Owakudani

The drive to Owakudani was pretty long, and unfortunately, we got stuck in a massive traffic jam for at least an hour trying to go up. Surprisingly, once we reached the top, there were plenty of parking spaces available—not sure why there was such a bottleneck. The main attraction is the volcanic valley with active sulfur vents, which is interesting to see. Most people come here to take photos of the famous black egg, eat ice cream, and try the black eggs themselves. Honestly, the black egg just tastes like a normal boiled egg—nothing special. If you’re here for Instagram photos, then it’s worth it, but otherwise, it’s a bit underwhelming. On our way back down, the park was closing, and we still saw a long line of cars stuck in traffic trying to go up. Overall, it’s an okay experience, but the traffic and crowds can really dampen the visit. Maybe plan ahead and go early to avoid the chaos! 🥚📸

The sulphur smell on top of the mountain was not noticeable, which made the view all the more enjoyable. It was disheartening to see the remains of mining, effectively left as trash, and the continuous smog spewing out. The nature surrounding the mountain appears to be quite pristine - it would be nice to have a closer look via alternative rope way routes

Go on a clear day and you'll see Fuji-san!!!! What an amazing experience. The location is amazing, the active volcano is a nice experience the sulfur smell may get to some, but we did not have a problem with it. The view of Mt Fuji was amazing, it completely took our breath away. A must try is the black egg, tastes great and is a good treat for making it to the top. Some notes for helping you prepare for your journey, it will take a bit of time to get up the volcano and back down, so be prepared. We went during autumn and it got cold and windy very quickly, we packed smart and were ready for the colder weather at the very top. A must visit in Hakone. I would do this again!

It was very nice to see. I rode the cable car up, walked around the outside seeing the scenery, all the deposits coming to the surface, and the smoke and gassed... Then inside I saw the "DO NOT RECOMMEND FOR PEOPLE WITH ASTHMA" signs. I've been coughing for a couple days, but the experience was very nice.

A wonderful spot with breathtaking views! You can enjoy a clear view of Mount Fuji and the serene valley, making it a perfect place to relax and take in the beauty of the surroundings.

A Unique and Memorable Experience! Owakudani is an incredible destination that offers stunning views and fascinating geothermal activity. The sulfuric steam rising from the mountain creates a surreal and otherworldly atmosphere, and the view of Mount Fuji on a clear day is simply breathtaking. The Owakudani Information Center is a great starting point for your visit. The staff are friendly and helpful, providing detailed information about the area, its history, and safety tips for navigating the volcanic landscape. The facilities are clean and well-maintained, and the small shop inside offers a nice selection of souvenirs and snacks. Don’t miss the famous black eggs (Kuro-Tamago) – they’re a fun and unique snack said to add years to your life! The cable car ride to and from Owakudani is smooth and offers unparalleled views of the region. A must-visit if you’re exploring Hakone! Be prepared for the sulfuric smell – it’s all part of the adventure.

Great place to visit and enjoy eggs cooked from the volcanic activity. Can be a little bit cold in the winter time and the wind can get very strong. The view is breathtaking and on a clear day you can get some really good pictures of Mount Fuji. If you’re driving, it’s a very fun drive but there can be a little bit congestion on the road and for parking. A heavily touristed area and still a fun place to visit . Very unique experience and very rememberable .

Really great place for a day trip in the Mount Fuji area. We took the cable car to Owakudani and then further to Lake Ashi. Seeing the sulfur gas as you ride across the valley was really cool. Make sure you stop at the vistor center at the top of the mountain to check out all the sulfur products and eat a black egg.

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.