Owakudani Information Center

The Ōwakudani Information Center is a compact but helpful stop for anyone wanting context behind the volcanic activity. It offers simple displays explaining the geology, the history of eruptions, and why the valley produces its famous black eggs. The space is easy to walk through, and there’s no pressure to spend long — it’s more of a quick educational boost than a full museum. On a weekday, there was no wait at all, making it an effortless addition to the visit. What stands out is how the center adds meaning to what you see outside. After reading the explanations, the steam vents and sulfur clouds feel less like scenery and more like a living geological process. It’s not flashy, but it’s informative and grounding. For travelers who appreciate understanding the “why” behind a place, it’s a worthwhile stop. I’d rate it 4 out of 5 for clarity, accessibility, and enhancing the overall experience.

We reached Owakudani from Hakone-Yumoto Station using a combination of train, cable car, and ropeway. The ropeway was especially exciting for me, as we could see Mt. Fuji partially covered by clouds but still visible. From Owakudani Station, the main volcanic area is about a 10-minute walk. One of the highlights was trying the famous black eggs, which are hard-boiled in the volcanically heated waters. Their shells turn black due to a chemical reaction with the hot spring minerals, and legend says eating one adds seven years to your life. Although the shells look unusual, the inside is just a normal boiled egg. We didn’t see them being cooked, but they’re sold ready-made nearby. As expected, they tasted just like regular eggs—only with a much more memorable appearance. Owakudani was formed by a volcanic eruption over 3,000 years ago, and it’s basically a dramatic valley full of steam vents and hot springs. It’s one of the most popular spots in Hakone because of its unique, almost otherworldly scenery—and if the weather’s good, you can even see Mt. Fuji peeking through. Just a heads-up: sometimes the area closes because of volcanic gases, so it’s worth checking before you go.

The site is huge, and the view is stunning! There’s also a really cheap museum you can visit for 100 yen. The ropeway is a bit expensive, and the wait can be long depending on the time of day—be prepared to wait. Beware of traffic jams on the way up the mountain!

We had an excellent experience at Owakudani. The landscape is incredible—sulfur vents steaming all around, the smell of the volcano in the air, and if you’re lucky with clear weather, amazing Mt. Fuji views. The highlight was trying the famous black eggs—warm, tasty, and fun to share (plus the local legend of adding seven years to your life makes it even better). Shops and facilities were clean, staff were kind, and everything felt organized. Truly a unique stop in Hakone. Pro tips: • Weekdays are calmer → much less crowded and easier to enjoy the views. • Check the weather → Mt. Fuji is visible only on clear days; worth planning around. • Black eggs → sold in 5-packs, perfect for sharing with family/friends. • Bring a jacket → it’s cooler and windy up here compared to Hakone town. • Ropeway check → sometimes it closes due to volcanic gases or strong winds, so confirm before heading up.

Top views here! We headed straight to look at the sulphur fields and had stunning views over the whole area. Then down to the parking lot, where you get the best and unobstructed views from Mt. Fuji if the weather is your friend. A nice gimmick are the black eggs cooked in the sulphur springs, which are said to prolong your life.

We were so excited and hungry on our Klook bus tour after arriving to Hakone Ōwakudani Valley. We ordered 4 black eggs pack for ¥500, they accept cash only. Although they tasted like normal boiled eggs it was still fascinating to eat the famous black eggs. We were told eating a black egg prolongs your life 7 years! My favourite was taking the Hakone Ropeway Ōwakudani cable car to see the views of the volcanic valley. It was very windy day and cool seeing it in person.

This is my second time visiting Hakone. Just a simple stroll around the area this time. I took the Hakone Tozan Railway from Hakone-Yumoto Station to Gora Station, then continued on the Hakone Tozan Cable Car to Sōzan Station. From there, I bought a one-way Hakone Ropeway ticket (¥2000), which allows unlimited stops along the route. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t great this time and very misty, so the view from the ropeway wasn’t clear. Still, it was a relaxing ride through the cool mountain air.

