Tokyo Table Trip

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Yakitori is a favorite food of the masses. It’s easily enjoyed and not too expensive. Chicken is widely loved by many diners as a great source of protein. It’s a popular meat choice, while more diners are objecting to beef these days. Chicken can be raised using much fewer resources than larger animals.

Nose-to-tail dining is quite new in the West but not in the East. Asians consume various parts of the chicken, including entrails, whereas Westerners consume mostly meat from the breast or thighs.

Some of the chicken parts are interesting to try, though Western diners may find them difficult to accept. Here are some examples:
1. Neck meat, seseri, is muscle with a nice combination of flavor and texture.
2. Skin, kawa, might be rejected by those who watch their weight and are particular about their health. When done right, it’s flavorful because of the fat and aroma. The crispy, grilled skin just tastes better than pork.
3. Heart, hatsu, is such a delicacy. One chicken has only one heart, and it takes many chickens to make one skewer. The heart has lots of muscles, so the texture is very interesting.
4. Liver, Reeba might not be uncommon as the Western also enjoy chicken pate. A nicely grilled liver tastes better than foie gras.
5. Gizzard, sunagimo, is the organ that is a part of the chicken digestive system. It crushed its food as chicken doesn’t chew like humans. This item is tricky to cook, as abrupt heat can turn it into hard and most unappealing food.
6. Cartilage, nankotsu got low calories. Many might find it strange to eat these soft bones. Cartilage is also part of the ingredients for making tsukune or chicken ball. It makes the texture more interesting and chewy when mixing chopped cartilage with the meat part.
7. Unlaid egg with ovary ducts, chouchin, or the lantern is one of my favorite parts. It’s called the lantern as the unpeeled eggs are hanging like a lantern.
8. Esophagus, Otafuku, which is the food passage connecting between the mouth and stomach. When done right, the texture would be so delicious.
9. Windpipe, saezuri connects with the lungs. What distinguishes between the esophagus and the windpipe is that the former is for food while the latter is for air.
10. Tail-meat, Bonjiri is something one would either love or hate. It got lots of fat. Those who love it said it was the most flavorful. Those who hate it could imagine nothing else but somewhere near where chickens shoot their poop. So it's messy if not cleaned thoroughly.

Despite the ubiquitous grilled chicken restaurants , finding a great yakitori restaurant is no easy task. I wish to recommend my four favorites among all yakitori restaurants in my journey to find the best yakitori in Japan.

Yakitori Torila from Hakata, Fukuoka.

This young chef is very talented. Leo once wrote in detail about Torila on the Tokyo table trip. I could only add that Torila now moved to a new address. His booking policy is for direct booking only, no proxy booking, e.g. via the hotel. Diners need to be able to communicate in Japanese. The chef is very friendly and charismatic. The only issue is he wants to be able to communicate with his clients without language barriers.
The new address is in this link.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzu21pGgzqQ/?igshid=3l7cz1ozrezn

◆Yakitori Torila
Address:3-10-9 Hirao, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka-city, Fukuoka
Phone:090-2089-4890
Transport: a 5-minute walk from Nishitetsu-Hirao Station on the Nishitetsu Line
Opening hours:18:00-/1930-/21:00-(3 rounnd a day)
Closed: Sundays

Yakitori Kasahara from Kobe, Hyogo.

This new yakitori restaurant with a sleek counter in a nice room is very close to the Sannomiya station. This place defies the Smokey room of typical yakitori restaurant. To book, please contact your hotel.

◆Yakitori Kasahara
Address:1-25-6 Nakayamate-street, Chuo-ku, Kobe-city, Hyogo
Phone:078-862-1177
Transport: a 8-minute walk from Sannomiya Station on the Hankyu Line
Opening hours:17:00〜22:30
Closed: Irregular holidays

Yakitori Ichimatsu from Osaka, Kansei.

This restaurant is run by a lively and super friendly team. All the dishes are so delicious. Ichimatsu takes pride in using premium salt. I love the chicken broth and rice dish as well. It’s quite a way to end the night in Osaka. It’s quite popular among locals and is a fun place to be. On weekends, it might even run three rounds: 16:00 (weekend), 18:00, and 20:30. If you can’t get in, you can try 16:00 or the last round. Bookings can be made via the hotel.
Online booking is also available for those with Japanese mobile phones.
https://r.gnavi.co.jp/plan/7pmg7ajt0000/plan-reserve/plan/plan_list/

◆Yakitori Ichimatsu
Address:1-5-1 Dojima, Kita-ku, Osaka-city, Osaka
Phone:06-6346-0112
Transport: a 4-minute walk from Kitasinchi Station on the Tozai Line
Opening hours:18:00〜22:30
Closed: Sundays

Torishiki from Tokyo, Kanto.

