Is it rude?

I have grown up all my life eating spicy foods, so I have acquired a desire for them most of the time. I am planning a trip to Tokyo and food is going to be a big part of the trip. I was wondering if it is rude of me to put extra pepper (my own from home if I decide to bring some) on food.

I don't mean putting it on everything I eat. I would only put it on things that were said to be spicy, but were not the spice level I was expecting. Just a little dash or so. I don't want to insult the chef/person who made the food by letting them think it was tasteless by my actions.

I would say it would at least lead to eyebrows being raised.

What kind of "pepper" would it be?

"Spicy" comes in different flavors and in different grades. Indian curry "spicy hot," Thai spiciness (and sour) that hits you a second later, Japanese "wasabi" radish hot, etc., etc. So I hope you enjoy the dish at least initially without adding anything, to enjoy the original flavors from the chef :)

It's would be a powder of crushed peppers. I would of course try the food first. I just don't want it to seem like I didn't have any consideration to the person who prepared it.

I only want to do it to certain things like curry (things advertized to be spicy), if it isn't to the level of spice I would want it/expected.

Oh with curry, you could then order "extra hot" to begin with :) They have quite a range of spiciness-levels that would surprise you.

Thanks AK! Guess I need to bring milk instead. :)

I think it's no problem but some chief may consider he/she made something you don't like.

Actually, I have a Japanese friend who loves spicy stuff, and he'd carry around raw chilli whenever we traveled to Southeast Asia and descreatly add the chilli. To be precise, he'd take a bite of the food and then throw in some chilli into his mouth.

If you ask the chef straightforward, (s)he might be polite enough to tell you to go ahead, but might not really like it. But if you do it descreatly, they'd just think, "Oh well, I guess this customer is used to food from home." And if you leave no spices on the plate, no one will even notice ;)

Of course, as others have suggested, first you'd want to try asking if they can prepare a spicy version.

On the table most restaurants have salt and pepper shakers along with shoyu and others depending on the restaurant. The pepper is usually white pepper. You can add as much as you like.

I don't mean putting it on everything I eat. I would only put it on things that were said to be spicy, but were not the spice level I was expecting. Just a little dash or so. I don't want to insult the chef/person who made the food by letting them think it was tasteless by my actions.

Japanese food generally isn't spicy, so it seems like there would be very little opportunity to use hot peppers. And in general it would be considered fairly vulgar to bring and use your own extra condiments at a restaurant.

As for spicy foods you will encounter, offhand, I can think of Japanese curry, where you can specify the level of spiciness when you order, so you wouldn't need it there, and I think it would be rude to bring your own spices to a curry shop.

Many people like red pepper on their yakitori, so izakaya that serve yakitori provide a jar of it on the table, so you wouldn't need it there.

I suppose the wasabi used in sushi or sashimi might be considered "spicy", but it would be extremely rude to add hot peppers to either of those dishes.

Unagi (eel) restaurants use a bit of sansho pepper on the eel to bring out the flavor. I'd say that it would be very rude to add hot peppers to unagi, but you can always add more sansho from the container on the table.

That leaves so-called ethnic restaurants like Thai and Indian, but I doubt that your trip to Tokyo, in which a big part of your visit is about the food, would include many ethnic restaurants when there's so much good Japanese food to try.

Maybe Korean food might be the one exception - I guess it couldn't hurt to bring your own pepper to a budget Korean restaurant, although they would probably already provide something on the table to spice things up.

Depending on what you're eating, most places have condiments for you such as shichimi, rayu and regular white and black pepper.

I think even if they didnt have it on the table, you can easily ask the chef for some.

A lot of places include "hot sauce" on the table - Tabasco is very common.

As the paying customer I'd think that you doing whatever is pleased with your food would be fine, and this being a universal truth.

If they get offended, maybe they are in need of an ego deflation.

Last time in Japan I enjoyed mixing my food together, especially if it was curries with side condiments.

Japanese would often smile at me and say, "oh that's how most American foods are prepared?"

I'd reply with, "yes but the aesthetics of the dish was most impressive! And of course I love the freshness."

As the paying customer I'd think that you doing whatever is pleased with your food would be fine, and this being a universal truth.

I completely disagree. Retaurants are private establishments. Some have rules that have to be followed by customers. Just because you pay money does not mean that you can do whatever pleases you. In particular, behaviour that bothers other customers should be refrained. Eating a dish in a way it is not supposed to be eaten may fall into that category. At establishments with certain atmospheres and philosophies, I can imagine very well that guests eating their dishes in strange ways will offend their neighbors and/or the staff. But these tend to be high-end establishments. At regular restaurants, putting excessive condiment onto dishes is less likely to offend anybody. I very strongly believe in the "when in Rome, do as the Romans do" principle. So, if you need spicy food, I recommend to look for restaurants that serve spicy food.

As the paying customer I'd think that you doing whatever is pleased with your food would be fine, and this being a universal truth.

Universal truth? BS. That attitude will get you kicked out of a fair number of establishments (not only restaurants), and rightly so. But based on the rest of your post (and NO, it isn't American to mix everything together), maybe you aren't frequenting the types of restaurants where it really matters.

Japanese would often smile at me and say, "oh that's how most American foods are prepared?"

The Japanese also enjoy sarcasm.

I remember seeing a TV show in Japan that was showing a beautiful restaurant in southern France. The owner did not hesitate to speak up the disgusting incident about the time when Kakuei Tanaka was the Prime Minister of Japan. Tanaka dropped by, paid to have the kitchen taken over by his own chefs he brought from Japan, and had them cook his favorite meals for him. The commentators at the Japanese studio, of course, had no choice but to feel embarrassed. So, no, it's not universal for the payer to do whatever you want.

I hope it's a troll.

Most places that serve spicier food have Tabasco or ground "7-spice" on the table. So it's not odd to add extra spice. But those may not be spicy enough for you, so I'd feel free to carry your own and put it on discreetly. No one will notice and if they do they will chalk it up to your foreigness (not rudeness).