Drank too much last night? Here’s where to eat. Today: yakiniku inside a covered market in Koenji, where the staff tell you exactly how to grill each cut.
Quick Facts
| Nearest station | Koenji Station, north exit, 1-min walk |
|---|---|
| Budget | ¥6,000–8,000 in the evening (about $42–56) |
| Cash or card | Cash only — no cards, no IC, no QR |
| Smoking | Smoking allowed throughout |
| Reservations | Accepted by phone — strongly recommended |
| Hours | Wed–Fri 17:00–23:00, Sat 13:00–23:00, Sun 13:00–21:00. Closed Mon & Tue |
| Seats | 16 |
Yakiniku, and Finding This Place
Yakiniku is Japanese-style grilled meat: you order raw cuts and cook them yourself on a grill set into the table. It is the most social food in Japan and one of the easiest for visitors, because nothing needs explaining beyond “put it on, take it off”.
Kokochi has a main branch, but the Ichiba (market) branch is the one to book — it sits inside Daiichi Ichiba, a covered market arcade a minute from Koenji Station. Walking in, you will doubt you have the right address; there is a passage with a handful of small restaurants along it, and this is one of them. That is the Koenji experience.
What to Order, in Order
Start cold. Beef tataki yukke-style (¥1,600) — lightly seared beef chopped and dressed sweet, eaten wrapped in Korean seaweed — is the dish I would order first every time. Senmai sashi (¥1,000), raw tripe, has no off smell at all and a clean crunch; if you have been nervous about offal in Japan, this is where to try it.
Then the grill. Tan-shio (¥2,000), thick-cut salted tongue, is the standard opener and here it is a serious piece of meat. Harami (¥1,400), skirt, is soft and deeply savoury. Tsurami (¥1,400) is cheek — springy, concentrated, and best rolled around spring onion. Premium liver (¥2,000) arrives standing up on the plate, which is how you know it is fresh; sear it briefly and no further.
The main event is wagyu harami (¥3,800 for two slices), in salt and in tare marinade. The staff coach you through both, and it is worth following: for salt, sear the surface hard at the hot edge of the grill; for tare, cook 50 percent on one side and 30 percent on the other over the cooler middle, dip it back into the sauce, then finish. The re-dipping is the step nobody thinks to do, and it is what makes the difference.
Access & Practical Tips
- One minute from Koenji north exit, inside the Daiichi Ichiba market arcade.
- Closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Sixteen seats — phone ahead or you will not get in.
- Cash only, and smoking is allowed throughout.
- Weekend service starts at 13:00, which makes this a rare daytime yakiniku option.
- Koenji is four minutes from Shinjuku on the Chuo line and worth an evening in its own right.
Hangover Recovery Index
My completely unscientific Hangover Recovery Index: 3 out of 5. Protein, salt and fat do the job, and grilling gives your hands something to do. But a smoky room and a 17:00 weekday opening make this a plan for a recovered evening rather than a broken morning.
Eat well, drink better, and see you at the next hangover.
もう一杯どうぞ！
