I Remember Seeing Some Black Eggs,

some time ago, 

then I came across this article about how the ones in Japan are produced, a large volcanic caldera that formed 3,000 years ago when Mount Hakone erupted at Owakudani, also known as the ‘Great Boiling Valley’ the strange black hue comes from boiling them in the sulphur-rich hot water pools in the area, the sulphur in the water reacts with the eggs’ shells, making them black and imparting a sulphur tinged flavour and odour to the cooked egg inside, the eggs are loaded onto large metal crates and plunged into the 80˚C spring water for about an hour, next they’re steamed at 100˚C for 15 minutes resulting in a perfectly hard-boiled egg but with a black shell, there are two choices of how to get there, a 15-minute hike or taking the Hakone Ropeway down by Lake Ashi, but if either of these do not appeal the life giving eggs, it is rumour that eating one will extend your life by 7 years, you can buy them in town at 500Yen for a bag of five, that’s 35 extra years added instantly to your lifespan, not sure that I could eat 5 eggs at one go, still an extra 14 or so years might be nice! just a small point if you are going to visit, the area is still volcanically active so look out for warnings like this one as the area can sometimes be closed.