Owakudani Vent

　　Our waiting time for a gondola was very short. The gondola commanding a fine view of mountains, crater lakes around Mt. Fuji and some vents spewing water vapor was one of the highlights of our Hakone tour. As the gondola went up, the water vapor came up in front of my eyes. Just after passing the peak, the scenery changed completely from the green hillside to the bare wild surface of the mountain. At the same time, I felt the smell of the volcanic gas. Looking down, there were a few personnel working. I presumed that they were from the official authorities and monitored the activity of the volcanic activity. Under their strict management, you can enjoy sightseeing there.
　　We got off at Owakudani station and took a walk around, but it was considerably cold for autumn clothes. We took refuge in the station building and got this site's institution of black eggs, which were produced by the heat of water vapor from the natural vent. These kind of eggs are seen in Beppu in Kyushu, but their eggs are white. I didn't know why eggs there were colored black. Anyway the material of popular black eggs are ordinary eggs and the energy is free as it's from natural vapor. Most tourists get them. The business must be lucrative, with 5 eggs for 500 yen(3 US.dollars). Its taste should be naturally the same as ordinary boiled eggs, but due to the cold air, it was very nice for us.