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.
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.
3 editor picks for Yakitori in Tokyo, ranked by editorial score. All Tokyo signature dishes · Yakitori across every city.
Bird Land Ginza ★ 4.7
ginza · Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061, Japan
Toshihiro Wada's Bird Land in Tokyo Ginza grills Ibaraki shamo over binchotan, the basement that invented elevated yakitori. One Michelin star.
Omoide Yokocho yakitori alley ★ 4.4
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan
Omoide Yokocho in Tokyo's Shinjuku is the post-war yakitori alley north of the west exit. 70 stalls of grilled chicken, offal skewers, ramen and highballs.
Harmonica Yokocho ★ 4.4
Tokyo 180-0004, Japan
Harmonica Yokocho in Tokyo's Kichijoji is the post-war alley behind the JR north exit. 100-plus tiny stalls of yakitori, oden, standing sushi and craft beer.