Bakudanya Nagarekawa (Hiroshima Tsukemen)

Hiroshima has two great noodle obsessions, and after okonomiyaki comes tsukemen - but not the thick, warm dipping ramen of Tokyo. Hiroshima tsukemen is its own creation: springy noodles served cold, alongside crisp cabbage, spring onion, slices of chashu pork and boiled egg, all dunked into a bright red dipping sauce loaded with sesame, soy and chilli oil. Bakudanya, with its flagship-style branch in the Nagarekawa nightlife quarter, is the name most closely tied to spreading this dish and turning it into a Hiroshima signature.

The format is refreshing and interactive. Everything arrives cold and separate: a plate of glossy noodles and vegetables on one side, a bowl of thin, intensely savoury-spicy sauce on the other. You pick up a mouthful of noodles, cabbage and pork, dip it into the sauce, and eat. The contrast of cool, chewy noodles against the tingling, sesame-rich heat is what makes it so moreish, and the vegetables keep it feeling light even as the chilli builds. On a humid Hiroshima summer day it is one of the most satisfying meals in the city; late at night it is the classic way to cap an evening of drinking.

The defining feature is the adjustable spice. You choose a heat level, typically on a scale, and the kitchen dials the chilli up accordingly. Bakudanya's calibration runs hot - regulars warn that its level 3 is roughly what other shops call 'normal to spicy', and the double-digit levels are strictly for chilli veterans with something to prove. First-timers are wisely steered to level 1 or 2, which still delivers plenty of the sesame-chilli punch the dish is known for. A finishing trick many locals use is to ask for a splash of soup stock at the end to turn the leftover sauce into a drinkable, mellowed broth.

The setting adds to the appeal. This branch sits in Nagarekawa, Hiroshima's densest bar-and-izakaya district, so it functions both as a quick, cheap lunch and as a late-night refuelling stop between drinks. The shop is compact and counter-focused, orders are placed simply by pointing at a picture menu and choosing your spice number, and a bowl rarely costs more than about 1,000 yen, making it one of the best-value meals downtown.

Hiroshima tsukemen emerged in the mid-20th century and grew from a niche local dish into a citywide staple, with Bakudanya among the shops most responsible for putting it in front of visitors. Trying it gives you a fuller picture of Hiroshima's food identity beyond okonomiyaki and oysters - and a genuinely different noodle experience from anything you will eat elsewhere in Japan.

To find it, take the Hiroden tram to Ebisucho and walk a few minutes into the Nagarekawa streets, or stroll over from Hatchobori and the Shintenchi area. It sits within easy reach of Okonomimura and the central shopping arcades, so it slots neatly into a downtown food crawl.