Yakitori

Yakitori is skewered grilled chicken (and sometimes other meats and veggies) traditionally cooked over charcoal. So simple, so straightforward. 

I don’t normally eat chicken. It’s just not my thing. But in some strange twist of fate, Yakitori is my favorite food in the known universe. —Not just my favorite Japanese food. My favorite food, period. The outside gets a nice crispy texture, while the tender inside has all the juices locked in. It’s the perfect food.

You get a choice of topping: sauce (tare), or salt (shio). I always choose salt. That’s the best way to get the full flavor and subtlety of the dish. The Japanese chef will usually be impressed if you order it with salt because most foreigners get it with sauce (a sweet-salty combo of soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and sake— kind of like teriyaki sauce in the States but not as sweet). Some places will serve the chicken meatballs only with sauce, so get that. It will still be amazing.

The pieces of meat are bite-sized. One skewer usually has 2-5 pieces depending on the cut. Every part of the chicken is used (thigh, breast, wing, heart, pope’s nose, gizzard, cartilage, chicken meatballs, skin, liver, neck, plus more). You can also get bacon-wrapped cherry tomatoes, bacon-wrapped asparagus, Japanese green onion (negima), and other various vegetables. Some places have skirt steak, pork belly, and other meaty bits as well.

I don’t expect yakitori to become your all-time favorite food or even your favorite Japanese food, but you should definitely give it a try. It pairs well with an ice-cold draft beer (Nama bi-ru).

You can find yakitori at yakitoriya (shops specializing in yakitori) and at many izakayas (pubs/bars with a wide variety of food offerings). At most places, you order by the skewer (at some places one order is two skewers), so it’s easy to try a wide variety of flavors. It’s like eating tapas. You don’t need to order everything at once. Order them in rounds. You don’t want them sitting around and getting cold. 

My favorites are negima (thigh with Japanese spring onion), momo (thigh), hatsu/kokoro (heart), kawa (skin) but only when the kawa is crispy. Some places undercook this and it’s chewy and not so good. You can always watch and see how it looks when other people order it. I also love buta bara (pork belly), tomato bacon (bacon-wrapped tomato), tsukune (chicken meatball), and my all-time favorite bonjiri (chicken tail). However, bonjiri is not for everyone. I don’t get it at average yakitori places, only at good ones. It’s a more divisive cut. Also, it’s one of Anthony Bourdain’s favorites.

To see a list of popular types of yakitori and how they are written in Japanese, scroll to the bottom of this Wikipedia page.

Luggage Delivery

Lugging big rolling suitcases through crowded Tokyo (Osaka, Nagoya, Yokohama, Kyoto, etc…) streets is no fun. And having to carry them up and down stairs in the train stations and try to squeeze onto a packed city train with them is even worse.

This makes Japanese luggage delivery services incredibly convenient. You can have your bags sent from the airport to your hotel or from one hotel to the next hotel. This is especially useful when traveling from city to city, but also helpful even if you are merely switching hotels within the same city.

Just go to the counter at the airport or the front desk of your hotel and tell them you want to forward your luggage and they’ll help you fill out the forms. It is not expensive, usually under $20. It will be in your room the next day. You can also have your luggage sent from your hotel to the airport. Just make sure to ask the front desk what the cutoff time and date are. It’s usually the day before departure, but sometimes it’s two days before your departure.

A popular delivery company that does this is called Kuroneko Yamato. You will see their fantastic logo everywhere. It’s a black momma cat carrying her baby kitten. So cute! The service is called takkyubin (or TA-Q-BIN). So take advantage of this and stop dragging your bags everywhere.

Onsen

A Japanese public bath (Onsen) is a traditional Japanese experience I highly recommend everyone do at least once. You may discover your new favorite way to relax.

Onsen are found all over Japan. Most have separate areas for men and women. You will be given a tiny hand towel that you put on top of your head when you get in the onsen. Before you get in, you sit on a small plastic bucket in front of a row of water spigots and wash yourself. Only then do you get in the onsen. Also, you will most likely be completely naked. Don’t assume you can go in with a bathing suit.

There are onsen in every Japanese city and some cities are even famous for them. There are ones that are completely indoors and ones that are outside in nature. Both types are worth visiting.

Be aware that while things are changing, tattoos are still taboo in Japan due to their strong association with the yakuza. Many onsen do not allow people with tattoos, especially, large tattoos. If you have something small that you can cover with a bandage before you go to the onsen, then you should be fine. But if you have a sleeve or a back piece or anything that can’t easily be covered, you’ll want to research online to find an onsen that is ok with tattoos.

On one of my early trips to Japan, I visited an onsen on a rainy day and had a jacket and long-sleeved sweater on, so my sleeve tattoo was covered at the front desk. Once I was in the onsen, no one said anything, although I did get some strange looks. As I was leaving, my tattooed arm gave a little kid a bit of a fright and at that moment I realized this was not a tattoo-friendly onsen and I had made a big faux pas. Don’t make my mistake, do some research, and you’ll have a great experience.

Hakone is a famous area for hot springs with hundreds to choose from. Any style you want is available: spectacular mountain views, family-oriented, tattoo-friendly, indoor/outdoor, and more. Check out this link.

Bear Pond Espresso Update

Bear Pond Espresso is a legendary coffee shop I wrote about in Issue #2. I recently learned that the creator/owner of Bear Pond Espresso, Katsu Tanaka-san, only works one day a week now. Sadly it's not always the same day. It seems like he just randomly pops in when he wants to work. So it’s not possible to plan for when he will be there. 

The shop is still open and being run by a barista he's personally trained over several years. However, only Tanaka-san can make the "Angel Stain" espresso. Hopefully, he's there on the day of your visit. If not, I recommend the "dirty" latte. It's a cold latte with a strong espresso shot.