I’m always after a authentic experience. And anything that is slightly seedy but good and busy always peaks my interest I am almost embarrassed to admit. So when I read about Yurakucho’s Yakitori alley, a small alleyway underneath a train line where commuters and Japanese congregate under rickety stalls that look slightly patched together, I knew we had to visit. It’s small, packed and absolutely fascinating.
It’s hard to find, we find the Lonely Planet’s map lacking essential details (grrr!) and we get lost during the way. We finally find it and the telltale red lanterns and smokey grill aroma tells us that we have finally arrived at the right place. There are 3 stallholders here each serving their own Yakitori dishes with their own tables. On the walls there are a multitude of Japanese signs, none in English at all, so we ask for an English menu and take a seat at one of the stalls.
We order the: roast Chicken skewer, Chicken meatball skewer, gizzard skewer, pork skewer, nankotsu (bone cartilage) skewer and heart skewer (all Y160 per skewer). We then ask what the waitress recommends and she points at an item on the Japanese specials menu of pork and miso Y460 and also suggests a potato salad Y420. We always get good recommendations when we ask the staff what is good so I always make a point to ask.
Potato Salad Y420
The potato is a typical Japanese potato salad although it is a very good version of it. There are two ice cream scoops of creamy potato salad, which is a combination of a slightly sweet mashed potato with carrot and spring onions as well as small potato chunks.
From left to right.: heart, gizzard, pork skewer Y160 each
The heart skewer is…Im sorry to say unpalatable. I tried to take one bite and released it from my teeth and passed it to my husband. If you happen to like rubbery tough organs, this may be your thing. My husband ate it but more because it was there and has was hungry after we got lost.
The Gizzard Skewer suffers a similar fate. I don’t even know why I ordered it. I think more to try something odd but when push came to shove, I couldn’t eat it.
The pork skewer is slightly better, although the pork pieces are also quite chewy and not quite as tender as I’d like.
From left to right: Nankotsu (2), chicken and meatball skewers Y160 each
The second plate is more successful, the roast chicken skewer is good, especially when the pieces are removed from the stick and dunked into the sauce. The chicken meatball skewer is also good and slightly crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. I’ve had better nankotsu with the bone cartilage being softer, this nankotsu is hard and quite hard to chew.
Pork and Miso skewers Y420
The mystery pork skewers with miso are however perfection. Softly tender and juicy pieces of pork are marinated in a miso sauce which complements it perfectly. If only I could have ordered 6 serves of this, I would have been inordinately pleased.
We leave just as the smoke level rises as more grilled skewers are pressed to the grill. The pork and miso skewers were definitely worth the search.
Yurakcuho Yakitori Alley
Under JR train line near Hibiya station
2-1-10 Yurakucho
Chioyda-ku tokyo
Tel +81 (03) 3508 9454
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20 Comments | Add your own
mmm yakitori. The “flavor” I miss the most has to be mochi & bacon
ps- Lonely planet maps are wonderful aren’t they =P I have a similar experience getting lost in Beijing while trying to find a peking duck restaurant they had recommended
Hmmm, yakitori. I had a similar experienced to this in Osaka, going to Gyoza Arcade – about 14 different outlets in one area, all selling their own take on gyoza. Interesting and quite delish. Especially for a lone white woman and two little white girls sitting there, with very little more Japanese than please, thank you and excuse me.
Hi NQN,
me and my partner are also looking at going to japan for a week or two this year some time. Can I ask how much money roughly I’d need to go? is it very expensive there? my partner is anaphylactic (for seafood) so it’s going to be very difficult
hope you’re having fun
Hi Kathy-Awww no, we didn’t see mochi and bacon there. We would’ve definitely ordered it if we did! Haha yes Lonely Planet maps completely suck *shakes fist at Lonely Planet*
Hi SydneyGal-That sounds great. Did the gyoza taste very different stall to stall or did you eat from the one stall? We weren’t sure whether you were supposed to go to just one or try from others and we didn’t want to offend. What did your girls think?
Hi Jay-Great stuff! Things that are expensive in Japan tend to be imported or non Japanese items so if you stick to Japanese food, you should be better off (and it’s tastier). We spent about $150-$200 a day for two people not including the hotel but we did an awful lot while we were there. I wouldn’t go on less than $100AUD a day for the two of you unless you were really wanting to see the budget side of Tokyo which is entirely possible if you don’t mind standing up noodle places where you can get dinner for Y400/$4.30AUD.
