The Owakudani region located in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan is known as the Boiling Valley” or Jigokudani – “Hell Valley” because of the sulfur smell that has spread throughout this area for many years.
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This place was originally a basin that appeared about 3,000 years ago as a result of the last eruption of Hakone volcano and frequent landslides that created a series of streams hot water.
Even though there has been no eruption for more than 800 years, Hakone volcano remains strongly active due to hot underground gas flows and volcanic material. In 2015 more than 115 earthquakes in one day were recorded in this area.
Not only does Owakudani possess amazing natural beauty, it also attracts a large number of domestic and foreign tourists because of its unique and “one-of-a-kind” specialties. One of the “trademark” dishes of “Hell Valley” is kuro-tamago, a mysterious black egg with the effect of “immortality”.
According to local people, kuro-tamago are originally eggs Ordinary chicken has been “elevated” to a specialty by special processing.
Specifically, the eggs are boiled in natural volcanic hot springs of the Owakudani region. The hydrogen sulfide content in this water causes the eggshell to turn black like coal.
To cook kuro-tamago eggs, they will be placed in iron cages and boiled in a hot spring at 80 degrees Celsius for about 1 hour and then steamed for another 15 minutes at 100 degrees. C.
Despite its mysterious appearance, the flavor inside this egg is no different from regular eggs. However, thanks to the rich mineral content from a thousand-year-old volcano, this egg dish becomes nutritious and brings many health benefits.
When the tourist area is still open, visitors can directly observe the process. Boiling longevity eggs in hot springs. If you want to enjoy, you can buy eggs at the tourist area or cable car station. However, each person can only buy a package of 5 black eggs with salt for 500 yen (about 105,000 VND) to live 35 years longer.
Even though this is just a trick to “attract” customers and there has not been any research to prove the truth or falsehood of the “immortality” use of this egg, the people of Owakudani still believe that they can brings benefits and luck.
However, each person coming here is advised not to eat more than 2 black eggs. They believe that eating too many eggs will be counterproductive and bring bad luck to themselves.
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