Aji no Daio Noboribetsu: Jigoku 'Hell' Ramen by Spice Level

Aji no Daio's Noboribetsu Onsen shop is a small ramen shop in the hot spring town, and its menu calls one bowl "the Noboribetsu Onsen specialty": Jigoku Ramen, or Hell Ramen, a red-hot soup you order by spice level. The levels are counted in "chome", like the blocks of a Japanese address, starting from level 0. I had level 0 for lunch on Saturday, October 10, 2026, on my way to Noboribetsu Bear Park.

1How spicy is Hell Ramen at level 0?

Level 0 was pleasantly spicy and easy to enjoy. I am not someone who avoids spicy food, nor someone who seeks it out, and I liked this bowl a lot. Chili flakes float on a rich soup, topped with shredded white leek, bean sprouts, sliced chicken, wakame seaweed and bamboo shoots.

The shop's own note says that if you can eat kimchi or Korean jjigae stew, level 0 is made to be enjoyable for you, and that it is not for people who dislike spicy food. Each extra level costs 50 yen, and you can ask for more heat even after you have started eating, so order level 0 first and add more if you want it.

The same note says that people who finish level 10 or higher get their name posted in the shop. If you take on the challenge, you pay for every level whether or not you finish (level 10 comes to 1,700 yen), and there is no prize. The walls are lined with the name boards of people who finished, along with autographs and photos of celebrities.

2What is on the menu, and how much?

These are the prices I saw on the menu at the shop on October 10, 2026, including tax.

If someone in your group does not eat spicy food, the curry ramen and the miso, soy sauce and salt ramen mean everyone can eat at the same shop.

There is no ticket machine: you tell the staff what you want, and I paid in cash. The shop also has menus in English, Chinese and Korean. The English menu lists Hell Ramen as "JIGOKU ra-men" with "Lv. 0", so you can point to the level you want, and it describes Enma Ramen as hot, served with a thick starchy sauce instead of soup.

3Is there a queue?

When I arrived around 11:50 on a Saturday, two groups were waiting outside ahead of me. I queued for about 10 minutes, and the ramen came about 10 minutes after I ordered, so it was about 20 minutes from arrival to my first bite. The shop is small, with 18 seats: 10 at the counter and two tables for four.

That day there was also a sign on the door saying the shop was short of staff and limiting the number of customers inside. If you go at lunchtime, allow time for the wait.

4Where do you park?

Aji no Daio has no car park of its own. The streets of the hot spring town are narrow and almost no restaurants have parking, so leave the car at the car park of a sight you are visiting that day and walk. From the Hell Valley car park at the top of the town (500 yen a day, also valid at the car park of Oyunuma, a steaming pond just above it), it is about a 10-minute walk. There is also a car park by the bear park's ropeway station in the town (500 yen).

I was heading to the bear park next, so I parked there and walked. It took 5 to 10 minutes, with a slope and some steps up and down on the way.

5The Noboribetsu shop or the Muroran main store?

Aji no Daio also has a main store in Muroran, known as the root of Muroran curry ramen. The Noboribetsu shop serves curry ramen too, but in Noboribetsu I would order the Hell Ramen that its menu calls the local specialty. If you are driving on to Muroran's factory night views or Cape Chikyu, the curry ramen at the main store is the other choice.

Aji no Daio: The Root of Muroran Curry RamenA local's guide to Aji no Daio's Muroran main store, where Muroran curry ramen began: what the curry ramen is like, price, hours, parking and how to fit it into a drive around the Eight Views.

6Hours and details

From Sapporo: about two hours on the Do-o Expressway to Noboribetsu-higashi Interchange (toll 3,060 yen), then about 10 minutes following the signs to Noboribetsu Onsen. From New Chitose Airport: about an hour.

7Near Aji no Daio

Before or after lunch, walk the boardwalk into Hell Valley at the top of the town, where steam pours out of the ground right beside you.

Noboribetsu Hell Valley (Jigokudani): The Walk, Oyunuma and ParkingA local's guide to Noboribetsu Hell Valley, the steaming crater above the hot spring town: the walk, Oyunuma pond, accessibility, parking and how to get there from Sapporo or New Chitose Airport.

If you are also going up to the bear park, the shop closes at 15:00, so eat first and then take the ropeway. That is what I did, leaving the car at the bear park's car park the whole time.

Noboribetsu Bear Park: Brown Bears, Lake Kuttara, Prices and HoursA local's guide to Noboribetsu Bear Park, reached by ropeway above Noboribetsu Onsen: watching and feeding the brown bears, the view of Lake Kuttara, prices, hours and parking.

For a bath after your ramen, Noboribetsu has ten places that take day visitors, from a 500-yen public bath to the 35-bath Dai-ichi Takimotokan above Hell Valley.

Noboribetsu Onsen Day-Use Baths: All 10 by Price, Saunas and TattoosAll ten day-use baths in Noboribetsu Onsen and Karurusu by price, from 500 yen, and a local's comparison of the four I tried: Takimotokan's 35 baths over Hell Valley, the Grand Hotel's 110°C Oni Sauna, Manseikaku's milky cold plunge and 600-yen Orofure-so, with hours, tattoo rules, parking and how to get there.

Coming from Lake Toya over the mountain road, you can stop at Orofure Pass to see Mt. Yotei. That day I stopped at the pass before lunch.

Orofure Pass: Mt. Yotei from the Road Between Noboribetsu and Lake ToyaA local's guide to the Orofure Pass on the mountain road from Noboribetsu Onsen to Lake Toya: the Mt. Yotei view from the road monument (open in winter), the summer-only observatory, the winter night closure and how to get there from Sapporo.

8A Noboribetsu day from Sapporo

To fit lunch here into a day with Hell Valley and the bear park, and get back to Sapporo in time, here is the route I take.

Noboribetsu Day Trip from Sapporo by Car: Hell Valley, Onsen and Where to ParkA local's day trip from Sapporo to Noboribetsu by car: Hell Valley, Oyunuma, the bear park and a day bath at Takimotokan, with tolls, parking and winter driving tips.

9FAQ about Aji no Daio Noboribetsu

Q1. When is Aji no Daio Noboribetsu open?

11:30 to 15:00, closed on irregular days (from the sign at the entrance, October 10, 2026).

Q2. How spicy is Hell Ramen? Which level should I order?

Level 0 was pleasantly spicy for me. The shop says it suits anyone who can eat kimchi or jjigae stew. You can add heat for 50 yen a level even after you start eating, so start with level 0.

Q3. How much is Hell Ramen?

1,200 yen for level 0, plus 50 yen for each extra level (from the menu at the shop, October 10, 2026).

Q4. Is there parking?

Not at the shop. Park at the Hell Valley car park (500 yen a day, about a 10-minute walk) or the bear park's car park by the ropeway station (500 yen, 5 to 10 minutes on foot with a slope and steps).

Q5. How long is the wait?

Around 11:50 on a Saturday, two groups were ahead of me: about 10 minutes in the queue and 10 more for the ramen to arrive.

Q6. Is there an English menu? Can I pay by card?

There are menus in English, Chinese and Korean, and you order by telling the staff. I paid in cash.