June 30, 2009
Front Yard Yakitori Shack (Tokyo)
My father has one sister and four brothers- all of who are in the restaurant business. The Akaboris are destined to work with food, what can I say?? My brother just spent some time in a hoity-toity restaurant in Barcelona, and I just started a job at a Spanish restaurant in Menlo Park. As LOST’s John Locke would say: This is our destiny.
When I was in Japan in November, I went to visit my father’s oldest brother, who lives in their newly renovated childhood home on a busy street in Shinkoiwa (considered “Shitamachi”, a historically seedier part of Tokyo). It’s so trippy to think that my dad grew up here. But that’s besides the point- the coolest thing about coming here was that they put a yakitori shop in their front yard!!!!
The name on the sign says “Kokekokko~” which is the equivalent to “Cock-a-doodle-doo” in English. Yakitori = Chicken = Chicken noises = Get it??? Isn’t it so silly? I love it.
The red awning says “Motsu yakitori”, which must be the official name. Motsu means tripe in Japanese, but that doesn’t make any sense since tripe is beef. Hmmm… there must be another meaning behind this, I’ll need to ask my dad.
My dad taught my uncle how to make the special yakitori sauce and also how to completely deconstruct a whole chicken so no part goes unused. My uncle wakes up every morning, gets a new batch of chickens, and spends the day cutting them up.
Here’s the fridge, with all the different chicken parts neatly packed away. There’s liver, breast meat, stomach meat, tongue, wings, cartilage of the joints (my favorite!), skin, it’s all there. Plus they do garlic and green onion.
They open up for business every day around 4pm, so they get a lot of people walking home from work or housewives that are trying to figure out what to do for dinner. The sticks are only 90yen a piece (about 90 cents)- super cheap, so they sell out every night by 8pm or 9pm. Isn’t that amazing???
Making all the yakitori the same price, no matter what it is, keeps the finances easy peasy.
The yakitori grill- where all the magic unfolds.
Interior shot- as you can see, it’s a super busy street.
My uncle and aunt.
The shack is literally just three steps from their front door. Here are my cousins in the walkway between the two.
It’s truly a brilliant operation- their children are still young so they get to eat breakfast altogether, then my uncle and aunt prep all morning and afternoon while the kids are at school, the kids help out when they get home, and everything is done by dinner time.
They put out a few folding tables and chairs out front and sell beers for people who want a quick snack before heading home.
Cock-a-doodle-doo!!!
5 Comments
Kayo, motsu includes intestines of all animals, chicken, beef, pig, lamb etc. It's a general word. However, every part has different texture as you know. For motsu amateurs (including me, I hate them) here are some of the parts we (not me) eat: heart, artery, esophagus, lung, liver, stomach (in cow, there are three different stomach parts, which are called differently. First stomach is called "mino", second one is "hachinosu"(bee hive), the third "senmai), pancreas, kidney, boobs, diaphragm （ie, skirt steak, did you know it is categorized as intestinal meat?), small intestines, large intestine, rectum, uterus, overy, testis, fallopian tube, tongue, cheek, throat, eat, achilles, tale. Wow, this sounds very gross..
Also from looking at the awning, Koke-kokko is the name of the store, and motsu-yakitori is what they sell.
Can you post the address, or email privately? I'd love to visit this place next time I'm there and say hi for you!
Yama- thanks for clarifying. So does "motsu" just generally mean like ALL the guts, and not just the intestines??
Subway- My dad is on vacation right now, but I'll get it to you early next week!!! Sorry, didn't mean to be elusive about it- everything is so hard to find in Tokyo, I have this assumption that no one actually goes anywhere really specific.
Is this Marc? Subway as in Subway Cinema???
Whee~ I love yakitori! It’s uber delicious~ :)
Can you email me the address to this place? I’ll be in Tokyo at the end of this year and plan to visit different places. I’d like to stop by if I happen to wander around in that ward. ^^