AkibaJiyuu's Journey in Japan

Having spent time out in Kabukicho on a weekday night, I decided to try out a yakitori chain named Torikizoku (鳥貴族). By the title “Eat-adakimasu”, you may come to the conclusion that I’m a fan of stupid puns, such as “sumimasorry”.

:^) sorry, not sorry.

For those of you unfamiliar, yakitori (焼き鳥) is essentially grilled chicken skewers. This specific location can be found on the 4th floor of the address below:
〒160-0021 Tokyo, Shinjuku City, Kabukicho, 1 Chome−25−3

A quick breakdown of Japanese address codes:
There aren’t exactly street numbers, so a 7 digit number acts as your zip or postal code. You have your prefecture (or in Tokyo’s case, special Metropolis of multiple cities, municipalities, and villages), the city, the ward, and then, you specify the district, the chome (if you have one, a subdivision of a district), and then your banchi (location of block in all of that). It’s very reverse to what we’re used to, and not the main topic of this blog post.

For further reading, go here.

Let’s get to the “meat” of this. Surprisingly, yakitori is very affordable. Feeling a little adventurous, I sought to try out the chicken meatballs with cheese. Knowing that most Japanese cuisine struggles with cheese as an ingredient, I thought it to be an interesting trial.

The Tsukune Cheese (つくねチーズ焼), two skewers, comes in at only ￥350. The term tsukune refers to how the meatballs are made from the ground meat, kneaded by hand. Overall, the skewers made for a delicious snack.

The Tori Sayu Men (とり白湯めん) was a smallish bowl of chicken broth, thin noodles, some diced chicken, and spring onions. Ringing up at also ￥350, this serving may have felt small visually, but the chicken fat gave the soup a rich and filling experience without coming off as too greasy.

And of course, what better way to pair dinner than with a Premium Malt Suntory beer on tap? Also priced at ￥350 (I swear, I’m not purposely on a specific budget), the beer was flavorful and quite satisfying.

In total, the dinner cost ￥1050, which translates to around ten dollars Canadian. I would not say it was anything special, but it was definitely delicious, and worth the money! (Do keep in mind that Japan does not tip, but has a 10% consumption tax for almost all commercial goods.)