That’s a bummer about your partner, there is so much good seafood
Do ask if dishes have seafood as well, sometimes you never know they might have a little in it!
Thanks, am having a ball!
Heart and gizzard and other organs need more than a grilling to get them edible! I know my mum boils them for hours! That chicken skewer is making me hungry… Glad u enjoyed the miso and pork. Looks juicy!
Hi Lorraine,
I grew up with hearts and giblets in my Mum’s homemade chicken soup (she’d kill the chicken/pluck it etc). Even the kids in the cul de sac where I grew up would line-up to get a portion of the chickens brains (chickens don’t have much, so there wasn’t much to share). Though organs have to be cooked properly.. like hearts I mean..and rubbery/tough isn’t right.
My girl especially I think would enjoy all of this meat on sticks!
I’d be a sucker for that mayonnaisey potato salad & cucumber slices.. it would help to break up the meat dishes in a ‘palate cleansing’ way also.
Thanks for sharing this!
Hi Maria-Ahhh perhaps that was it, it was just so chewy and it did feel undercooked. The pork and miso was so juicy and delicious, I wish I could go back for some more!
Hi Maria-Wow, the kids were pretty good eaters, I don’t think I would have gone for chicken’s brains at that age (unless I tried your mum’s perhaps)!
Yes the potato salad was definitely necessary for palate cleansing after all of that meat
Lorraine,
Yes, the gyoza were very different stall to stall. Some were more the bottom-fried, top-steamed type we’re used to, and others were all-over fried, and still others were tiny and all prettily packed into a big cast iron pan and baked. The fillings were all quite different too – pork and seafood and vegetable. The girls loved it – like Japanese yum cha but with only dumplings.
Hi SydneyGal-Interesting, which did you end up preferring? I wish there was one in tokyo as we have 1 night on the way back to Sydney!
I really liked the tiny ones in the cast iron pan, actually. They were deliciously crispy.
Hi SydneyGal-I’m always drawn to crispy bottoms on dumplings -sounds odd to type that out but it’s true!
NQN your preference for yakitori is quite different from mine – I love hearts and gizzards but I’m not so keen on the ‘normal’ yakitori chicken meat!
But it doesn’t sound quite right that hearts were tough and rubbery. They have a different ‘feel’ from other offals and can be a bit chewy and ‘crunch’ to them, but shouldn’t be too rubbery.
I think gizzards and hearts are somewhat of an acquired taste generally, though. I used to dislike them but carried on trying them, then I suddenly started liking them one day. In fact I like duck gizzards enough to think about popping over to Paris for it now.
Hi Far out!-Ahhh so perhaps I need to pursue the hearts and gizzards a bit more? I don’t know if I am game to to be honest
I do like liver though if that counts?
If you like liver, you might well acquire the taste for hearts and gizzards as well (maybe especially gizzards).
Then again, no point in forcing yourself to eat something you don’t like, on the chance that one day you might get to like it. There is so much great food to eat out there!
Hi Far out!-I think I like the texture of liver and brains but I don’t really like the chewiness of the other parts. But also the problem for me is the smell, if something smells odd, I can’t get past it
Hey NQN, tell you what, next time you come to visit Tokyo, I’ll take you to Shinjuku’s yakitori alley, I like this alley better than the one in Yurakucho! OK?
Hi Taiko Tari-Cool! I’m never one to refuse a local’s tour!
3 Trackbacks/Pingbacks
[...] My husband loves this dish and his reaction spurs me on. It’s softer than the heart at the Yurakucho Yakitori Alley but still not quite to my taste. I do try some and it needs the ravioli and strongly flavoured [...]
[...] platter featuring chicken, lamb and shish kebab. I find the lamb too chewy (it reminds me of the heart that we had in Tokyo in smell and chewiness) so I leave this behind. But the chicken and particularly the Shish Kebab [...]
[...] aji (Peruvian yellow chilli) sauce. Now I haven’t had great experiences eating heart – I did so in Tokyo where it was rubbery beyond belief so I am wary but the aroma of it is hard to resist. I try it and [...]
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