On the northern coast of Japan, above Osaka in Hyogo prefecture, you can find the small but well-known town of Yumura. Its claim to fame is as an onsen town: volcanically hot spring water flows through it, creating a healthy, cleansing onsen or spa for you to relax in. Or to boil eggs in.

Really, it’s true. My own weekend in Yumura actually began with a spot of ceremonial egg boiling. Japanese friends took me for an overnight stay in a gorgeous (and expensive) Ryokan – a traditional Japanese inn with food served in your room and onsen baths to experience. Immediately after checking in, we went for a stroll in the village, wearing the getta or wooden sandals provided by the hotel. Apart from being lucky enough to walk through the middle of traditional parade, we also spent some time next to the hot spring river bed in the middle of the town.

This area was crowded with tourists, some who discarded their sandals to dangle their feet in the scalding water, and others, like us, who bought bags of raw eggs from nearby vendors and held them in the boiling hot spring to harden them. The eggs came with specific instructions on timing, and the incredible thing was that when properly cooked, the yolk would be hard, but the white would be runny – quite the opposite to a normal soft-boiled egg. Luckily for me – I wasn’t really keen on the liquid white idea – we left ours dangling in the onsen stream for too long, and they came out properly hard boiled. We shelled and ate them then and there, using little folded packages of salt that had been supplied with them.

After downing a few eggs, and trying again (with no success) to soft boil a bag full, we gave up and returned to the Ryokan. The real onsen experience then began: bathing naked in an incredibly scenic, but also startlingly hot, outdoor bath. Being with a Japanese friend meant that negotiating the etiquette of sandals, towels, washing first and where to dress and undress all became much easier. Relaxed and sleepy from the warm dip, back in our Ryokan room we ate out Kaiseki-ryori meal: elaborate and delicate traditional foods with an emphasis on beauty in the preparation. After eating, the hotel staff return to dismantle the table and to bring out the futon beds, so I ended up sleeping in the same place where I’d eaten my meal. But after all those eggs, a long hot bath and an amazing meal, I know that I slept very well in Yumura.