Stunning views. The original name was " valley of hell" rename Owakudani. The sulfur smell is quite strong. Try the famous black eggs; they say that is you eat one black egg you will be 7 years younger

Before we left Japan, this was our last private Charter tour (car rental for a 10-hour day trip with a driver to Hakone). We customized our day trip routes and we chose to go to Hakone Owakudani, Hakone cable car, Hakone pirate ship, and Hakone Shrine). I last visited Hakone many years ago. Our driver picked us up from our hotel at 8 a.m. and then we started the journey. It was Sunday that day but we couldn't believe there was terrible traffic. It took us 4 hours to arrive at the top of the Hakone Owakudani Station (we stayed in Ueno and we should told the driver to park at the cable car area first instead of driving up to the top) When we arrived there, it was close to noon time. Our driver told us that he would pick us up after we took the cable car and pirate ship and meet us at the port of Motohakone-Ko. We first walked around the Hakone Owakudani station. We saw the volcanic hot spring from afar and saw the sulfur. The smell was strong but we got used to it after a while. We checked out the store and bought the famous black hot spring eggs. According to local myth in Hakone, Japan, eating black eggs, cooked in the hot springs of Owakudani can add five to seven years to your life. Four pieces of Black eggs cost only 500 Japanese yen (less than $4 USD). I bought some souvenirs at the gift shop and then we checked out the Hakone Geomuseum. It was a small Geomuseum so the admission was only 100 yen per person. (less than $1 USD per person). We liked the Geomuseum. It was small but informative. It shows all the Hakone Hot Spring photos, and lava stones, and explains what volcanic gas and sulfur are. It is a good spot for local school field trips. My girls did some coloring activity there, and then we bought our cable car tickets there. It was worth visiting Hakone Owakudani and we also took some nice photos there. Btw, we also tried the delicious eggs and vanilla soft-serve ice-cream besides the Black eggs!

I can't believe we almost missed Owakudani on our trip to Hakone. We were only in Hakone for 2 nights and were planning on spending the entire time soaking in an Onsen but thought we should at least stop at one attraction while we were there. Owakudani was easy to get to. Our hotel shuttle took my husband and I to the Gora station, where we jumped on the cable car that took us to Soun Station. From Soun Station, we hopped on the Owakudani Ropeway to get to Owakudani . The long cable car ride to Owakudani was filled with scenic views of the surrounding mountains. The smell of sulfur creeped into the cable car as we got closer to the volcanic valley. You can see the steam rise from the sulfur vents. On a day with clear skies, you can see Mt. Fuji from Owakudani. Unfortunately, when we were there, it was super cloudy. My husband and I were still happy we checked out Owakudani, though. We made sure we ate a couple of the black eggs while we were there. The black eggs boiled in Owakudani's hot springs are said to add 7 years to your life for every one egg you eat. And it's all part of the fun. The eggs might have a slight sulfuric odor to it but otherwise tasted like a regular hard-boiled egg. There are other food shops and souvenir shops up here as well. Owakudani is definitely worth a stop.

We accidentally drove to the top, instead of parking at the cable cart area first and taking it up. At the top, there were gift shops, snack shops, restaurants, and even a little geo museum. It was so interesting to see the volcanic hot spring from afar. The sulfur smell was super strong, so it smelled like rotten eggs everywhere though. We also bought the hot spring eggs. It did come with a little salt packet, but it's just an egg. Smelled a bit bad, but tastes normal. Cool for photos though, since it's black and you can pose with the black egg statue too. They actually had 2 egg statues, so if one line is super long, maybe take a look at the second one. Our friend was waiting for it for a while, and when we walked to the gem museum, we saw the second one had no line. We also checked out the geo museum. A few parts are interactive, which my toddler loved. The rest you just looked at some rocks. It's a short exhibit, but was only 100 yen.

If the legends are true, I'll be living 21 years longer than I would have previous to my visit to Owakudani, since each of the three black eggs (kurotamago), boiled in nearby volcanic pools, that I ate, added seven years to my life. The giftshop here, at the apex of the Hakone Ropeway, has your usual selection of souvenirs, tchotchkes, pottery, gifts and other kitsch, but the real treasure of Owakudani, besides the gorgeous views and the pungent aroma of sulphur, is the experience of standing atop a living volcano, and taking in the rather charmingly absurd culture that has sprung up around it. I mean, come on, charcoal soft serve ice cream? What will they think of next? (It's awesome, by the way!) I also scored some hot, freshly baked sweet potato action from a local's hibachi truck driving around nearby, which happened to be driving around a few blocks away, so I ended up fat, happy, and slightly more immortal!

