The way to enjoy Yakitoriya

Yakitoriya is typically a drinking place where you can enjoy varieties of grilled chicken, which is called “Yakitori”.
At the entrance of most Yakitori-ya, you can see a hanging red lantern with “Yakitori” written on it so customers can find it easily. Inside the Yakitori-ya, there are counter seats.There are seats with a table for each diner but I reccomend you to sut on counter seats, because you can see cook making Yakitori skillfully.

Menus are mostly written in Japanese so if you can’t understand Japanese, I recommend ordering “Nama Beer”(which is draft beer) at first along with appetizer like “Edamame”(which is green soybeans). Then, you can follow your order with Yakitori or just try “Moriawase” which includes a variety of Yakitori, if you wonder what to eat. You can choose salty taste “Shio”, or a dipping sauce for Yakitori “Tare”.

There are different kinds of Yakitori to choose from the menue as bellow.

• Momo: Chicken thigh meat
• Torikawa or Kawa: Fatty chicken skin
• Tebasaki: Chicken wings
• Negima: Combination of chicken and green onions
• Nankotsu: Chicken cartilage
• Reba: Chicken livers
• Sunagimo: Chicken gizzard
• Tsukune: Meat ball of minced chicken
• Hatsu: Chicken heart

As for me, I prefer “Negima” and “Sunagimo” (I like the crisp texture of “Sunagimo”) but you can also order other skewered food like quail’s egg or vegetables.

The whole place is usually enjoyed by businessmen wherein they can drink with their co-workers after a long day work or just to spend an idle time before going home. It is also an ideal place for people who feel alone and are full of thoughts. Yakitori-ya might be necessary as a stress reliever for Japanese workers but for foreigners in western countries, it can be similar to a pub or sports bar, isn’t it?