The chef is the true master of the grill, and he commands the use of fire. He’s incredibly focused while working and leaves no rooms for chit-chat. What makes up for this is the perfection of his grilled chicken. He doesn’t serve any chicken sashimi in his course. All skewers are delivered, and the cooking is no less than perfect for each skew. His omakase courses contain various parts of chicken innards, so this might not suit people who only enjoy the usual commonly consumed meat parts, especially diners from countries who are used to eating entrails. However, his entrails have awesome texture. His grilled chicken is incredibly juicy, and its succulence level is beyond words.
I recommend having just a light lunch or skipping lunch entirely before going to dinner at Torishiki if you can. The experience is quite a feast.
Booking is extremely competitive, but all diners are treated equally, Japanese or non-Japanese. One can find oneself dialing all day long when the booking starts. When one finally gets through, it’s likely that all seats are gone already. It took me so many years of trying diffident channels. You need someone who can dial all day long and has lots of patience and extra perseverance.
The good news is you can order bento and pick up during the restaurant’s operating hours. This will give you a glimpse of Torishiki’s super yakitori meal.

◆Torishiki
Address:2-14-12 Kamiosaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo
Phone:03-3440-7656
Transport: a 3-minute walk from Meguro Station on the Yamanote Line
Opening hours:18:00〜22:00
Closed: Mondays and Sundays

My verdict

Torishiki hands down reigns supreme in the yakitori world. It’s not that the other three aren’t great, but Torishiki, in my personal opinion, won by a landslide. However, having said that, if you are in the area, I do still recommend the other three. The four of them are all different, so it’s difficult to compare all four. I also liked Torila a lot. Torila has more raw chicken sashimi and chicken sushi. His shari-forming skill easily matches a good sushi-ya. Ichimatsu, on the other hand, has a modern take and uses ingredients like cheese in the appetizers, so interesting dishes are offered besides the grilled chicken.

Writer:Localtaste

Local taste had taken a long journey searching for delicious meals long before the dawn of social media, roaming from one city to another from the Far East to the west, over 160 cities in four continents and more than 400,000 miles during the last 37 years.
His dining spots over thousands of restaurants range from eating in a hole in the wall in Asia to all ten Michelin 3-star restaurants in Paris. More than decades was spent on chasing for perfect xiao long bao.
Because he is not in food business nor food writer, his article won’t be found elsewhere but exclusively on tokyotabletrip.com as a tribute to Leo Saito’s altruistic deed to help international visitors discover the beauty of Japanese cuisine.

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Comments Icon comments 20b52f1dd59ace07b92433da2a385e6f7392eb2937032eebc2a0bd0b67c69516 9


Deukae

I am keen to try Ichimatsu but Omakase only allows a booking of minimum 2 ppl for the dates I will be in Osaka (eating solo because wife doesnt eat offals)

I will try to check again closer to my visit as sometimes odd numbers bookings will result in single seat available

in the mean time, has anyone been to Yakitori Matsuri and if it's any good ? I read it's a sister shop of Ichimatsu (solo booking is possible)

6 months ago 1697165335

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DanielfromHK

IG: danielfromhk

@localtaste Thank You for the write up! I got to try Ichimatsu recently and enjoyed it. It was bookable on Omakase. Also got to try a Torishiki disciple in Tokyo, Omino, and really enjoyed that one too

about 1 year ago 1675285577

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guest

Hi localtaste, is there other yakitori restaurants in fukuoka or kyushu which you would recommend? Since torila is regulars-only.

about 1 year ago 1675368548

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localtaste

Update: Torila is now instruction only so it’s impossible for the first timer.

Kasahara moved to Tokyo and it shines brightly among Tokyo yakitori spots.

about 1 year ago 1674950106

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Shi

Hello localtaste and Saitoさん - we are trying to choose between Ichimatsu and toritakumiishii
- https://tabelog.com/en/osaka/A2701/A270108/27090089/ in Osaka - if you had to pick one of these which do you feel would be the better option?

over 4 years ago 1574667390

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