If you can't take the smell of sulfur, avoid here. Smell is definitely there. They were closed for a while during active volcano, but it is open now when I visited. This area is known for black eggs. Cooking egg with sulfur water makes the egg shell black and eating this black egg extends your life by 7 years, so they said.... Hiking train is supposedly available near here but I couldn't find them. Unlike green downtown Hakone area, elevation is higher and weather is definitely different. It was a bit windy too.

The appeal of this place confuses me. You take a ropeway (similar to a ski gondola) up to a few souvenir shops and a canyon resembling a construction site. That's it. We were told that there used to be hiking trails to hot springs but they have been closed for a while. It smells like sulfur. There were loads and loads and loads of tourists elbowing each other though the gift shop and waiting in a long queue to purchase black hard boiled eggs. Legend has it that each black egg consumed adds 7 years to your life. My main takeaway from this excursion is that if you open your own business, claim that your food causes longevity.

Very impressive scenic spot of the Hakone onsen valley. Lets just get the cons out of the way. Be prepare to be stuck with A LOT OF tourists and vistiors! Other than that everything was amazing! The ropeway onto this spot was amazing, what a ride! The scenery is good all 360*. There are a few gift shops that sell the black egg, I didnt get it. It looked more like food coloring than natural black dye to me. Lots of vending machines, toilet, food vendors. Yeah there is sulfer smell, come on, it's on a volcano.

Owakudani is an active volcanic valley and a popular travel destination when visiting Hakone. The view is very nice taking the rope way up. I would take a advantage to come here since it's part of the Hakone free pass. Looks wise there isn't much to see besides literally the volcanic valley. A thing I disliked was nope of the shops sold one of the sulfur egg you would have to buy 5. Since we were in the area we had to try it since the myth is eating an egg extends your life by 7 years.

Really cool in spot in Hakone that you can not miss! It's a volcanic valley and is on the way when you use Hakone Ropeway to get between Gora and Lake Ashi sight seeing cruise spot. It's just a very unique spot to check out and you get an awesome view of Mount Fuji on a clear day! They have the legendary owakudani black eggs that supposedly gives you an extra 7 years on your lifespan if you eat one. Unfortuantely, they only sell 5 eggs at a time for 500 yen. It's not expensive, but as a solo traveler, how am I going to eat all 5 eggs.... you can try and find another tourist to split with you, but it was a little awkward to for me so I just bought the bag for the fun of it lol. It was not too crowded when I went, but then again, I went at around 10AM in order to complete the Hakone Loop basically. You will get a waft of sulfur scent but it doesn't get too bad in my opinion. For some reason, I smelled it more when I was in the cable car on the way up than when I actually got to the site. Anyways, definitely worth checking out when you're in Hakone!

This is one of the stops on the Hakone Ropeway. You can check out the visitor center, eat black eggs, take pics of the valley, and hop on/off the ropeway. I don't believe there is too much to do so you might need 30 minutes to 1 hour here. I recommend a stop here if you're already on the ropeway or heading to the open air museum.

Valley of Hell, otherwise known as Owakudani. When you're on the ropeway, you can see the volcanic activity and steam pummeling up towards the ropeway. If you haven't seen this before, stop at Owakudani so you can get a closer look. They're also famous for their black eggs which add 7 years to your life (common in many other asian cuisines). Skip it - tastes like an egg and is rather expensive for what's essentially a boiled egg. Pro tip, walk to the right of valley, towards the parking lot until the security guard stops you or you see the majestic Mt. Fuji. We walked the area, saw this and quickly realized that no one knew this view existed. We got a ton of amazing shots of the Mt. Fuji and selfies galore.

Very impressive view from the ropeway. The mountain is still smoking from the volcanic activity. The smell of sulphur is quite strong up here.