Tourist visiting or ex-pat living here in Tokyo and sick of guides like Zagat on where to eat? If so, this blog is for you. Check where locals go to eat.
This resto may not be for all of you, but its probably the most famous motsuyaki (roast pork giblets) restaurant and also located at a deep lower middle class area of Tokyo. UCHIDA at Keisei Tateishi is the place where motsuyaki lovers visit from all over from Japan.
If you never been to Uchida, you better start googling on what's available or how to order since there menu on the wall doesn't say what kind of motsuyaki they have. It will only say Motsuyaki 180 yen on the menu.
For drinks, they only have sake, shochu, whisky (all served straight without ice only) and bottled beer, but what almost everyone orders is UME (Shochu wiht plum syrup). It's pretty strong to say the least. Whatever you order, you are only allowed to order 5 glasses since they don't want customers to be completely drunk.
You can have your motsuyaki cooked lightly called WAKAYAKI, well done called YOKUYAKI and some items are served raw called NAMA. If you don't tell them anything, it will be served medium. You can also choose what sauce you want. Lightly salted is called SHIO, normal sweet motsuyaki sauce is called TARE like other motsuyaki restos, soy sauce is called SUYAKI, and they have MISO as well which most people don't order. The above picture is Kashira Yokuyaki Suyaki (Well done cheek meat with soy sauce). KASHIRA is probably the most popular part of all motsu since its actually meat not giblet.
Other motsuyaki's are SHIRO (small intestine), which many customers have it cooked either wakayaki or nama. The picture is Shiro Wakayaki Tare.
NANKOTSU (soft bone) , this is Nankotsu Yokuyaki Shio,
ABURA (fat), picture is Abura Tare,
REBA (liver), picture is Reba Wakayaki Shio,
KOBUKURO (uterus), picture is Kobukuro Nama Suyaki (Kobukuro is actually boiled once before its broiled, so its not actually raw even if you order it Nama)
and then TSURU (penis), picture is Tsuru Tare (Tsuru is also boiled once before its broiled). They also have HATSU (heart).
Other dishes are NIKOMI (guts stew), which most people order,
OSHIKO (pickled vegetables), which you can order just OSHINKO DAIKON (pickled Japanese radish) or
OSHINKO KYURI DAIKON (pickled cucumber and Japanese radish).
And if you are lucky, they have specials like TAN NAMA (Boiled tongue) which only about 10 plates are available daily.
Unless you love motsuyaki, this place is def not for you. But if you do, get there at least 30 min before it opens since there will be a long line of people before it opens.
UCHIDA （in Japanese, 宇ち多゛） Address: 1-18-8 Tateishi, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo (inside Nakamichi Shotegai) (in Japanese, 東京都葛飾区立石1-18-8 仲見世商店街) Nearest train station: Keisei Tateishi (1 min walk) Tel: 03-3697-5738 Reservations: No Website: None English menu: None Credit Card: No Open: Monday-Friday 2pm-5pm, Saturday 12pm-3pm (will close when soldout) Closed: Sunday & Holiday
Prices: Motsuyaki 180 yen Nikomi 180 yen Oshinko 180 yen Shochu 180 yen Beer Dai (Large bottle of beer) 540 yen Beer Sho (Small bottle of beer) 360 yen Seishu Ikkyu (1st grade sake) 280 yen Seishu Nikkyu (2nd grade sake) 230 yen Whisky 540 yen Oolong Tea (Cold) 180 yen Soda (like Sprite) 180 yen
I personally like Yakiton more than Yakitori since I like pork more than chicken, but there are several Yakitori restaurants which I love and one of them is TORITAMA at Shirogane. Toritama isn't your ordinary Yakitori restaurant. Why? Because the parts of chicken they serve is different from others.
A normal Yakitori restaurant will only serve breast, thigh, wings, gizzard, liver and a few other parts, but Toritama serves parts you never heard of unless you are a yakitori freak. They have 3 course menus to choose from and difference is the number of skews. 7, 10, or 12. And if this isn't enough for you, of course you can order extra by skew.
They would first serve you OTOHSHI, which is basically vegetable sticks and grated Japanese radish to accompany Yakitori.
And the course includes Yakitori's like MISAKI (Tail of male chicken),
FURISODE (part between wings and breast),
KINCHAKU (male chicken's hormone),
SOROBAN (Neck),
BERA (part right next to gizzards),
CHOCHIN (Egg yolks before becoming an egg),
HATSU (Heart),
AZUKI (Kidney),
and TEBASAKI (Wings) to name a few.
Besides chicken, they all serve BUTABARA (Pork belly)
MANGANJI TOUGARASHI (Manganji chili pepper),
KINSHINSAI (Daylily),
PROVOLONE CHEESE,
RACLETTE CHEESE NO INARI MAKI (Deep fried tofu with raclette cheese inside) and several other Yakitori's.
To go along with Yakitori, dishes like SASAMI NO SHIO KONBU AE (Breast meat with salted kelp),
SHIRO LIVER TATAKI (Raw chicken white liver),
MISOZUKE NO MOZZARELLA TOH SEMI DRY TOMATO NO CAPRESE (Mozzarella marinated in miso and semi dried tomato).
Also, if you want some rice, a good choice will be TORITAMA DON (Various yakitori over rice).
You will need to make a reservation at least a couple of days in advance. Also, its a good 15 minute walk from the nearest train station, but its located right under a highway so even if you decide to walk to TORITAMA, its pretty easy to find. If you want to experience a different kind of Yakitori, but still top class, Toritama is one the few places to go.
