Bird Land is one of the best‑known yakitori counters in Tokyo, and several of the cooks who worked under Toshihiro Wada now run counters of their own. One of them has trained a cook who opened his own place, and one of Osaka’s long‑running yakitori counters now has a Bird Land‑trained cook at the grill. This guide sets out who they are, how they are connected, and which of their counters you can realistically get into.
Bird Land in Ginza
Toshihiro Wada opened Bird Land in Asagaya in 1987 and moved it to Ginza in 2001. It is now a 33-seat basement restaurant in Ginza 4-chome, open for dinner Tuesday to Saturday from 17:00 and closed on Sundays, Mondays and holidays. A 10% service charge is added.
Its standing comes partly from the people it trained. Yasuyuki Nojima was the first of Wada’s cooks to leave and open his own counter, Bird Court, in 1999. Keiichi Chino managed Bird Land before opening Asagaya Bird Land in the neighborhood where Bird Land began. Chef Imai worked at Bird Land and then at Bird Court before opening Yakitori Imai.
Bird Land is not one of the hardest yakitori counters to book. There is no release day: it takes online bookings for parties of two to six on OpenTable (linked from its official site), Ikyu or inline, and phone calls in Japanese from 17:00 to 21:30, with parties of seven or more by phone. A week or two ahead usually works; book Saturdays earlier. See the Bird Land release page.
The family tree
Each line gives the counter, its area, and the training and opening dates we have on record.
- Bird Land (Ginza) — Toshihiro Wada; opened in Asagaya in 1987, moved to Ginza in 2001
- Bird Court (Kita‑Senju) — Yasuyuki Nojima, about a year and a half under Wada; the first of his cooks to open his own counter; opened 1999
- Yakitori Kato (Mita) — Taichi Kato, five years at Bird Court; opened March 2016. Bird Land is his teacher’s teacher
- Yakitori Imai (Gaienmae) — chef Imai, who joined Bird Land at 29 and later worked at Bird Court; opened in Sendagi in 2006 and moved to Gaienmae in 2016
- Asagaya Bird Land (Asagaya) — Keiichi Chino, at Bird Land from 1996 for about eight years and its manager from 2000; opened December 2004 in Asagaya, where Bird Land began
- Ranjatai (Jimbocho) — Hideyuki Wadahama, who trained at Bird Land in Ginza; opened 2006, closed December 2020
- Ayamuya (Fukushima, Osaka) — Yamato Naganuma, the owner’s eldest son, trained at Bird Land in Ginza after university and now grills at his father’s counter
- Bird Court (Kita‑Senju) — Yasuyuki Nojima, about a year and a half under Wada; the first of his cooks to open his own counter; opened 1999
Counters that are easier to book
These are the counters in the tree where a seat realistically comes up. Each is its own restaurant with its own cooks; none of them is a way into Bird Land.
Yakitori Imai
- The chef: chef Imai, who joined Bird Land at 29 and later worked at Bird Court. He opened in Sendagi in 2006 and moved to Gaienmae in 2016; the restaurant has since moved next door to its earlier space.
- Price: course prices include the seat charge, and one drink per person is expected. Cashless payment only. Thirteen seats (seven at the counter, six at tables).
- How to book: online at any time, with no release day. The official site points overseas guests to TableCheck; Tabelog and Ikyu also take bookings. Counter seats go a few weeks ahead, and parties of three sit at a table. Dinner only, Monday to Friday from 17:30 (last booking 20:00); closed Saturdays and Sundays. Cancellations after 13:00 on the day are charged in full. See the Yakitori Imai release page.
- Through us: yes, at ¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it. The house sends overseas guests to TableCheck; we do not book from your account, so our desk phones the house and asks.
Bird Court
- The chef: Yasuyuki Nojima, who spent about a year and a half under Wada and was the first of his cooks to open his own counter, on Kita‑Senju’s Sun Road in 1999. Okukuji shamo chicken.
- Price: courses at ¥6,600 (eight skewers), ¥8,800 (with oyakodon) and ¥11,000; seat‑only bookings are also taken. Twenty‑nine seats: thirteen at the counter, plus tables and a tatami room.
- How to book: on the official online booking page, or by phone in Japanese between 10:00 and 13:30 or 15:00 and 17:00. No release day is published. 17:00–22:00; closed Sundays and Mondays. See the Bird Court release page.
- Through us: yes, by phone in Japanese; ¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it.
Yakitori Kato
- The chef: Taichi Kato, who spent five years at Bird Court and opened this counter by Mita Station in March 2016.
- Price: a jidori omakase at ¥9,900. Fourteen counter seats, up to four per booking. Same‑day cancellations are charged ¥9,900 a person.
- How to book: online on Tabelog or by phone in Japanese. No release day is published; recent diners find it fairly easy to book, sometimes on the same day. 18:00–22:00, ending when the skewers run out; closed Sundays and Mondays. See the Yakitori Kato release page.
- Through us: yes; ¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it.
Asagaya Bird Land
- The chef: Keiichi Chino, who worked at Bird Land from 1996 for about eight years and was its manager from 2000. He opened this counter by JR Asagaya Station in December 2004. It shares the Bird Land name, but it is a separate restaurant with its own booking, run by Chino. Okukuji shamo chicken, with natural‑wine pairings.
- Price: courses at ¥9,680 and ¥12,100. Twenty seats, sixteen of them at the counter. No children under school age.
- How to book: TableCheck or Ikyu online for parties of two; other party sizes by phone in Japanese. No release day is published. 17:00–22:30; closed Sundays and Mondays. Cancellation is 50% from 48 hours before and 100% from 24 hours before. See the Asagaya Bird Land release page.
- Through us: yes, by phone in Japanese; ¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it.
Ayamuya (Osaka)
- The chef: Ayamuya has been a yakitori counter in Fukushima, Osaka, since 1999. The owner’s eldest son, Yamato Naganuma, trained at Bird Land in Ginza after university and now grills beside his father.
- Price: a 10-skewer course at ¥4,300 (as reported in 2026) and an omakase with two drinks at ¥9,000. Seventeen seats, thirteen at the counter.
- How to book: online on Tabelog or Ikyu, or by phone in Japanese. No release day is published, and reviewers say walk‑ins rarely work. 17:30–22:00; closed Sundays and holidays, plus irregular days. See the Ayamuya release page.
- Through us: yes; ¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it.
Ayamuya also heads a separate line of its own. Chef Ishii started at Ayamuya, worked at another restaurant, then opened Torisho Ishii in Fukushima in 2016 and moved it to Nishi‑Tenma in June 2020. Torisho Ishii takes bookings on OMAKASE only and refuses phone and proxy bookings. We can request it in the name of the guest who attends, at ¥12,000 per seat: we do not book from your account, but our desk can phone the house and ask, and if the house declines a booking arranged on a guest’s behalf, we will tell you and nothing is charged.
Other counters in the family
- Ranjatai (Jimbocho) — opened in 2006 by Hideyuki Wadahama, who trained at Bird Land in Ginza; closed in December 2020. We have not confirmed whether the counter that later opened on the same site is still trading, so we do not list it here.
Where we fit
Bird Land in Ginza takes bookings online with no release day; that is the direct route, and we can also request it for you (¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it). Yakitori Imai points overseas guests to TableCheck; we do not book from your account, but our desk can phone the house and ask. Yakitori Imai, Bird Court, Yakitori Kato, Asagaya Bird Land and Ayamuya can be requested through our desk: send the restaurant and your dates on the request form, and we will tell you plainly what is achievable. None of these counters is in our collection, so the fee is ¥12,000 per seat, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it.
SHOKU NOREN research, checked October 2026.
