Fukuoka has a yakitori all its own — torikawa, the skin of the chicken's neck — and this is the house that stands for it. The skin is wound onto skewers, dipped in tare and left to build over a week of repeated basting, so that it comes off the grill crisp on the outside and springy within. Regulars know the drill: you don't order one or two, you order ten at a time, in the round numbers the house expects. The other name to know is shigi-yaki, a house speciality that sits beside the torikawa.
What you eat
Torikawa above all, a week's worth of curing behind each skewer, ordered by the ten, and the shigi-yaki that regulars pair with it. It is counter food, built for a long evening of small skewers and cold drinks, in a room of around sixty-five seats that runs late.
The Hakata way of ordering
Half the pleasure here is doing it right: torikawa comes in batches of ten, which is how the house is set up and how the locals eat. Parties of three or more can hold a table by phone; smaller groups come and take their chances. And it is cash only, worth knowing before the bill lands.
Who it's for
Travelers who want Hakata's own yakitori from its leading house, and who will order by the ten, carry cash, and settle in for the long evening the counter is built for.