TORITAMA （in Japanese, 酉玉） Address: 6-22-19 Shirogane, Minato-ku, Tokyo (in Japanese, 東京都港区白金6-22-19) Nearest train station: Tokyo Metro Shiroganedai (15 min walk) Tel: 03-5795-2950 Reservations: Yes (must) Website: None English menu: None Credit Card: No Open: 5:30pm-1am Closed: Sunday, but when Monday is a holiday its closed on Monday instead
Prices: Tori Course (7 skews) 1,785 yen Tama Course (10 skews) 2,520 yen Shirogane (12 skews) 3,150 yen Various Skews 210-420 yen Appitizers 525-945 yen
YAKITON (Roast pork meat & giblets) is actually more popular than yakitori for the average salaryman (business man). Almost everyone has their favorite place, but SAITAMAYA at HIgashi-Jujo is one of the best in Tokyo. People start to wait in line hours before it actually opens. Unless you are a regular and especially if its your first time here, owner/chef will only let you order your preferred drink, and will only serve you a 9 stick course of Yakiton, Gyu Nikomi, and salad. He won't even let you choose how well you want your Yakiton done.
First, CURESON NO SALADA (Watercress Salad) for 420 yen comes out.
Next GYU NIKOMI (Beef stew) for 550 yen, then the 9 stick course for 1260 yen begins and here are a couple of them.
KASHIRA (Cheek meat),
NEGIMA (Pork belly & Green Onion),
SHIRO (Guts),
SHAMO NO SALSA SAUCE (Chicken with Salsa sauce),
LEBAH (Liver).
If you become a regular, you can order whatever you want and also order appetizers like TAN SASHI (Tongue Sashimi),
HATSU SASHI (Heart Sashimi).
For drinks, I would suggest you to try NAMA LEMON SOUR, which is frozen Shochu with soda and fresh lemon juice. The wait can be long and you may not order what you want, but the owner/chef isn't cocky and is actually really nice even to first time customers. Many yakiton lovers will agree it is one of the top 3 yakiton restaurant in Tokyo and worth the train ride to just go eat here. I just wish that it was much closer to where I live cause I would be eating here at least once a week even if I had to wait for a hour or two. Also, its non smoking which is very rare for a yakiton restaurant.
Saitamaya （in Japanese, 埼玉屋） Address: 2-5-12 Higashi-Jujo, Kita-ku, Tokyo (in Japanese, 東京都北区東十条2-5-12) Nearest train station: JR Higashi-Jujo (3 min walk) Tel: 03-3911-5843 Reservations: No Website: None English menu: None Credit Card: No Open: Monday-Friday 4pm-9:30pm, Saturday 4pm-6pm Closed: Sunday & Holiday
Prices: Yakiton (Various pork parts on grilled on stick) 140 yen Cureson No Salada (Watercress Salad) 420 yen Nikomi (Beef Stew) 550 yen Drinks from 460 yen
I'm sure many of you had Yakitori, but maybe not Kushiage, which is one of the soul foods of Osaka. KUSHIAGE is deep fried vegetables, meats, seafood on a stick like a stick version of Tonkatsu, but not as heavy as tonkatsu. Usually, kushikatsu is cheap like 100-150 yen per stick, but there are some places which uses the finest ingredients available on the market. ROKUKAKUTEI in Ginza is one of them. Its probably the most famous high class Kushiage resto and only Kushiage restaurant which was awarded a star in Michelin.
Its basically a course menu, 20 sticks for 10,000, but you can tell them to stop when you are full or even ask for more after finishing 20 sticks.
Several types of sauces will be served and the chef will tell you which one to use for each kushiage.
GOBOH NO GYUNIKU MAKI (Burdock roots rapped with Wagyu beef) is one their original kushiage's,
and so as AYU (sweetfish).
Of course, regular kushikatsu's like EBI (Prawn) are included in the course.
They also have a great wine list mainly from France.
And for some reason, they serve bread which is baked by the chef, instead of rice or noodles unlike other kushiage restaurants.
Rokukakutei's main restaurant is in Osaka, but since there aren't too many Kushiage restaurants in Tokyo, the owner always wanted to open a branch in Ginza one day. Its not cheap, but many of my friends who I have taken end up coming back with their spouses or friends. Great for dates and even business dinners.
ROKUKAKUTEI （in Japanese, 六覺燈） Address: 6-8-7 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 4F (in Japanese, 東京都中央区銀座6-8-7 交詢ビル ４Ｆ) Nearest train station: Tokyo Metro Ginza (5 min walk) Tel: 03-5537-6008 Reservations: Yes Website: http://www.midcity.jp/kojun/ (in Japanese only) English menu: No Credit Card: No Open: 2pm-10pm Closed: Tuesday
Prices: 10,000 yen course (20 sticks of kushiage) Over 500 wines
Author:Tokyo Joe
Food, music, and sports is my princess.
Favorite food: Almost anything in Tokyo, Beef in Kobe, Kaiseki/Kappo in Kyoto, Seafood in Hokkaido & Northern Japan, Aranabe in Fukuoka, Udon in Kagawa, Korean in Korea, Thai in Bangkok, Cantonese in Hong Kong, Fishhead Curry & Chicken Rice in Singapore, French in Paris & Lyon, Italian in Napoli & Toscana, Spanish in Madrid & Basque, Brazilian in Sao Paolo, Cuban in Havana, Indian in Dehli, Mexican in Mexico City, and Junk food in States
Dislike: most of the food/restos in the UK, glass of milk, cooked chunks of liver, hoya, Korean dog stew, balut, cow & pork blood, bugs and funky Chinese dishes.
