Yakitori is Tokyo's grilled chicken skewer over binchotan charcoal: every part of the bird (thigh, breast, liver, gizzard, tail, skin) seasoned with salt or tare sauce.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
Yakitori began as Edo-period street food and became a postwar yokocho staple. Toshihiro Wada's Bird Land moved to Ginza in 2002 and helped kick off the high-end overhaul with shamo free-range chicken from Ibaraki and binchotan grilling. Today the form runs the full price spectrum, from 200-yen sticks in Omoide Yokocho to 30,000-yen omakase courses in Ginza basements.
Common allergens: Soy (tare), Gluten (tare)
Tip from the editors. Binchotan is the difference; supermarket charcoal will not reach the same dry heat. Soak skewers thoroughly to prevent burning.
Toshihiro Wada's Bird Land in Tokyo Ginza grills Ibaraki shamo over binchotan, the basement that invented elevated yakitori. One Michelin star.
Signature: Shamo chicken liver pate, Tsukune meatball, Oyakodon rice closer
Order: The omakase course closing with the oyakodon rice and silken liver pate as the opener.
Tip: Closed Sundays, Mondays and public holidays. Reservation by phone only, six weeks out.
Omoide Yokocho in Tokyo's Shinjuku runs 70 yakitori and offal stalls until midnight, the post-war alley north of the JR west exit. Bring cash and a friend.
Try: Yakitori sticks, motsuyaki offal, beer
Tip: Most stalls seat six to eight; arrive by 22:00 for a counter seat before the last-train rush.
Harmonica Yokocho is post-war alley behind kichijoji station with 100 stalls, locals only, most of tokyo's tourists never make it this far west.
Why locals love it: Post-war alley behind Kichijoji station with 100 stalls, locals only, most of Tokyo's tourists never make it this far west.
Tip: The alley density makes any stall a discovery; after 19:00 the standing yakitori counters fill with locals.
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