Japanese Food

After being in Japan for a while, foreign residents often opine that the local food culture does not offer options that cause flop sweat three bites into the meal. So let’s go ahead and search Hiroshima prefecture for restaurants that bring the heat! Ramen and Yakisoba: Akazō The exterior of the building seems innocent enough: The lovely dark red signage that tends to accompany the local ramen chains and standalone is placed in front, and the inside conforms to the norms expected of a trip to one of Japan’s most famous noodle dishes. Everything desired from a ramen shop greets you from the restaurant menu except for a particularly interesting page with quite a bit of peppers. The staff here are proud of their “Red Demon Miso” ramen (赤鬼味噌ラーメン) and have spicy levels ranging from 0 to “God of Death” (死神). Level 0 will simply have flakes of paprika while the other levels will see peppers like habaneros, Trinidad Moruga scorpions, and the Carolina Reaper dance inside your broth.  A small detail that your eyes may miss is that you will be requested to sign a written oath should you decide to take on level 7 or higher. However, many…