity in Hakone. The white gas spewed from the fumaroles all year round contains sulfur and has a distinctive smell.
If you get off at Owakudani Station on the ropeway, you can observe the fumes up close. The yellowish color of the rock surface is due to the crystallization of sulfur. Where the hot spring water gushes out, the famous "black eggs" are made. When soaked in acidic water at high temperatures, it becomes a boiled egg with a black shell. It is said that if you eat one, your life will be extended by seven years. There are several stores in the valley where you can buy them.
In the southeastern part of the area, called Jigokusawa, there is a stone chamber piled up with sulfur pores, where water is poured into the chamber and the hot spring water is supplied to Sengokuhara and Gora.
White smoke billows from the mountainside. Photo courtesy of Tourism Division, Planning and Tourism Department, Hakone Town
Take the boardwalk to get close to the fumaroles. Photo courtesy of Tourism Division, Planning and Tourism Department, Hakone Town
A hot spring is created and supplied in a stone chamber with sulfur pores. Photo courtesy of Tourism Division, Planning and Tourism Department, Hakone Town
The famous black eggs can be bought at several stores. Photo courtesy of Tourism Division, Planning and Tourism Department, Hakone Town
Steaming area for making black eggs. Photo courtesy of Tourism Division, Planning and Tourism Department, Hakone Town
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There's a visitor center where you can take a break, plus restrooms and a souvenir shop. Super convenient.
I visited on a snowy day in mid-March. The ropeway was stopped in the morning, so I went after it started running again in the afternoon. In the end, everything was completely white and I couldn't see anything, so I just ate a black egg and headed back. I'd love to come again on a sunny day.
At Owakudani, you can try the famous black eggs, which are boiled in the sulfur hot springs—legend says eating one adds seven years to your life! Plus, the observation deck offers stunning views of Mt. Fuji and Hakone's natural scenery.
In the Owakudani area, you can try lots of foods cooked with geothermal heat, like black eggs (eggs boiled in the hot springs) and noodles made with geothermal steam. These dishes have a unique texture and flavor, making them a real highlight of the trip.
You can smell the sulfur from far away when you take the ropeway up. The black eggs steamed with the hot spring steam are also really tasty.
