Yakiniku Restaurant – The Japanese Barbecue

Brazil is the land of barbecue, but did you know that in Japan there is also a Japanese barbecue called yakiniku? What are the differences between Japanese barbecue and Brazilian barbecue?

The word yakiniku refers not only to grilled meat but also to the popular all-you-can-eat restaurants where you can grill your own meat on the grill. We will talk a lot about them in this article.

Breaking Paradigms – Many believe that meat in Japan is expensive. This article will prove that it is possible to have a barbecue every week in Japan, just like we are used to in Brazil. In fact, it is even easier through yakiniku restaurants.

The meaning of Yakiniku

The word yakiniku [焼肉] literally means grilled meat [肉] [焼], but it is also used to refer to the popular restaurants that have meat as the main dish, whether grilled on a barbecue or on a hot plate.

Yaki is a broad word [焼] and may not have the same concept as meat roasted over coals or on a grill. For example, frying meat on a hot plate can be called yaki as we do with takoyaki.

Barbecue in Japanese can also be called the same way as in English barbecue [バーベキュー]. The Japanese refer to Brazilian barbecue using the word shurasuko [シュラスコ].

Yakiniku can be defined as thin and small pieces of meat grilled over a flame of charcoal made from wood carbonized by dry distillation, or in a frying pan, gas grill, or electric grill.

What is Japanese barbecue like?

Rarely do the Japanese gather in an open place to grill thick pieces of meat on a barbecue. They prefer to go to yakiniku restaurants and grill thinly sliced meat.

When the Japanese decide to grill meat on a skewer, they prefer to skewer other things besides meat. The Japanese eat a lot of meat skewers, but they are usually chicken or pork.

The Japanese prefer rare meat, so they cut it very thin in yakiniku restaurants and dip the meat in different sauces. It is a different and delicious experience.

Meat is not often seen in Japanese dishes besides yakiniku, not because of its price, but simply because of culture. There was a time when beef was abolished in Japan, which removed it from the table.

Only during the Showa period did Japanese barbecue begin to emerge thanks to the influence of Korean culture and the dishes bulgogi and galbi. After World War II, barbecue was finally spread in Japan.

What is a Yakiniku restaurant like?

There are two different types of yakiniku restaurants. The most popular are all-you-can-eat places where customers grill their own meats on grills placed in the center of the table that accommodates a family.

There are also other restaurants that have yakiniku in the name, but only serve ready-made dishes of beef and pork. Once I entered the wrong restaurant thinking I would get an all-you-can-eat barbecue.

In all-you-can-eat restaurants, you usually have access to various types of meat, fish, vegetables, and some even offer desserts, sushi, soba, udon, tempura, crepes, and other dishes, making it a very varied restaurant.

Some places also tend to offer unlimited drinks for free, or charge a small fee of 100 or 200 yen for them. Generally, there are days and times when the all-you-can-eat is cheaper.

On the times I went, I paid about 1,500 yen for 2 hours of unlimited eating. The first time I found a cheaper place for only 1,000 yen during lunch hours.

There you fill your tray with meat and grill it all at your table as many times as you want. The meat is cut thin, so it grills in a few minutes, and you can dip it in some sauces to enhance the flavor.

One hour is more than enough for you to feel satisfied in a yakiniku restaurant. All of this for a lower price than barbecue all-you-can-eat in restaurants in Brazil.

In some yakiniku restaurants, you must go to a location and pick up your meat, but some deliver the meat to the table. There are also special meats that need to be ordered from the staff, or dishes with an additional charge.

types of meat in a yakiniku

In barbecues and yakiniku restaurants, you usually find different cuts of beef and pork. It is even possible to eat premium meat like kobe beef and wagyu.

Below we will list some cuts of meat found in a yakiniku, along with other popular ingredients that accompany this Japanese barbecue.

• Beef:
  • Rōsu – loin slices;
  • Karubi or baraniku – ribs;
  • Harami – tender meat around the diaphragm;
  • Tan – tongue meat;
  • Misuji – tender meat around the knee;
• Pork:
  • Butabara – pork belly;
  • P-toro / Tontoro – fatty meat around the face and neck;
• Horumon or motsu – Offal:
  • Rebā – beef liver;
  • Tetchan – intestine;
  • Hatsu – heart;
  • Kobukuro – pig uterus;
  • Tēru – slices of the tail cut crosswise, with bones;
  • Mino / Hachinosu – beef tripe;
  • Gatsu – pig stomach;
• Chicken;
• Seafood – squid, shellfish, shrimp;

You can also find vegetables like bell pepper, carrot, mushrooms, onions, eggplant, cabbage, bean sprouts, garlic, and kabocha pulp. In fact, there are thousands of other cuts not mentioned.

My experience in a Yakiniku

I went to a yakiniku in the city of Hamamatsu, I don’t remember its name. I paid 1,000 yen to eat for 2 hours, there were about 30 different types of meat. And there was also sushi, tempura, crepes, ice cream, and all the other things I already mentioned.

In an hour I could no longer eat. I don’t even know what to say, it was a wonderful experience, and everything was delicious, besides being super cheap.

Something interesting also happened, I forgot my bag with my camera and passport at the place. I only went back to get it 3 hours later, and it was there as I expected.

Another thing I noticed was a group of four young Brazilians who were at the door of the place blocking the way. From the moment I left, and three hours later when I returned, they were still there at the door, sitting on the stairs, blocking and bothering people’s entrance. What was the need?

In Osaka, in Nipponbashi, I also went to a restaurant that had yakiniku in the name. But it was just a regular restaurant, where you choose a dish and that’s it. I ordered a super spicy dish and regretted it, but it was tasty.

Again, in 2018, on my second trip to Japan, I went three times to a yakiniku. As soon as I found my friend Roberto Pedraça, we went to a yakiniku in Kakegawa; the second time, we returned to the one in Hamamatsu.

In Sapporo, in Hokkaido province, I also went to a yakiniku where I had the opportunity to eat the local specialty, the famous lamb meat called Jingisukan.

What do you think of Japanese barbecue? Have you had the chance to try it? I highly recommend visiting a yakiniku when you are in Japan.

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